Star Odyssey

Watching Michelle’s tempting figure, Lu Yin suddenly asked, “You said you’re from the Universe Youth Council. Can you tell me who the Ten Arbiters are?”

“You don’t have the right to know yet.” She didn’t even stop or look back.

Lu Yin took it calmly; desire for the knowledge of the Ten Arbiters was a test of sorts. Some would never pass it, yearning to understand who they were, while others would find out after passing that they were merely identities and nothing more. The Arbiters were free to do as they liked across the universe merely because they towered over the rest of their peers.

Soaring into the sky, Michelle felt the rain dripping on her and wondered something else; how had he done it? She was certain that this had been impossible for Lu Yin when he’d first joined the academy. He had gone from solid star energy to the realm of infinite change in such little time; even the most prodigal geniuses should have taken months. Was he really such a monster?

Lu Yin remained in the Rain Observatory for ten days, trying to send out his name every three days. His newfound control of star energy should have allowed him to keep his name from dispersing, but he was a tiny step away from accomplishing that task. That tiny step was his understanding of star energy in relation to himself, taking Da Lei’s comprehension and integrating it into his own.

It was on the morning of the twelfth day that he accomplished that task; the sky was still dark when he reached out and pushed his astral name into the rain. This time, he was confident that he could succeed. The two characters easily made it past the furthest point he’d been able to reach before, zooming straight past the Rain Observatory before dispersing on the other side.

He’d succeeded! He was now acknowledged by the Observatory! Lu Yin got up in excitement, feeling something new that caused his eyes to twinkle— he could now break through and become a Melder!

As the Rainmaster walked over through the rain, Lu Yin bowed down to the waist, “Hello, Tutor.”

The man gave Lu Yin a look of admiration, “Your grasp of star energy changed completely in one month. This is prodigious.”

“Thank you for the praise,” Lu Yin answered.

The mentor nodded, “According to Academy rules, tutors provide personal guidance once you are acknowledged by the Rain Observatory. You can choose a battle technique for me to polish, or I can give you an entirely new one. It is your choice.”

Lu Yin pondered over the decision. A battle technique from Astral-10 was quite tempting, but he already had quite a few battle techniques of his own. The Cosmic Palm, Skybeast Claw, Daynight Punch, Flash, and Three Stacks were enough of a drain on his attention; he didn’t have the time to learn any more. He also didn’t think the new battle technique could be better than the Cosmic Art, which he wanted to explore completely before looking for anything else. He looked up earnestly, “I’d like you to polish one of my battle techniques.”

“Mm, sure. Show me.”

Lu Yin took a deep breath and faced the empty rain before punching forward. The power of Three Stacks burst forward and resounded thrice in quick succession. The Cosmic Art was way too powerful and he had no idea whether the Rainmaster could improve it, while the Daynight Punch could expose him. The Skybeast Claw could be found in Yu Academy, so that left him with Three Stacks and the Flash. The former was the weakest link right now.

“Ah, stacking. I once met a genius in the Innerverse who was incredible at it. Alright, let me improve this for you.” The Rainmaster placed his hand over Lu Yin’s outstretched palm and pushed, forming a curious echo that coursed through Lu Yin’s body. One, two, three, four… Eight soft echoes rang out.

“This should be enough until you become a Limiteer,” the tutor continued, waving his hand around and striking the air. Nine explosions rang out and pushed back the rain, producing as many shockwaves that left Lu Yin wide-eyed. Nine Stacks! He’d somehow gotten to Nine Stacks!

“This technique does exist in the Outerverse, but nine should be the limit and enough until you become a Limiteer. Only go up to six for now, don’t overdo it,” the Rainmaster stated before disappearing into the rain.

Lu Yin bowed down as the man left, but doubt filled his face. Was this really only a Hunter? Could all Hunters take Three Stacks and improve it to the point of Nine Stacks? He remembered Tianming saying that Nine Stacks was a technique unique to the Grandtop Weave. If all Hunters could just recreate the technique so easily, it was impossible for that to be the case. Someone like The Undying Yushan would have spread the technique through the Frostwave Weave by now, at least. Was the Rainmaster even more powerful than a Hunter?

This doubt only lingered for a moment. Lu Yin knew he didn’t have to bother with all those thoughts at this point; all he had to do was familiarize himself with Nine Stacks as soon as possible. The Cosmic Art and the personal experience through the Rainmaster ensured that it wouldn’t be difficult, but his body could only handle up to six right now. It made complete sense that Nine Stacks would be enough until he became a Limiteer.

Days later, Lu Yin shouted and punched out, forming six explosions in the air even as he bled a little from his palm, “Tch, six is a bit too much as well. Hmm… If I can get to the Sixfold Shockwave Palm and stack that, it’s sure to be very powerful.”

After resting for half a day, he started wondering if it was possible to merge the stacking technique with his Cosmic Art. He’d thought about it when he’d learned Three Stacks, but never tried it due to a lack of time. If he actually managed to stack the Cosmic Art, his power would skyrocket. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got.

Lu Yin prepared to make a test run with Two Stacks, but the Rainmaster appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm before he could go through with it, “You’ll lose your arm if you try that.”

“Sorry?” Lu Yin was confused.

He let Lu Yin’s arm go and said sternly, “You’re trying to merge your stacking ability with that attack of yours?”

“Yes,” Lu Yin’s eyes twinkled.

“It’s a death wish. Battle techniques are basically impossible to stack, or everyone in the universe would be going around doing it. Why do you think no one does that? Try to merge a battle technique and a stacking technique, and you’ll shatter yourself before you hurt anyone. Many geniuses have tried and failed; powerful techniques have their own inner workings, and stacking them will overload you instantly. At the very least, a kid like you won’t be able to bear it; you’d have lost your arm if you tried that just now.”

“Oh. Thank you so much for the lesson!” Lu Yin said with gratitude. The Rainmaster’s words made sense; he was being way too greedy. If the Cosmic Art could be stacked, which technique couldn’t?

The Rainmaster grunted in acknowledgment, “Some people can strengthen their battle techniques by stacking them, but the further you go on your journey, the more you’ll hurt yourself. You can only stack the Shockwave Palm because it isn’t really a battle technique, just a way to produce physical force. Don’t assume you’ll be able to do the same for anything with power.”

“Yes, Sir,” Lu Yin bowed again.

Pleased with his attitude, the Rainmaster looked at Lu Yin’s palm. “That technique you used just now was quite interesting.”

“You’ve seen it before?” Lu Yin was shocked.

“No, but it seems rather unusual. How many stars can you use?”

“Six,” Lu Yin revealed directly. The tutor had already seen things, so trying to conceal it would only make him seem petty. This was Astral-10 after all, hiding it forever was a pipe dream.

“Six? That’s not a lot. This battle technique feels like one that needs to be a whole, and that isn’t at six. Hmm… Nine might be able to do it.”

Lu Yin was confused, “Whole? What does that mean?”

The Rainmaster waved it off, “You don’t need to know right now. Effectively, what I mean is being able to display the power of the technique perfectly. Your grasp of all your techniques is only elementary at this point, but that attack would get to initial completion at nine stars. As for the power at that point… It will be incredible.”