Star Odyssey

Somewhere in the Middle Realm, a pair of long, dark, narrow eyes appeared. "Assassination failed. Your commissions for this job will be returned, or you can pay the price increase."

"Price increase? Why? Just because you failed to kill him? Isn't your reputation the most important part of your organization? You failed to deliver on a job, so you just raise the price? Who's going to work with you in the future?"

"There were two attempts to kill him before you hired us. Both attempts failed. With this third failure, the price has to go up."

"Hmph! Sounds like the people who hired you before just gave up. You're trying to fleece me like a fat sheep."

"Pay the increase, or give up on this job. Choose." The long, narrow eyes grew darker and darker.

"Alright, I'll pay the difference, but you need to complete the job this time. As you know, I wasn't the one to provide you with the information for this hit, and you set the price on your own."

***

Lu Yin had entered Flying Armor Pass on his own to search for Guo Shan. Meanwhile, Long Kui had Gui shrink down and rest on the Envoy's shoulder as he entered the city on his own as well. He headed straight for the Flying Armor Troops' headquarters to meet with Long Xian.

Long Xian was not surprised to see Long Kui arrive.

The two sat across from each other, and Long Xian showed quite a bit of enthusiasm towards Long Kui's visit. "Although we haven't met for hundreds of years, Elder Long Kui is still the same as ever. You haven't changed a bit."

Long Kui gave a small smile. "You and I are both Envoys, and it can take hundreds of years to even flick your fingers, so how could there be any changes? There's only been enough time for a single round of training. However, this is my first time seeing Young Master Ding."

Long Ding was standing next to Long Xian, and he bowed respectfully to Long Kui. "Nephew Long Ding greets Elder Long Kui."

Long Kui nodded, and Gui looked curiously at Long Ding from where it sat, perched on Long Kui's shoulders.

"Long Ding, are you comfortable here? It looks like Brother Xian has quite a decent life here in Flying Armor Pass." Long Kui's eyes flashed.

Long Xian smiled, "I don't dare to make myself comfortable here. After all, my White Dragon Clan fought and won this Flying Armor Pass, and I still vividly remember that battle against the three other parties. Given what my Flying Armor Troops has sacrificed, how could I dare become complacent?"

Long Kui replied, "Young Master Ding has a decent level of strength. He's already a Hunter, and it looks like he will soon be able to become an Enlighter. It's a pity that he wasn't able to break through sooner. Otherwise, he would have been able to help our Junior Progenitor in the Dominion Realm. It's really too bad."

Long Ding was just about to say something in response, but Long Xian spoke up first. "I can only blame my child for not having any luck. It's caused his elders to worry about him."

Long Kui laughed. "Brother Xian, you should already know why I'm here."

Long Xian nodded. "The Fourteenth Gate sent someone here to Flying Armor Pass, and they chose to send Long Qi, the son-in-law of the White Dragon Clan's main family. We're aware of all this."

"Don't be too concerned about Long Qi. However, the important detail is that the Fourteenth Gate is targeting Flying Armor Pass. Brother Xian, is there anything that you have to say?" Long Kui stared at Long Xian. After Long Kui had reported Long Qi's mission to the clan, he had been ordered to act as a judge. If there was any hint that Long Xian was actually a Redback, then Long Kui was to immediately kill him. Long Xian could not be allowed to be taken by the Fourteenth Gate.

Long Kui did not know whether or not Long Xian was a Redback, which was why he had immediately visited him the first thing after entering the city.

Long Xian's eyes grew sharp. "The fact that the Fourteenth Gate sent someone here only proves that they are suspicious about something in my Flying Armor Pass. It does not guarantee that there is a Redback or a traitor here. Why? Has the clan come to doubt us? I, Long Xian, am in charge here, and the Flying Armor Troops have never slacked off. Also, this city holds nothing that is worth those monsters' attention. If they do have any interest in this place, then it could only be for the tribulation crystals. However, has the clan noticed any decrease in the number of tribulation crystals sent in?"

Long Kui quickly raised his hands in a placating manner. "No one in the clan has any doubts about Brother Xian, but the Fourteenth Gate's presence is an ill omen, which is why I just want to remind Brother Xian to be careful."

"Those who are clean and take care of themselves have no need to be concerned about the Fourteenth Gate," Long Xian replied.

Long Ding suddenly spoke up. "Nephew is very curious about Brother Long Qi, and I would like to see what sort of person is worthy of our princess. Is there a chance that I could meet him?"

Long Xian shouted, "Be silent and step down!"

Long Ding was stubborn. "Father, I merely want to meet Brother Long Qi."

"Right now, Long Qi is someone from the Fourteenth Gate who's here to investigate Flying Armor Pass. You can think about this after the investigation is over, but for now, get back to your training!" Long Xian shouted angrily.

Long Ding was frustrated, but he still turned to bow to Long Kui. "Nephew will take his leave."

Long Kui smiled and nodded.

Even after Long Ding left, Long Xian's anger still did not subside. "I've let Elder Long Kui see a joke. That child's feelings for the princess have not faded at all, which is why he's so curious about Long Qi. There's nothing malicious behind it, so please don't misunderstand him, elder."

"Hahaha, kids! When is no one jealous? Brother Xian is treating this matter too seriously," Long Kui said with a laugh.

Long Xian smiled bitterly. "Let me show elder around Flying Armored Pass. It's not easy to harvest the tribulation crystals, so I wonder if Elder Long Kui would be interested in seeing the process."

Long Kui nodded. "Please."

"Follow me."

***

Tribulation crystals could be mined anywhere outside of Flying Armored Pass, but it was a matter of luck to dig any of them up.

Lu Yin curiously looked at the people holding some tools. "Can the things that they're holding detect tribulation crystals?"

Guo Shan disdainfully responded, "Of course not! Those things are just random tools that some merchants made to take advantage of an opportunity to make huge profits. Those idiots over there believe in their dreams, so they force themselves to believe that it's a good idea to buy those things on credit to help them find and extract tribulation crystals. There's also been a bunch of propaganda promoting those things."

After Guo Shan finished speaking, one of the men behind him holding one of the detectors stared blankly at the man who had just gone off on a rant.

Guo Shan sneered once again.

The detector fell from the man's hands. "This thing's useless?"

Guo Shan just rolled his eyes.

Lu Yin coughed. "Don't bother listening to him. He's been digging here for hundreds of years but hasn't been able to find anything, so all he does is vent."

The man let out a sigh of relief. "I was just going to say, how can it be useless? I already dug a bit up."

Guo Shan and Lu Yin were both speechless. "You found tribulation crystals?"

Tribulation crystals were not easy to extract. They were not some kind of ore that stayed in place, as tribulation crystals moved with the energy that flowed through the land. What's more, no one could determine any sort of pattern to this flow. There were some that believed that the flow was determined by star energy while others were certain that the flow was connected to the true universe's stellular energy. Regardless, no one had been able to verify anything.

Thus, you could not just dig in place and expect to find tribulation crystals. You needed a tremendous amount of luck.

An Envoy's Origin Tribulation would at best produce tribulation crystals the size of a fingernail, and these crystals would even be scattered throughout the soil in a large area. Thus, they were not easy to see or find.

The man carefully took out a clear bottle that contained a miniscule crystal.

Guo Shan was shocked. "It's really a tribulation crystal! You found this? How long did you search for?"

The man smiled proudly. "Nine years."

This seemed a bit strange to Lu Yin; the man had spent nine years searching, and yet this was all that he had managed to get? Was it even worth his time?

"That's definitely worth it then. You spent nine years digging, and now you can sell it to the White Dragon Clan and be set for life!" Guo Shan said admiringly.

The man laughed. "That's what I was thinking!"

He picked his detector back up off the ground. "So, it seems that my family's detectors actually work!"

"Based on what you said? They definitely work."

"Yes, they definitely work. I spent nine years digging, but now I don't need to work for the rest of my life! That's definitely worth the cost."

"Those things are definitely worth the price! I'm going to buy another one."

"I want to buy a tribulation crystal detector!"

…

Guo Shan was dumbfounded, and Lu Yin was the same as well. They had actually been tricked into being used for a bit of free advertising. That guy was no idiot.

The man proudly placed his detector in Guo Shan's hands. "Thank you!"

Then, he ran away.

Guo Shan swallowed. He was a member of the Fourteenth Gate who had been sent to this city to investigate the traitors and Redbacks, and yet he had just been played like a fool. This was humiliating.

Lu Yin's face had also gone red. This was shameful. It was just too humiliating to be tricked in such a manner.

"I'm gonna kill him." Guo Shan gritted his teeth as he glared daggers at the back of the man who had just left.

Lu Yin just held his head. "Alright, let's just get out of here. This one's on us."

Guo Shan was frustrated, but the man was nothing but an Explorer, and Guo Shan could not bring himself to care about such a weakling.

This was what it meant to trip in the gutter. This was the darkest day of Guo Shan's life.

Long Xian and Long Kui were watching from a distance. They had stumbled upon this scene while exploring the city, and Long Kui's face twitched. "Let's go somewhere else."

Long Xian smiled. "People will try anything in order to find and dig up tribulation crystals, and there are even people who will pray before each attempt. Don't take any offense to them."

…

There were many people who searched around Flying Armor Pass for tribulation crystals. Every day, some would give up, but there were even more who started.

Guo Shan took Lu Yin to a relatively empty part of the city, got rid of the tail that they had picked up, and then turned to Lu Yin. "Do you know anything about the spirit manifestation realm of a domain?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "I've heard the name, but I don't know much about it."

Guo Shan grew much more serious. "The spirit manifestation realm can be taken literally. You use your mind to grant an inanimate object intelligence by giving it a spirit."

Lu Yin's eyes went wide. "That's impossible!"

Guo Shan continued, "Strictly speaking, it doesn't really gain intelligence, but it definitely seems like it, and it allows for easier control as well. For example-" As he spoke, a stone beneath Lu Yin's feet flew up and struck him with a rather powerful blow.

The stone that had hit Lu Yin was not being controlled by star energy or a domain, and it truly appeared as though the stone had attacked Lu Yin on its own.

"Once a domain is cultivated to the spirit manifestation realm, you'll be able to make your domain into your own world. While this might not seem too useful at first, if you think about it, a battle could instantly change if you're able to use the ground or the air to sneak attack your opponent. Also, the greatest utility of the spirit manifestation realm is as preparation for developing a domain at the void realm."

Lu Yin's expression changed when he heard about the void realm. This was the legendary realm of a domain that was supposed to be the highest realm attainable. "What is the void realm?"

Guo Shan looked up at the sky and seemed to lose himself in thought. "The void realm is when your domain can interact with the void itself. It allows for instantaneous movement, and it can also tear space itself away. It allows a person to dominate others, as they are even able to strip away an opponent's attack once their domain has been raised to a high enough level. The most popular way of explaining this realm is that it can compare to a secret technique."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. This was great news. He had the Yu Secret Art which allowed him to divert attacks that were otherwise impossible to avoid, much like a domain at the void realm. However, it was still a secret technique, which meant that it was impossible to use freely. However, once a domain reached such a godly level, there were no such restrictions.

If his domain had been cultivated to that level before ZENITH, then Lu Yin would have easily won the entire competition, even if he had not used the God of Death Transformation. He could have even defeated Shang Qing without breaking a sweat.

"Don't think about this too much. It's not easy to cultivate a void realm domain, and you have to first train to a level where you can predict other people's attacks," Guo Shan stated.

"How do I do that?" Lu Yin asked.

"Actually, your domain has already gone past the level of predicting attacks—you just haven't trained your domain properly for that," Guo Shan said. After that, he began to teach Lu Yin how to properly cultivate his domain.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA