Star Odyssey

Still, this was to be expected. The corridor that the inheritance stones connected to represented the entirety of the Daynight clan's inheritance, and Night's End, Daybreak was naturally a part of that inheritance as well. Lu Yin had walked to the deepest portion of the corridor and touched the mural at the end, which essentially meant that he had successfully completed the entirety of the long corridor. This also meant that he could comprehend all of the battle techniques belonging to the Daynight clan, which included Night's End, Daybreak.

At this point in time, Lu Yin watched space change before him once more. This time, all of the people who had originally been paying their respects to him merged into a beam of light that formed into a falling blade that bisected the entire universe.

Lu Yin's expression of pride faded away, and he immediately started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. His footsteps grew lighter as he attempted to shake off the illusion.

He ran into the stone walls of the corridor with a loud thud, knocking himself out momentarily. When he regained consciousness, Lu Yin's vision had changed once again, and he found himself back within the corridor.

He rubbed his forehead as he carefully examined his surroundings. After all, he was still in a bit of shock from being nearly cleaved in two.

He had just experienced Night's End, Daybreak, which was able to draw anyone into an illusion, even if they were fully aware of that fact. As Lu Yin panted from the shock of the event, the scenery around him returned to what he had just seen. Confused appeared on Lu Yin's face. This was not Night's End, Daybreak. Was it—Daynight Praises?

The Daynight clan was very rich and powerful, and those aspects had been particularly strong during the time of the First Nightking and the First Dayking. The two of them had commanded the respect of their peers for years, but even they had been unable to push their Daynight clan into the Neoverse, which proved that there were multiple powerful factions that were even scarier than the Daynight clan.

Daynight Praises was the result of that union.

The combination of Skybreaker and Night's End, Daybreak was surprisingly powerful. The result seemed to combine the offensive power of the two, and the combination technique had even been used to eliminate an exceptionally strong opponent who had been beyond the founders' level in the past. That event was also the reason for the Dayking's death.

Even though none of the Daynight clan's records accounted for the Dayking's death, there were still numerous speculations about it circulating around. In truth, Daynight Praises had been the cause behind the Dayking's death. Not only had the death of that exceptional powerhouse enraged the organizations behind him, but the existence of Daynight Praises had also pushed the Daynight clan to even greater heights, which had triggered a great deal of dissatisfaction amongst some people.

Daynight Praises was a technique that unleashed Skybreaker within the illusion cast by Night's End, Daybreak.

The unique characteristic of Night's End, Daybreak was how it forced the target to fall into the illusion before taking advantage of that illusion to unleash unavoidable damage. This damage occurred both within and without the illusion, so if Skybreaker, which was known for its countless attacks, was somehow added on top of such an illusion, then just how terrifying would that combination be?

Lu Yin's breathing grew ragged. This had to be the final inheritance of the entire corridor: Daynight Praises.

It was no wonder why Nightking Zhenwu had always wanted to gain Night's End, Daybreak. He must have already known about the existence of Daynight Praises, and if he had ever gotten hold of this technique, his strength would have completely transformed. Lu Yin could imagine the horrifying scene of Nightking Zhenwu using Night's End, Daybreak to entrance everyone before unleashing an infinite barrage of Skybreaker. Such an attack would have been able to suppress all of the younger powerhouses who had managed to climb atop the Astral Tower and were competing for the positions of the Cosmic Five.

The reason why some of the Ten Arbiters had not attempted to break through to the Enlighter realm yet was because of their lacking foundations, but this Daynight Praises would have been the perfect technique to solidify Nightking Zhenwu's foundation before that next breakthrough.

If Nightking Zhenwu had managed to learn Daynight Praises and also become an Enlighter, then Lu Yin was absolutely certain that the Nightking would have been one of the few youths at the absolute peak of the Mountain and Seas Zone.

Yuehua Mavis's unparalleled physical power, Unseen Light's peerless domain, and Nightking Zhenwu's mastery of spiritual force meant that each one of them represented the pinnacle in a specific aspect. Now, such a pinnacle had been handed over to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin spent ten days or so odd days trying to comprehend the techniques that he had just gained from the inheritance stone.

These ten days were utterly tortuous for the Daynight clan. Everyone stared at Lu Yin's image atop the stone plaque in their ancestral grounds. All of them felt dazed, angry, helpless, or frustrated. Countless complex emotions surged forth within the hearts of the members of the Daynight clan.

Even Nightking Dijiang was only able to blankly stare at Lu Yin's image.

If this young man were to fully mature, then would there be any room for their Daynight clan's survival in the future? Nightking Dijiang desperately wanted to kill Lu Yin, but it was already too late.

Nightqueen Yanqing's fists clenched as she stared at the image of Lu Yin. The distance between them was constantly growing, and the gap had already become so massive that she was in despair; could she ever surpass him in the future?

Lu Yin's consciousness returned to the Lockbreaker World, and he felt a bit lightheaded when he returned. He had overused his spiritual force during this trip, but he still felt invigorated. His shortcomings concerning spiritual force had finally been shored up, and if he also managed to learn Unseen Light's domain methods, then Lu Yin would have everything.

As Lu Yin exited from his seclusion, he noticed Xiao Shi and Xiao Chi next to him. Lu Yin also saw a stunningly elegant personal spacecraft with a streamlined shape that made it look like a beam. The hull was mostly black, which gave it a more intimidating look, but more importantly, it was a collapsible spacecraft, which meant that it had to be a blackhole-grade Aurora. According to common knowledge, this ship was still in development.

The two mushroom-heads were constantly circling the vessel with envy written on their faces.

Lu Yin approached and asked, "Whose ship is this?" Other than the three of them, he was not able to sense any other presences on the entire planet.

The two bowlcuts jumped in startlement, and after realizing that Lu Yin had called out to them, Xiao Shi finally responded in a longing voice. "It's yours."

"Any Lockbreaker will be rewarded by the Lockbreaker Society when they become a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and you've received a blackhole-grade, personal collapsible Aurora as well as two million star essence," Xiao Chi said right after Xiao Shi.

Lu Yin was caught off guard, but he was instantly thrilled. "Really? All that's mine?"

Xiao Chi nodded and held out his hand, offering Lu Yin a red bank card from the Mavis Bank. "This card contains the two million star essence that the society gave you."

The Lockbreakers Society was far too generous, and Lu Yin had not expected to receive such ample rewards. Other than the blackhole grade collapsible Aurora and the two million star essences, the planet located in the Lockbreaker World that he had received was already a substantial reward. On top of all of that, there was also what he had gained from unlocking the advanced sourcebox itself, as that was also considered his. That was sixteen particles of fatesand! After giving two of them to the mushroom-heads, Lu Yin still had fourteen left, and each grain of fatesand was a priceless treasure.

On this day, Lu Yin merged his newly acquired fatesand into the grain that was already next to his heart one by one. He intended to conceal the black and white fog stored there as best as he could.

Lockbreakers were famous for their wealth, but weren't these rewards simply too much for Lu Yin's feat of becoming a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker? Did all the other Lockbreakers receive similar rewards when they became Advanced Lockbreakers?

As all of these thoughts swirled through Lu Yin's mind, he was suddenly reminded of something; it had been quite a few years since he had become the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, but he had never received any sort of salary from the alliance. Clearly, there was something wrong going on there.

When he had become the Great Yu Empire's Royal Regent, the empire had actually needed financial assistance from him because of its crippled economy. However, things had changed, and now, the Great Eastern Alliance and the Great Yu Empire should instead be paying Lu Yin for his services.

Everyone was aware of how highly Lu Yin regarded money. As soon as he had the thought that someone might be docking his pay, Lu Yin became upset as he was struck by a feeling of discomfort. He could not wait to set things straight, so he immediately called En Ya.

Thankfully, he had acquired the newest gadget that CyNet had given him. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have no means of calling the Outerverse.

Before long, he heard En Ya's voice. "Your Highness."

Lu Yin nodded back in greetings, and then thought for a moment before asking, "How has the Outerverse been, En Ya?"

"Everything is fine. Please do not worry, Your Highness," she replied.

Lu Yin hummed in acknowledgement before continuing, "Right, despite being the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, it seems like the alliance hasn't given me any sort of salary, have they?"

Salary? En Ya was stunned for a moment. This word was quite strange to her, as it was something that cultivators rarely heard. "Your Highness, I applied for a Mavis Bank card on your behalf during the alliance's one year anniversary, and I personally delivered it to Zhao Ran."

Lu Yin arched a brow, as he felt like he had been ripped off. Zhao Ran was a little brat who suffered from a severe case of short-term memory loss.

"Did Zhao Ran not give the card to Your Highness?" En Ya asked.

"I don't remember. Could you tell me how much money was in the card?" Lu Yin said.

"Please wait, Your Highness," En Ya replied.

Lu Yin eagerly waited.

Before long, En Ya spoke up again. "I apologize, Your Highness. The alliance has only been established for a very short amount of time, and compared to the entire Outerverse, the resources allotted to you have not amounted to much."

Lu Yin's heart sank.

"However, as the alliance solidifies, the economy will strengthen along with the increasing number of safe shipping routes. Naturally, the resources allotted to Your Highness will increase correspondingly," En Ya explained.

"You just need to tell me how much money was in that card," Lu Yin said, having already lost all hope.

"11,520,000 star essence," En Ya reported.

"Come again?" Lu Yin was stupefied, and he actually wondered if he had misheard.

"11,520,000 star essence," En Ya repeated.

How was that considered not much? Lu Yin was rendered speechless. Eventually, he managed to come to terms with it. After all, he was essentially the ruler of the Outerverse. Even if the total amount of resources in the Outerverse was less than the Innerverse's, it would still be an impressive sum. Lu Yin only received around eleven million star essence despite having served as the Alliance Leader for eight year really did make for a rather unimpressive salary.

Compared to the ruler of the Outerverse, even the leaders of the Innerverse's eight major flowzones' guiding powers would earn more money than what Lu Yin had over the same amount of time.

"Your Highness, the alliance has only been around for a short while, and there are still many details that need to be worked out as well as the establishment of a unified military. Besides that, there were also the campaigns launched against Daynight and Blazing Mist Flowzones. That, combined with various other expenditures-"

En Ya was cut off by Lu Yin before she could finish. "Enough, I get it. That's all I need."

"Yes, Your Highness," En Ya softly replied.

Lu Yin ended the call, and his eyes sparkled in excitement. Although eleven million star essence was an amount that could be considered a small for the leader of the Outerverse, to Lu Yin, who had never received any sort of monetary compensation, it was basically free money. Besides, the benefits that he enjoyed as the leader of the Outerverse amounted to a great deal more than this sum of money.

If Lu Yin had not become the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, then how would he have ever managed to fight against Daynight Flowzone or stall all the reinforcements from Blazing Mist Flowzone? Those details were the true benefits to his position. With his status, he enjoyed full control over the Outerverse along with access to its historical records. Compared to these benefits, some mere piles of star essence were insignificant.

These eleven million star essence were more like an unexpected gift that had just fallen into Lu Yin's lap. Also, the more time that passed, the more that he would earn.

That little rascal Zhao Ran was so unreliable—she had nearly caused Lu Yin to lose an enormous amount of money. If Lu Yin had not randomly thought to ask En Ya about this matter, he would have unknowingly suffered a great loss.

"This has been such a great day! Oh, your hair looks great, too," Lu Yin said emotionally. He was so thrilled at this moment that his words left the two mushroom-heads tilting their heads in confusion.

"Thank you for your compliment! A mushroom head is a man's romance!" Xiao Chi was ecstatic, and he felt that Lu Yin must have finally been enlightened.

Xiao Shi stared at Lu Yin and asked, "Do you want to get a mushroom-head too? If you do, we'd no longer be the Eat Shit Duo."1

Lu Yin hurriedly waved his hands in refusal. Just the idea was frightening.

Once Highsage Wudi's punishment ended, he immediately contacted Lu Yin, hoping for the two of them to return to Eversky Island.

Thus, Lu Yin bade farewell to Xiao Shi and Xiao Chi.

The two bowlcut youths clearly did not wish to separate from Lu Yin so soon. "Remember not to rashly unlock anything or else you'll suffer a calamity! Very, very scary ones!" Xiao Shi reminded Lu Yin as he waved goodbye.

"Go and get your hair cut into a mushroom-head. That's the secret to a man's romance." Xiao Chi waved goodbye to Lu Yin as well.

Lu Yin left the Lockbreaker World without turning around, as he was terrified that he would be seen as a part of those two mushroom-heads' little group. The Eat Shit Duo? The Eat Shit Yin Trio? Just the thought of such an appellation sent chills running down his spine.

[1] Just a reminder, "Shi Chi" and "shit-eating" have the same hanyu pinyin spelling. ☜