Star Odyssey

In a far off place, but still in the Upper Realm, there were two cultivators high in the sky, one fat and one thin, but both were excited. "Fat Bro, we're going to become disciples of both the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Combat!"

"That's right, Skinny Bro. The day has finally come. We just need to place in the top ten of this ZENITH, right? That's too easy."

"Fat Bro, I've decided that I won't eat before the competition. I'll get even thinner. That way, I'll definitely make it into the top ten."

"Skinny Bro, you're already very thin. Hey, you actually look a lot thinner than yesterday."

"Really? Fat Bro, you're definitely a lot fatter than yesterday."

"Hahaha, really? Skinny Bro, let's work together to become disciples of the two Progenitors. When the time comes, we'll roam the universe. Forget the Fifth Mainland—not even those monsters will be our opponents."

"Fat Bro, let's work together."

"Skinny Bro, you've inspired me! Let's work together."

…

At this moment, another voice was heard throughout the Upper Realm that rendered everyone from the Sixth Mainland utterly speechless. "I am the Progenitor of Secret Arts."

When the Progenitor of Secret Arts spoke, everyone from the Sixth Mainland felt numb. Of their three Progenitors, the Progenitor of Secret Arts had always been the most mysterious, and he rarely ever appeared openly. He had created more secret techniques than the other two Progenitors combined.

Many people wished to worship the Progenitor of Secret Arts as their teacher. Even if they were unable to learn any of his supreme battle techniques or receive the greatest inheritance, they would definitely still be able to learn at least two secret techniques under his tutelage, which was enough to change defeat into victory in most situations.

It was common sense in the Sixth Mainland that people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts' Territory should not be provoked because fighting against them was simply too infuriating.

"My home has been stolen away, and my life will be decided within a few days. However, the people of my Sixth Mainland will not be affected by fate. They will definitely take back their homeland, and everyone will retain their strength. The Fifth Mainland's ZENITH is about to start, and those who can successfully enter the top ten will become the disciples of us three Progenitors and will be able to accept the inheritance of all three Progenitors."

The words of the Progenitor of Secret Arts sent the flames within the hearts of all of the Sixth Mainland's cultivators into overdrive. All of the youths immediately registered for ZENITH while the older cultivators decided to do everything possible to improve their younger generation's strength.

Although the Sixth Mainland cultivators originally had not cared about ZENITH, their passion had now burst into full flames.

An arrow pierced through the dark vacuum of space. It was impossible to know how far that arrow traveled, but it might have even left the region of the known universe.

Little Arrow Saint raised his head, his eyes blazing with an unprecedented fire. The opportunity to become a disciple of all three Progenitors was something that could not be sought, but rather only stumbled upon.

Back then, he had wanted to hunt Lu Yin down to prove that he was worthy to be a Progenitor's disciple, but unfortunately, he had failed. Little Arrow Saint did not want to fail again at this junction. Regardless of if he had to go up against the Sixth Mainland's Realmlings, the Daosource Three Skies, the Fifth Mainland's Ten Arbiters, or the geniuses from the Neoverse, he would defeat every single one of them in order to climb to the top ten.

In another region of the space above the Upper Realm, a man dressed in white clothes with a faint smile on his face walked along. "The disciple of all three Progenitors? What's the point? Their path of cultivation is different. Still, this ZENITH sounds very interesting, and it's been quite a long time. The final ten?"

This man was Mr. Bai, whose true name was Wu Taibai. He was one of the Daosource Three Skies.

Some distance away, Zhi Yi opened her eyes, revealing a cold light. She stood up and respectfully said, "This disciple will follow her orders."

She had just heard the Progenitor of Bloodline's words, letting her know that she had been appointed as one of the gatekeepers of ZENITH, and she immediately understood her purpose as a gatekeeper.

"Don't worry, Master. Your disciple will definitely stomp on everyone from the Fifth Mainland," Zhi Yi resolutely declared.

Elsewhere, Bu Kong had received a message from the Progenitor of Secret Arts, learning that he had also been appointed as a gatekeeper for ZENITH. However, Bu Kong did not think that these matters were as simple as they appeared to be. He had a deep impression of the Fifth Mainland's powerhouses after the battle in the Cosmic Sea, and he knew that there was only one thing to be done as a gatekeeper: allow the Sixth Mainland cultivators to pass through and no one else.

When it came to the combat power of the average cultivator, Bu Kong felt that the Sixth Mainland far outclassed the Fifth Mainland.

…

A large crowd had already gathered around Zenith Mountain, and they were all watching the mountain from a distance. The live broadcast of the competition would also be broadcast across the entire network.

One name after another continuously appeared on Zenith Mountain, and the speed at which they appeared was astonishing, especially the names of the people from the Sixth Mainland. It felt as if thousands of people were simultaneously registering at any given moment.

This was true of not just the Sixth Mainland, as there were many people signing up from the Astral Beast Domain, the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, and even the Astral Wilderness.

Slowly, the people of the Human Domain realized that they would not be the only participants in ZENITH.

The people at the top had already known about this, but the people at the bottom had been completely unaware that the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and even the Sixth Mainland would be sending youths to compete. This news created huge waves throughout the entire Human Domain.

Countless people objected to such an open competition, and the entire network was full of comments revealing people's dissatisfaction. Naturally, there were countless insults made against the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Sixth Mainland, forcing CyNet to consider implementing a public perception campaign even as they frantically deleted numerous comments.

However, ZENITH was something that the Hall of Honor had started promoting long ago. Thus, any information about the competition at all would create a stir, let alone a huge matter like other territories participating.

Far away from Zenith Mountain, countless people stared at the names that appeared on the side of the mountain one after another, as they all wanted to know which famous powerhouses would be competing. Many people had a gambler's mentality, and therefore, they wanted to make a list of competitors to produce a ranking and determine the odds.

"Who's that? Yao Go? Isn't that person on Skymender's List from the Astral Beast Domain? I heard that the beings on Skymender's List are able to compete for the top ten places and that each one is practically peerless within their generation," someone commented, and their comment immediately sparked a flood of responses.

At this time, another name appeared. "Cursewind? That's another powerhouse on Skymender's List."

"Tian Hou? Do you see that name? Tian Hou? Do you remember the Tournament of the Strongest that took place several years ago? Tian Hou was a participant from the Astral Beast Domain, and he was a legend."

"When I think about it, any attack made against that creature was useless, and now, he's appeared once again."

"The victor of the Tournament of the Strongest was Lu Yin, who's now one of the Ten Arbiters. No matter how powerful this Tian Hou, Arbiter Lu already beat him back then, and now, Lu Yin has defeated two of the other Ten Arbiters. If Tian Hou ends up meeting Lu Yin in this competition, he'll just be defeated once again."

"Things aren't the same now. A unique lifeform like a Cosmic Hou grow increasingly powerful as they improve, and they can even develop strange abilities. I hope that Arbiter Lu won't be careless."

"Don't just pay attention to the Astral Beast Domain. Let's see who's going to be participating from the Sixth Mainland."

"What about the Technocracy?"

"Why bother even looking at the names from the Technocracy? Not even a ghost would know anything about that place, so we clearly don't have anything to go off of."

"During the Tournament of the Strongest, the participants from the Technocracy were certainly not weak."

…

Although many people had heard that the Sixth Mainland would be sending people to participate, few knew the names of any of the people from the Sixth Mainland.

The major forces of the Innerverse had known for a long time that the Sixth Mainland would have a place in ZENITH. Thus, they were not surprised by their presence. However, what was truly shocking was the sheer number of registrants from the Sixth Mainland.

Lu Yin was also browsing the network at the moment and reading through the names on Zenith Mountain while thinking about the upcoming contest.

His gadget beeped with a notification. Lan Si was calling.

"Have you seen Zenith Mountain?" Lan Si asked.

Lu Yin grunted, "Are you getting nervous?"

"Of course! I've faced or at least heard of them all. I already saw Yuhua Mavis's name on the list along with Yōu Qin, Xia Jiuyou, and more. Also, I saw that the Sixth Mainland's Bai Ling is competing. No one expects the Realmlings to lose, and that's not even considering the Daosource Three Skies," Lan Si said.

Lu Yin quietly listened.

"Are you confident? I mean, about getting to the top ten?" Lan Si asked.

Lu Yin considered the question before replying, "90%."

Lan Si was stunned and stayed silent for an entire minute. "I don't want to meet you in ZENITH. I suspect that you'll be one of the scariest participants in this contest."

Right after Lan Si finished speaking, five more names appeared above the five mountain passes on Zenith Mountain. These names were written in a much more impressive manner than any of the others, and they radiated a golden light that caused countless people to stare at them.

The name that had appeared over the southern pass was Bu Kong. Above the western pass was Zhi Yi, the northern pass Yao Xuan, and the eastern pass Lu Yin.

Then, there was a final pass that stood above the other four mountain passes that had to be crossed regardless of the path if one wanted to approach the top of the mountain. Above this central pass, the name Shang Qing appeared.

Ever since news of ZENITH had been released, many rumors had spread about the gatekeepers, and everyone had been eager to find out who the gatekeepers would be. At this moment, the five seeded contestants had finally been announced.

Lu Yin's brows rose as he stared at Zenith Mountain. He had really been appointed as a gatekeeper, and he would be standing guard over the eastern pass. During the competition, he would definitely be assaulted by countless people.

At the other end of the call, Lan Si was left speechless. He had just mentioned that he felt that Lu Yin would be one of the most terrifying opponents in the competition, and now, it had just been revealed that Lu Yin was a gatekeeper.

It was impossible for the Hall of Honor to randomly designate a gatekeeper, as they were responsible for filtering out at least half of the participants. If their gatekeeper was defeated, then it would be humiliating for the Hall of Honor. To put it simply, the Hall of Honor would only appoint gatekeepers who were considered invincible. Additionally, there was a ninety nine percent chance of the gatekeepers ending up among ZENITH's top ten.

"I was completely right." Lan Si smiled wryly.

Lu Yin suggested, "You should break through and become an Enlighter. It's already expected that the Sixth Mainland's Realmlings will all break through before ZENITH."

"Yeah, this isn't something I can deal with without becoming an Enlighter," Lan Si said before ending the call.

Right after Lan Si hung up, Lu Yin heard Ku Wei's voice call out. "Seventh Bro! Great Seventh Bro! You are too impressive! You're one of the five gatekeepers, and you will be standing as the protector of the first stage. You are the most powerful of our generation, and the Sixth Mainland's best will all be shocked! The Astral Beast Domain will be dumbfounded! Seventh Bro…"

Lu Yin rolled his eyes, as this guy's words were getting even more shameless with time. Lu Yin felt that Ku Wei had started to become unpredictable in terms of his development, but it was true that Ku Wei had never been one to look back.

There was another shameless one right next to Ku Wei, who was Elder Tan. He was not the same as Ku Wei, and Elder Tan felt that Ku Wei was just spouting hot air. As soon as Elder Tan saw that Lu Yin had really been announced as one of the five gatekeepers, he immediately accessed the network and commanded everyone who was logged in to cheer for Lu Yin. Elder Tan sang praises to Lu Yin's virtues, and he stunned people by claiming that Lu Yin was the most powerful participant in ZENITH. Elder Tan wanted to flatter Lu Yin without being noticed, though he also needed to find a way to show Lu Yin how much of an abomination his competitor, Ku Wei was.

The people of the Human Domain had already been disgusted to learn that the Sixth Mainland would also be participating in ZENITH, but after learning that two of the five gatekeepers were from the Sixth Mainland, countless people grew infuriated.

However, despite their anger even spreading to the Hall of Honor, nothing could affect ZENITH itself. Out of desperation, someone started a petition begging the masters of the Human Domain to force the competitors from the Sixth Mainland, Astral Beast Domain, and Technocracy to leave the competition.

In truth, many people had become enraged by the recent news, and even in the Neoverse, there were many people ranting about how they wanted the invaders from the Sixth Mainland to be kicked out of ZENITH the most.

The entire Human Domain erupted in passionate anger.

The Sixth Mainland had been bewitched by the allure of becoming a disciple of all three Progenitors, but this excitement was completely thrown off track after the revelation that Lu Yin had been appointed as a gatekeeper.