Star Odyssey

Chapter 2715: Two Monsters

People were not even able to see through the dust.

Xu Jie and others were badly startled; was Xuan Qi really this strong?

Jiang Xiaodao’s mouth hung open, and dust flew in without him even noticing. He had seen this same scene before, but only when Snack Sage had used his full power. The man was as strong as a dragon, and when he released his full strength, he could transform the world. This was what happened when Food Sage’s lineage competed in strength, though there were very few people who could make them try their best.

What had happened to Xuan Qi?

Wen Sansi's eyes shone brightly. He was not at all surprised to see this from Lu Yin. The Dao Monarch had many different impressive abilities, but his physical strength had always stood out. Anytime Lu Yin had faced an opponent, his physical attacks, starting with Vacuum Palm and later progressing to Hollow Palm, had been enough to defeat all of his peers without issue.

Throughout the entire Fifth Mainland, there was no one who could compare to Lu Yin, and Snack Sage was no match either.

The city shook, and the fissures in the ground spread as everyone nearby quickly fled the area. Even the gates to the city were shaking.

The dust billowed about and formed a tornado that rose up high into the sky, connecting to the sky and the earth.

Within the vortex, Lu Yin and Xiaoshi Sheng held in the same position as ever, staring at each other with excitement.

"What's your name?" For the third time in one day, Snack Sage asked for someone's name. It was also quite clear that he was far more excited than either of the two previous occasions.

Lu Yin also laughed. This man was impressively strong, to the point where it seemed a bit impossible. "Xuan Qi."

The Lu family had been famous for their physical strength, to the point where even a corpse king would be no match after undergoing a Corpse King Transformation. Lu Yin had never encountered anyone who could match his physical strength. Snack Sage was quite powerful.

Snack Sage was also thinking the same thing. "You’re impressive!"

Lu Yin smiled. "Same to you!"

"How much more do you have?" Snack Sage's eyes grew large.

Lu Yin’s eyebrows rose. "Are you not trying your best yet?"

"Of course not! Now, don't let me down. How much more do you have left?" Snack Sage yelled.

Nearby, Jiang Xiaodao and others just stared at the two monsters. The strength they were releasing was visible to the naked eye, and the pressure made it impossible for them to even breathe. The force pressed down harder and harder on the surrounding area until even the space was compressed.

Lu Yin looked up. "Don’t be ridiculous."

Snack Sage laughed wildly. "This is the first time anyone’s said something like that to me during a contest of strength. Let’s go, Xuan Qi!"

As the man spoke, the muscles in his arm bulged, squirming beneath his skin as though they were alive. His skin started to change color, and what looked like scales started to appear.

Lu Yin's wrist was instantly forced back. The sudden change in force had almost caused him to lose. However, a moment later, a light started to emanate from his entire body.

Snack Sage was taken aback, as this sort of light would only appear when someone’s body had reached its limits for the person’s current cultivation realm. "Awesome! Amazing! Haha, keep going!"

Lu Yin's expression grew stern, and he started bringing out the full power of the Lu family. The two hands returned to the starting position; neither man could overpower the other.

Jiang Xiaodao was stunned. Snack Sage’s true identity was starting to be exposed, and yet he still was not able to overpower Xuan Qi. What was the deal with this guy?

Mu Mu, Xu Jie, Luo Zang, and others grew solemn as they stared at Xuan Qi in utter disbelief.

The pressure that filled the area grew stronger and stronger, and a wind swept out in all directions.

More and more scales started appearing on Snack Sage's arm, and soon, the arm completely changed. It no longer belonged to a human.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed; this man was not even human. It was no wonder why he was so strong.

There were no humans with greater physical strength than the Lu family.

More and more power welled up from deep within Lu Yin's body. The greater the pressure he was up against, the more his strength would rise.

Aside from some moments shortly after he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin had never experienced the sensation of releasing his full strength.

He was confident that he could overpower Snack Sage. Even if Snack Sage used more strength, it would not matter. Lu Yin also still had Extremes Must Be Reversed to keep things in his favor. He had the strength to crush everything. However, Lu Yin looked over at Snack Sage. "This is everything that I’ve got."

Snack Sage smiled, though he also appeared quite solemn. "Same here."

"You can't beat me," Lu Yin stated.

Snack Sage's smile grew. "But you can't beat me either."

At this moment, a person arrived. It was an old man, and he waved a hand, bringing out a floating card. "I am the lord of Necropolis. If you insist on continuing to destroy my city, then you can’t blame me for acting against you—I will expel you from the Shangsan Festival."

Lu Yin and Snack Sage both froze at the same instance.

Snack Sage wiggled his wrist around as he stared at Xuan Qi in disbelief.

Lu Yin bowed to the old man. "I am deeply sorry, Senior. I am willing to compensate Necropolis for any losses suffered."

The old man grunted. "Forget it. I can’t blame those who don't know any better."

He then shot a glance at Snack Sage and left.

"Xuan Qi, let’s go again!" Snack Sage was still as eager to compete as ever. He had finally met someone with a similar level of strength as himself, and he was excited to continue the competition.

Lu Yin replied, "We’re in Necropolis. If we continue to destroy this city, we will be held accountable. We need to stop here."

"No, let’s keep going! We haven’t determined a winner yet." Snack Sage was unwilling to stop.

Jiang Xiaodao had gotten excited. "Xuan Qi, how are you actually a match for Snack Sage? What a freak! Snack Sage, do you still have the guts to act so arrogantly?"

Snack Sage instantly grew disdainful. "Sissy, get lost!"

Lu Yin was also eager to compete with the man. It had been many years since anyone had been able to compete with him in physical strength. However, he soon regretted competing with Snack Sage.

After the tie, Snack Sage followed Lu Yin around and constantly pestered him wherever he went.

For a time, Xu Jie and Xu Yue also followed Xuan Qi, but they quickly became fed up by Snack Sage, who was incredibly irritating. Every few steps he took, he would make some comment or another about strength or arm wrestling. The consistency was so aggravating that the siblings soon left.

Needless to say, Jiang Xiaodao was the first to escape from Snack Sage’s presence.

As for Wen Sansi, he had become extremely popular all of a sudden. Mu Mu invited him to go shopping with her, as did Luo Zang. Wen Sansi did not turn down any invitation, and he constantly maintained his typical elegant, refined appearance.

"Xuan Qi, let's go again! This time, we can be more careful and make sure to not destroy anything. Let's go again, just once!" Snack Sage never stopped talking as he walked along with Lu Yin. Anytime other people looked at the man, he would stare at them and call them cowards. Lu Yin’s headache was growing, and he lost all desire to tour Necropolis, despite initially wanting to see what was so special about the city that it had become the tomb of one of the Nine Sages.

"Why do you need to compete in strength?" Lu Yin felt cornered.

Snack Sage slammed a hand against his chest with a banging sound. "I want to beat Dad! Dad said that the more often I compete against people, the more my own strength will rise. Eventually, I’ll rise above even him and become the strongest person in the Sixverse Association. Well, not person, Taotie.”

Lu Yin briefly froze in surprise. "Taotie?"

Snack Sage lifted his hand, instantly transforming his hand into claws. "The Food Sage’s family are all Taoties. Didn’t you know?"

Lu Yin truly had not known. He had heard of Taoties before, but that had been from the Sixth Mainland’s Nan Yanfei. That guy was from the Blood Homage Realm, where people would absorb bloodlines of various creatures, incorporating those powers into their own. From the Taotie's bloodline, the more that Nan Yanfei ate, the stronger he became. "Are you a pure-blooded Taotie?"

Snack Sage looked confused. "Are there any mixed-blood Taoties?"

Lu Yin looked away. This man was a treasure! If Nan Yanfei learned that there was a pure-blooded Taotie, he would burst into tears and insist on going to see for himself.

If Snack Sage ever visited the Sixth Mainland, he would be eaten alive.

Snack Sage continued to annoy Lu Yin, begging for another competition of strength.

How could Lu Yin agree? It was also a vicious trap, as Lu Yin could not even allow himself to win. If he won, Snack Sage would become even more insistent.

After half a day, Lu Yin ran into another acquaintance: Little Lian. The little girl was happily shopping around, followed by several other people, who were likely other disciples of Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

When Little Lian saw Xuan Qi, she waved at him. Even though the man was despised by most of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples because of the incident with Cheng Feng, Little Lian had never done anything or changed how she treated Xuan Qi. After all, Cheng Feng’s identity as a spy had been proven.

Just as Lu Yin was about to approach the girl, Little Lian saw Snack Sage, and she instantly turned around to leave.

The people who were following her also noticed Snack Sage, and disgust instantly covered their features.

"Bah, what a bunch of cowards!" Snack Sage spat with contempt.

Lu Yin was speechless. People really hate you!

With Snack Sage shadowing him, Lu Yin was unable to do anything in Necropolis. He wanted to lose the big man, but the city was only so big.

After several days, he was more exhausted than after a battle.

Finally, after a few more days, Zhi Bing reappeared and led the gathered people to another place. This time, it was no longer just Lu Yin and the others who were escorted, as there were more than thirty people in total, nearly half of whom were powerful experts from older generations. Additionally, Snack Sage and Little Lian tagged along.

Everyone kept as much distance from Snack Sage as possible. He was arrogant and condescending, to the point where, even when the older people looked at him, he would glare back at them and call them cowards, ruffling more than a few feathers. However, if any of them arm wrestled the Taotie, they would have their arms broken. Luckily, everyone was stopped by Zhi Bing. If too many of the older experts lost their temper with Snack Sage, the situation would get even more complicated.

The group’s next stop was not anything like Necropolis, as it was just an ordinary planet.

Zhi Bing also made sure that Snack Sage did nothing on the planet, as it would be too easy for such a common planet to be completely destroyed.

After spending a few days on the planet, Zhi Bing led the group along, and they continued on their way.

Half a month passed in this same manner. The group would stop at various locations to collect a few more people and then continue on their way. Eventually, there were nearly a hundred people in the group, most of whom were older cultivators.

Even so, the most despised person in the entire group remained Snack Sage.

According to Jiang Xiaodao, Snack Sage incited hatred wherever he went.

During this time, Zhi Bing allowed everyone in the group to see the many traps that were scattered across the universe, mostly because he was forced to remove the traps himself. The traps did not care if someone was from the Lost Clan or an invader. They were completely indiscriminate.

"This next place is our last gathering point. After that, we will enter the Lost Clan’s core region. We will spend five days here. Do not attack anyone or damage anything at all. Anyone who does not listen will be expelled from the Shangsan Festival." Zhi Bing gave a stern warning to the entire group.

They were currently in front of a massive river that flowed through space, beautiful and glowing with its own light.

There were landmasses drifting above the river, each one home to a city.

When Zhi Bing came to a stop, everyone scattered.

No one wanted to stay with Xuan Qi, as Snack Sage had driven them all away.

Lu Yin found a random landmass and went to visit it. The buildings in the city were all wooden, and there were many restaurants that climbed high into the sky in order to provide beautiful, panoramic views, despite such height meaning nothing to cultivators.

"Bring out the food! Bring out the food! Hurry up!" Snack Sage shouted as soon as he entered the restaurant, causing everyone inside to jump and then glare at him.

"What are you looking at, you cowards? Fight me like the others!" Snack Sage lashed out viciously as he planted his sign so that everyone could see it above his head. It was clear that he was trying to provoke the guests of the restaurant.

After all, if someone lost their temper, they would agree to compete with him.

Snack Sage simply puffed a breath and blasted the first man out of the restaurant. "Forget it, they’re just ordinary humans."

The man had been the equivalent of a Melder, but to Snack Sage, he was indeed no better than an ordinary human.

At that moment, no one in the restaurant dared to make any trouble for Snack Sage, and he was left alone to put up his sign.

Lu Yin found a seat with a view of the beautiful river in the distance. He then ate a meal while listening to Snack Sage eating voraciously. It soon turned into nothing more than background sound, and Lu Yin was able to relax.