Star Odyssey

Chapter 2519: An Absolute Genius

Lu Yin looked downwards, staring at his hands while feeling a pinge of guilt. Using his strength that exceeded a Semi-Progenitor’s to cultivate the powers of other universes meant that he progressed at a speed so absurd that others were forced to stop entirely.

Luckily, no one was able to determine his true age, though even if they could, he was not much older than the other students.

He stood and leisurely stretched. A subtle cracking sound rang out from his joints.

Luo Lao'er decided to test the waters. "Brother-in-law, aren't you going to keep cultivating?"

Lu Yin glanced over. "Why aren't all of you cultivating? It's not good to slack off."

The students all felt their blood boil. They were the ones who had been left unable to cultivate! Even so, no one had the courage to utter a single word to Xuan Qi. Xu Xiangyin's attitude had frightened all of the students. If Xuan Qi complained about any of the students, they might just be eliminated by the old man. It certainly was not impossible. If Xu Xiangyin truly wanted to get rid of any of them, they could only accept their fate.

As the crowd dispersed, Luo Lao'er quickly moved closer to Lu Yin and began to lavish him with praise. Shortly after, Xu Xiangyin also arrived, and he immediately tossed Luo Lao'er out. The old man stared at Lu Yin with unconcealed amazement and envy. "Xuan Qi, how do you feel?"

Lu Yin smiled. "Excellent! This junior feels much stronger after all of that voidforce energy entered my body."

"Hahaha, that’s only natural! A Voidforce Tide of sixteen days is the equivalent of several years, or even dozens of years, of cultivation for other people. You were able to progress so much in just sixteen days. Just how did you do it?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

Lu Yin looked conflicted. "I’m not really sure myself. I simply found it very easy to absorb voidforce energy, so I tried to pull in as much as possible, and the rest just followed."

Xu Xiangyin made no attempt to hide his own jealousy. "Even I'm getting envious. You actually triggered a Voidforce Tide. Throughout the history of my Voidforce Universe, such things have only happened a few times, and every single one of them was triggered by individuals who obtained special enlightenment. Every last one of them gained supreme power, and it seems you will also become such a powerhouse one day."

Lu Yin did not understand, "Senior, is this a good thing?"

"Of course! I’ve already reported the fact that you triggered a Voidforce Tide to my superiors. Your future undoubtedly belongs in the Voidforce Universe," Xu Xiangyin proclaimed.

Lu Yin proudly raised his head. "No one can stop this junior from joining the Voidforce Universe!"

Xu Xiangyin felt content to hear such a response. "Excellent. It's just a pity that my own strength is limited, as I cannot introduce you to Lord Xu myself. If that were possible, I would have spared no effort to advocate for you so that you would have the best chance possible to become one of Lord Xu’s disciples. It's such a shame."

The old man shook his head before continuing. "You should have gathered quite a bit of voidforce energy for yourself by now, so what do you think? Which voidforce puppet do you want to try attracting?"

Lu Yin confidently looked up at the sky and pointed a finger. "The biggest one."

Xu Xiangyin chuckled. "Only two and a half months here, and you already want to challenge the most difficult trial of the Voidforce School. Are you sure?"

Lu Yin answered somberly, "Yes."

"Very well then. Show me how you'll create another miracle. I can tell you right now, even the most talented disciple in your generation from the Voidforce Universe, Xu Ji, might not have been able to attract such a powerful voidforce puppet just two and a half months after passing the threshold for cultivating voidforce energy. I hope that you won't disappoint me," Xu Xiangyin said.

Lu Yin's expression grew solemn as he declared, "This junior will begin now."

With that, his voidforce energy surged out and shot into the sky.

At this moment, Xu Xiangyin was far from being the only person paying attention. The students who were gathered outside of the Void Ground were blown away after they heard Xu Xiangyin's comment.

Did Xuan Qi really want to attract the village just two and a half months after passing the threshold to cultivate voidforce energy? Was this for real?

Xie Wu's eye twitched uncontrollably. He had spent about two years in the Voidforce School before finally deciding to attempt to attract the circular voidforce puppet. While that voidforce puppet was ranked among the ten most powerful in the school, it could not even come close to comparing to the village. Xuan Qi was actually attempting to attract the village already, which was pure insanity.

"I remember that the last person who tried to go for the village was Shao Qingfeng, right?"

"It was He Shu."

"I think Luo Zang also tried."

"In any case, almost everyone who’s entered the Central School has tried it, but the only one who actually succeeded was Shao Qingfeng. Even then, he only succeeded after spending almost a year in the Voidforce School."

"One year versus two and a half months. That’s a massive difference."

"How can he even hope to succeed? I heard Luo Zang say that the village doesn't only have a crazy amount of voidforce energy. It also has paths, houses, courtyards, and even living creatures. All of those combined make it very difficult to attract the entire place as a single entity, which is why he gave up. You’d need to spend at least a year in the Voidforce School to succeed, which is just not worth it.”

"Xuan Qi’s a fool if he thinks that he can move the village with nothing but talent alone. It won't work."

…

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Lu Yin was fully focused on his task at hand. His voidforce energy had already made contact with the village, but he instantly felt that something was wrong. The village’s voidforce energy was not a singular entity like the voidforce puppets that he had worked with before; rather, it was scattered. Each of the houses, gardens, paths, and even the animals within the gardens were individually enveloped with different bits of voidforce energy.

To draw the village down, he not only needed a large amount of voidforce energy, but he also needed to have extremely precise control over it.

This level of control had to be honed over a long period of time. It was not something that could be achieved overnight.

Xu Xiangyin smiled. Xuan Qi should have discovered the truth by this point in time. The kid was still too young. Did he really think that it was so easy to attract the most powerful voidforce puppet in the Voidforce School? If so, he was truly underestimating the Voidforce Universe.

Xuan Qi had so much talent that he had never experienced any obstacles while cultivating voidforce energy. On top of that, Xu Xiangyin's constant praise and attention must have caused the youth to grow a bit arrogant. The old man wanted the current situation to serve as a lesson for the youth and suppress his arrogance. Otherwise, if Xuan Qi truly came to believe that cultivating with voidforce energy was this easy, it would create problems for him in the future.

"Xuan Qi, how do you feel?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

Lu Yin remained very serious. "It's very difficult. The voidforce energy is scattered throughout the village, making it difficult to move the village as a single entity. It's like trying to move a mountain with a needle. Even if the needle breaks, it's still impossible to make the mountain budge."

"Hmm, it's good that you understand. In that case, leave things here for now. Even if you can't attract it yet, you should be able to do so with another half year of training. With your talent, half a year is the maximum," Xu Xiangyin said.𝗳𝐫𝗲𝗲𝐰𝗲𝐛𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Outside the Void Ground, the watching crowd was shocked by these words. Half a year? Was that really what Xu Xiangyin expected from Xuan Qi?

Even Shao Qingfeng had taken an entire year. The difference between the two could not have been made clearer.

Lu Yin replied, "I want to keep trying. I think that I can do it."

Xu Xiangyin’s eyebrows rose. "What was that? You think that you can do it?"

"Yes." As Lu Yin spoke, he stared intently at the sky.

Xu Xiangyin chuckled. The young man refused to admit defeat—interesting. "Alright then, I'll wait and see."

Lu Yin chuckled inwardly. Was luring the village down difficult? Of course it was. Even if there were individuals who were truly talented in cultivating voidforce energy, it would be impossible for them to attract the village in the same situation as him. However, for Lu Yin, succeeding was almost too simple. Of course, he still needed to maintain the facade of a challenge. He could not look too relaxed.

As minutes ticked by, everyone stared at the sky, unable to understand why Xuan Qi refused to give up.

Admiration filled Xu Xiangyin's gaze. Although Xuan Qi was not able to move the village, he still persevered for so long, which was rare in and of itself. Despite his lacking control of voidforce energy, he still displayed exceptional talent. Not bad. Truly quite impressive.

Xu Xiangyin truly wanted to take Lu Yin for his own disciple, but unfortunately, he simply did not qualify.

Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out, "It's moving!"

Everyone stared at the village in the sky.

Xu Xiangyin was startled by the exclamation, and he also looked up. He had never imagined that Xuan Qi might actually succeed, so the old man had only been looking at Lu Yin himself. Not once had Xu Xiangyin paid attention to the village. However, the village had actually moved. As long as it moved at all, it meant that there was a possibility for Xuan Qi to succeed.

How was that even possible?

Xu Xiangyin could not understand what he was seeing. The young man could not have succeeded. It was simply impossible.

As the old man contemplated the situation, he stared at the village. Suddenly, his expression changed and he was overcome with disbelief. He looked back at Lu Yin, who had become drenched with sweat. The shock filling the old man’s eyes grew stronger and stronger. The young man had actually fused all of the separate voidforce puppets that made up the village to make a single entity. Was that even something a beginner who had only recently started cultivating could pull off?

Lu Yin roared, "Get down here!"

The next moment, the village started to slowly move downwards.

Everyone felt their jaws drop. It moved. The village actually moved!

No one outside of the Void Ground noticed that Xu Yue had arrived. She also watched the village slowly fall, and her mouth hung open just the same as everyone else’s.

This- this- She stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. Was he the one moving the village?

The village was a challenge that the Voidforce School had put in place for the students. While it was easy for someone like Xu Yue to pass the challenge, how long had she taken to reach the necessary level of control? In comparison, how long had Xuan Qi taken?

The village struck the ground with a resounding crash, shattering the earth.

Xu Xiangyin stared at Lu Yin in a daze, once again blown away by the youth’s talent.

Lu Yin released a long breath and wearily sank to the ground. He looked completely exhausted.

"Senior, this junior has fulfilled the task you assigned to me," Lu Yin said.

Xu Xiangyin's eyes flickered. He forced down his shock as he stared at Lu Yin. "How did you do it?"

Lu Yin breathed heavily as he replied, "By breaking through the barriers separating the voidforce energy and merging the different bits together."

Xu Xiangyin had no idea how to respond. While the process sounded simple, actually carrying such a thing out was far from simple. Could a novice even break through the barriers of the voidforce puppets?

Then the old man remembered the Voidforce Tide that Xuan Qi had triggered. The youth possessed an extraordinary affinity for voidforce energy. He had only just crossed the threshold, but he had already triggered a Voidforce Tide. Such a thing was unprecedented. Xuan Qi was a brilliant anomaly, and his talent defied conventional explanations.

It was possible that the youth would one day usher the Voidforce Universe into a new era of glory.

Xu Xiangyin felt like he was seeing the dawn of a great era.

"Congratulations, Xuan Qi, you did it." Xu Xiangyin was completely sincere with his praise.

Outside the Void Ground, everyone was staring at Lu Yin in awe. Regardless of their attitude towards him, Xuan Qi had just achieved something that would forever remain beyond the reach of ordinary people. For the youths who were watching, Xuan Qi had just kicked down the geniuses that were held in the highest regard by a notch, including even Shao Qingfeng. They had just witnessed a miracle.

Lu Yin smiled bitterly as he shook his head. "That was too difficult, Senior. The Voidforce Universe is truly vast and profound. I need to continue working hard and cultivate much more."

Xu Xiangyin's expression lit up. "Well said! You didn't get arrogant with your success, which is very good. The reason why you were able to attract the village was solely due to your talent. I hope that you can eventually attract it with your own skill as well."

Lu Yin rose to his feet and answered in an earnest manner, "I understand. I definitely won’t let you down, Senior."

Xu Xiangyin was happy with Xuan Qi’s attitude. It was clear that the young man was sincere, unlike those who grew arrogant after demonstrating some small bit of talent. Lu Yin purposely did not demonstrate such behavior, which put Xu Xiangyin at ease.

"Xuan Qi, remember this well: there will always be people who are beyond anything you can imagine, even in this Sixverse Academy. Some people may appear ordinary, but through various means, they can obtain special powers that most people will never be able to acquire throughout their entire lives. It’s not a matter of talent, but rather one of status," Xu Xiangyin said seriously, "Status alone can change everything, including even talent. Talent is like a ladder that you can use to climb upwards. The greater your talent, the taller the ladder that you are able to climb. However, status means that there’s no need for a ladder, as you already stand at the peak."