Star Odyssey

Chapter 2372: Demonstration Of Loyalty

"Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi’s Wielder - Indestructible has at least reached the level of being comparable to a Progenitor’s world. While it is somewhat different from a true Progenitor’s world, it is by no means inferior. This is why the Dao Monarch was so convinced that Wielder - Indestructible is the true path forward for human cultivation. More importantly, when cultivating battle force, there is no need to open the three meridian points," Hen Xin stated solemnly.

This was shocking information to Lu Yin. The Third Mainland’s Dao Monarch, the man who had become the Seven Skygods’ Ancient God, had actually created a cultivation method that allowed a person to create a Progenitor’s world without opening their three meridian points. This achievement was in no way inferior to the Rune Progenitor’s cultivation method, Progenitor Ku’s Extremes Must Be Reversed, or Progenitor Chen’s various achievements.

Incredible people had lived during the Daosource Sect era, which was when the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had lived, as well as during the Heavens Sect era. The unique powers that they had created simply defied what the people of the current era believed to be possible.

Lu Yin was indeed shocked by this revelation, but even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors would not be able to believe that someone could become a Progenitor without opening their three meridian points. And yet, Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had actually succeeded in doing such a thing.

"Wait, so you haven't opened your three meridian points?" Lu Yin stared at Hen Xin in amazement.

"I have."

Lu Yin was taken aback.

"While the Dao Monarch claimed that it is possible to become a Progenitor with Wielder - Indestructible, he only ever attempted to prove that with a single individual, which was the person who persisted for a day and a half before eventually going mad. I can’t compare to him, but in the end, he was not as lucky as me," Hen Xin said.

Lu Yin has already achieved the Wielder realm of battle force, so Hen Xin shared a great deal of additional information with him. If Lu Yin had failed, Hen Xin would not have said anything at all.

It was only at this time that Lu Yin understood why Hen Xin was so confident that he would eventually become a Progenitor: Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had paved the way.

But could it really be that easy? Lu Yin believed so. Even though he had managed to reach Wielder - Indestructible, it would not be easy to improve it until it became as powerful as a Progenitor’s world. On top of that, even if the power of Lu Yin’s Wielder-realm battle force reached the same level as a Progenitor’s world, would he actually become a Progenitor?

Hen Xin watched silently as he saw Lu Yin digest the information that he had just been told. The gatemaster had spoken with the hope of causing Lu Yin to be wary of the Semi-Progenitor, but he already knew that such a thing was highly unlikely. Rather, it was more likely that Lu Yin wanted to understand the path that led to the Progenitor realm since he had reached the Wielder realm himself, and only Hen Xin could provide that information.

Since Lu Yin had successfully attained Wielder - Indestructible, Hen Xin’s greatest fear at the moment was that he would be considered useless, or worse, that Lu Yin would feel fear towards Hen Xin. However, Hen Xin’s fears were quickly proven wrong.

Lu Yin genuinely wanted someone to help him find the path forward, and he had never considered acting against Hen Xin. Lu Yin would not eliminate a Semi-Progenitor just out of personal fear.

Hen Xin left. He had already said everything that needed to be said, and Lu Yin would need a great deal of time for his aurelian force to completely transform into the purple-black substance that was Wielder - Indestructible.

After Hen Xin left, Lu Yin lifted a hand. He watched as his die spun after he tapped it. It slowly came to a stop. Five pips: Gift Copy.

Lu Yin instantly disappeared, and he quickly arrived just outside of the array base’s headquarters. Hen Xin had not gone far, as he had been thinking about many things as he moved along. His thoughts were disrupted by a hand suddenly landing on his shoulder, startling the man. Hen Xin reflexively attacked, and Lu Yin retreated while calling out, "Stop."

Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "Dao Chosen? What are you doing?"

Lu Yin replied, "Nothing much. I had just wanted to test out the strength of your Wielder realm battle force, but you reflexively lashed out with your domain instead of battle force. What? Have you also cultivated your domain to a high level?"

Hen Xin looked away. "There is a slight delay when using Wielder - Indestructible, but there’s no such delay when using a domain." action

Lu Yin understood the reason for Hen Xin’s reflexive attack with a domain. "I understand. In that case, is there really a level for domains above the void god level?"

Hen Xin confirmed, "Yes, it's also referred to as the Wielder - Void realm. From what Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi theorized, the pinnacle of a domain would allow a person to stretch or compress both space and time at their whim. It would grant them easy control of the power of time, and even the ability to travel between parallel universes. Unfortunately, Wielder - Void remains nothing more than a theory, as not even the Dao Monarch was able to achieve such a level of mastery."

Lu Yin was shocked. "If there remains such amazing power in the next level of mastery for a domain, then you should continue training hard in hopes that you can achieve it some day."

With that, Lu Yin vanished.

Hen Xin just stared. Hope that he could reach the Wielder realm with his domain? That was something that had been impossible even for Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi. No matter how confident Hen Xin was in his own talent, he would never be able to accomplish something that had been impossible for the Dao Monarch. There were some things that would simply remain forever out of reach.

However, what had Lu Yin been doing? Had he been testing him? The Semi-Progenitor could not understand Lu Yin’s actions.

Back in the array base’s headquarters, Lu Yin saw that there was no symbol for any new innate gifts on his die. Just as the rumors claimed, Hen Xin had no innate gift.

Lu Yin quickly gathered his thoughts and rolled his die for the second time.

At the same time, someone arrived at the headquarters, asking to see Lu Yin. It was Jiu Zizai,^{1 the colonel that Lu Yin had reached out to and offered to take back to the Fifth Mainland.}

Jiu Zizai quietly stood outside the general’s office, waiting for Lu Yin to show himself.

Lu Yin entered his Timestop Space after rolling four pips. He immediately started the process of transforming his battle force.

This process required a very long time, but that was not a problem for Lu Yin, not as long as he had his die’s Timestop.

He proceeded to recite the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra while working on transforming his battle force. A year soon passed, and purple-black lines appeared across Lu Yin's body. They started at his wrists, crept up his arms, and spread across his entire body to create a unique pattern.

The amount of the purple-black materialized battle force that a person possessed was dependent on how much aurelian force they were able to convert. Before Lu Yin’s breakthrough with his battle force, he might not have been able to convert enough purple-black substance to cover his entire arms. However, his aurelian force had since improved to the point where Lu Yin was able to spread it out for a million miles in every direction, and it was being transformed into the materialized battle force of the Wielder realm. This meant that Lu Yin was able to shroud his entire body with the purple-black substance, but it also meant that the transformation process had taken much longer than what Hen Xin had expected.

It was possible that when Hen Xin had achieved the Wielder Realm with his battle force, he had not possessed as much aurelian force as Lu Yin.

Eh? Who’s that outside? Jiu Zizai?

"Let him in," Lu Yin called out after he emerged from his Timestop Space. He had converted a portion of his aurelian force, and he took a moment to sense his newfound physical strength with this improvement. He quickly realized that just a bit of battle force would be enough to let him fight against a Semi-Progenitor.

That reminded Lu Yin that Hen Xin and the others who cultivated battle force had already developed a comparison between battle force and regular cultivation strength. According to that comparison, what did aurelian force compare to? A Semi-Progenitor.

It would have been amazing if Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had succeeded in his research for people to integrate their battle force with their bodies, as it would mean that a Sentinel would be able to freely travel through the universe like an Explorer. That single development would allow humanity’s overall strength to spike to incredible heights.

"Jiu Zizai greets the Dao Chosen."

Jiu Zizai entered, and Lu Yin looked up at the man. He was a Redback, but that was something that no other human was aware of.

"If you don’t intend to remain on the rear battlefield, then why are you here?" Lu Yin asked.

Jiu Zizai answered in a respectful tone, "Dao Chosen, do you still remember the choice that you offered this subordinate?"

"Choice?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

Jiu Zizai explained, "The Dao Chosen told this subordinate when you first took over the fourth array base that, if I desired, I could go to the Fifth Mainland and join the Heavens Sect’s army as an alternate choice. That is the choice that you offered this subordinate."

Lu Yin thought back. "Right, I did do that. I appreciate the fact that you’ve stayed on the fourth array base, but why are you here? Did you want to tell me your decision?"

Jiu Zizai offered a deep bow. "This subordinate, Jiu Zizai, wishes to travel to the Fifth Mainland, humanity’s true home. I wish to join the Heavens Sect, and I wish to follow the Dao Chosen."

The retired colonel’s voice was so loud that even the array base’s general could hear it.

Many people were startled, as this was a declaration of loyalty.

Lu Yin was quite intrigued, and he stared at the man. "Why do you want to go to the Fifth Mainland? Given your service here on the fourth array base, as soon as you leave the rear battlefield, you’d definitely be able to join even the Celestial Frost Sect. Given how long you’ve worked under Bai Qi, you can practically summon the wind and rain in the Perennial World. There’s not much that would remain out of your reach."

Internally, Jiu Zizai was quite bitter, as Lu Yin had just voiced the man’s own thoughts. Unfortunately, it was not his decision to make.

"This subordinate wishes to see humanity’s true homeland. The Fifth Mainland gave birth to this Perennial World and everything in it. This subordinate wishes to follow the Dao Chosen. Dao Chosen, you have fought against Progenitors and even forced the four ruling powers to agree to a truce with you. You have earned this subordinate’s admiration, and in you, this subordinate can see the hope of another Progenitor Chen…" Jiu Zizai's voice grew louder and more excited as he continued.

Listening to the man, Lu Yin felt like he was seeing another Ku Wei. It seemed like whenever one Ku Wei left, another would arrive.

Lu Yin understood that Jiu Zizai must have received orders from Aeternus to go to the Fifth Mainland. The man could only be regarded as unlucky. Lu Yin was confident that, if given an actual choice, Jiu Zizai would much rather remain in the Perennial World instead of travel to the Fifth Mainland.

Lu Yin said nothing to expose the man, but as Jiu Zizai offered his loyalty to Lu Yin, the man’s words grew more and more excited.

Lu Yin finally cut the man short. "Alright, I understand your thoughts. You can go to the Fifth Mainland and join the Heavens Sect, or you can follow me personally. If you choose to follow me, you can go to the Fifth Mainland immediately, after altering your appearance. I want to know if the Perennial World is stopping people from traveling to the Fifth Mainland."

Jiu Zizai's heart skipped a beat. Given the task that he had just received from Lu Yin, the retired colonel not only saw a task, but also Lu Yin’s attitude towards him.

He was being ordered to go to the Fifth Mainland. This meant that the people of the Fifth Mainland would see Jiu Zizai as Lu Yin’s confidant in the Perennial World, and with that, Jiu Zizai would enjoy a status second to none.

Jiu Zizai had managed to survive for many years on the rear battlefield, and not only that, but he had also distinguished himself from countless other people and earned Marquis Wu Yi’s attention. The retired colonel was quite the capable individual, and he was also skilled in seeing solutions to problems that others could not find.

Jiu Zizai grew genuinely excited as he considered the new possibilities before him. This was the benefit that he had received for being the first to turn to Lu Yin and the Fifth Mainland; Jiu Zizai had earned himself a leadership role. With this, Jiu Zizai would be able to enjoy a life in the Fifth Mainland that would not be much worse than what he would have lived in the Perennial World. In fact, things might even be better. After all, in the Perennial World, he would only have the backing of the Celestial Frost Sect, but in the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin was the sole ruler, and Jiu Zizai would answer directly to the ruler of the Mainland.

"Yes, this subordinate will do his best to complete this task for you." This time, Jiu Zizai was being completely sincere.

Lu Yin smiled. "There’s no need to do too much. Just pretend to be a completely average cultivator for me, and see if anyone tries to stop you from going to the Fifth Mainland. Let me know exactly what happens."

Jiu Zizai offered another deep bow. "This subordinate will go now."

Lu Yin grunted an acknowledgement and then handed the man a wireless jincan. From this point forward, Jiu Zizai would carry out errands on Lu Yin’s behalf. Lu Yin’s entire purpose was to see what the Aeternals would ask the Redback to do.

After Jiu Zizai left, Lu Yin wanted to roll his die again, as he still had two more opportunities, but Tu Qiming arrived next.

Ever since Lu Yin had brought all the surviving vassals of the Lu family away from New City, they had spent their time recuperating and healing, while also getting in touch with old friends and acquaintances. Lu Yin had also gone into seclusion for some time, as he had needed to prepare for his match with Mu Shang. Due to the various complications, Tu Qiming and Lu Yin had not seen each other since leaving New City.

It was important to take some time to speak with Tu Qiming, especially since it seemed that the man’s memories were intact. Additionally, there was also Wan Zhiyi.

"Bastard Lu, I'm here!" Tu Qiming walked into the fourth array base’s headquarters with his head held high.

Lu Yin looked over at the man. "Suffering from another round of mental torture? Do you need another beating?"

"I’m not here for that! No, I don't want to be beaten- Wait, why would you beat me?" Tu Qiming shouted.

Lu Yin sneered. "Call me ‘boss.’"

Tu Qiming was briefly stunned. Confusion filled his eyes, and various emotions could be seen on his face. However, he quickly recovered, and then he continued yelling. "Boss? Bullshit! Back then, you called me boss! Hurry up and call me boss again!"

Lu Yin’s expression turned somber, and he started slowly walking towards Tu Qiming.

[1] It wasn't so long ago, but I could not remember this guy at all and had to go back. If anyone else needs to, ?????