Star Odyssey

Lu Yin found it strange. "Does that mean that any universe’s battle methods can be combined with the Lost Clan's cards?"

Little Lian chuckled. "That's right. Grandpa Zhi Bing said that there’s no reason for us to be restricted to just a single universe’s methods. After all, we’re here to integrate our civilizations, and the Lost Clan's cards can act as a platform where we can unleash the power of any universe."

"It seems that the battle techniques we’ve received from the Third Rampart aren’t even necessary," Lu Yin remarked.

Little Lian stuck out her tongue as she replied, "I never use them either."

After bidding farewell to Little Lian, Lu Yin continued studying the Cyclic Universe’s star energy. However, he could not find the slightest difference between the two star energies. However, he did discover that he could still use the foreign star energy by adding it to the power system within his chest. That power was a convergence of multiple paths that had been combined into one. After the Cyclic Universe’s star energy made a complete circuit through his unique power system, it could then be absorbed by his stellular energy vortex. This meant that Lu Yin was able to cultivate in the Cyclic Universe.

Had Bai Xian'er gone to the Cyclic Universe to face her Semi-Progenitor stellular tribulation?

It was a pity that Jiang Xiaodao had already gone to the Voidforce School, or else Lu Yin would have gotten more star essence from the man. He wondered if his die could be activated with the Cyclic Universe’s star essence…

One month later, Luo Lao'er sneaked into the Lost Clan School to find “Xuan Qi.”

"What grand underground auction?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

Luo Lao'er replied, "I knew that you wouldn't have heard anything. Today, someone truly powerful in the Sixverse Association is hosting the biggest underground auction in the history of Cliff Town. I've come to take you there."

"Aren’t the underground auctions restricted to people within a certain area?" Lu Yin questioned.

"That's true for normal auctions, but this one is different. Someone actually contacted me and told me to spread the word, which means that many people already know about it. All of them are all preparing to go, even people from the Central School."

He then leaned in to whisper, "Brother-in-law, do you remember that subhuman woman from the last underground auction?"

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "I do."

Luo Lao'er continued, "Well, after that auction, everyone was incredibly curious about how a subhuman was brought into the academy. Some people started thinking that she must have been brought in by some powerhouse, while others believe that she was brought in by using special connections, and a few have even brought up the possibility of a cosmic ring that can carry living creatures. Now, an answer’s been given: it’s the third option!"

Lu Yin was surprised. "There’s a cosmic ring that can hold a living person?"

Luo Lao'er shook his head. "It's not a cosmic ring, but a mountain."

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed.

"It's a mountain that can change its size. Selling off that subhuman during the last auction was actually a bit of marketing for this auction. How ruthless is that? I wonder who would be bold enough to play this game? I’m guessing that it's the Sixverse Association itself," Luo Lao'er said.

Lu Yin glanced down at his cosmic ring. A mountain that could hold a living person? Zenith Mountain?

Zenith Mountain had originally been a Sky Pillar, which were the stone pillars that had held up the six Daosource Sects during the Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect era. How could one of the Sky Pillars appear in the Sixverse Association? No, this should be something different.

"What do you think, Brother-in-law? Are you interested?" Luo Lao'er asked.

Lu Yin nodded and replied, "Lead the way. Let's see for ourselves."

"Alright, then let's go," Luo Lao'er said excitedly.

The environment in the Lost Clan School made Luo Lao'er rather uncomfortable. "Seventh Bro, I’ve heard that you've been doing pretty well in the Lost Clan School. Did you get the best card?"

"It's not bad," Lu Yin replied.

"When are we going to the next school? We should go together," Luo Lao'er suggested.

Lu Yin was surprised. "You’ve already met the Voidforce School’s requirements?"

Luo Lao'er raised his head proudly. "Just about!"

Lu Yin said, "I don't know which school I'll move on to next. I’m stuck between the Cyclic School and the Arboreal School."

"Let's go to the Arboreal School. We can get an innate gift from a tree," Luo Lao'er said eagerly.

Lu Yin nodded. The Cyclic School held very little appeal for him, whereas going to the Arboreal School seemed to be a good idea. If possible, he wanted to try to obtain an innate gift from the Mother Tree after he returned to the Fifth Mainland.

The two young men were far from the only ones making their way to Cliff Town from the Lost Clan School. They met up with several others as they moved along, including even Seruzen.

"Seventh Bro, I think that I've heard of this strange person before. He's from the Arboreal Realm, right?" Luo Lao'er whispered to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You've heard of him?"

"I heard about someone joining the Sixverse Academy from the Arboreal Realm, despite being too old, and that should be him. I heard that he holds a very prestigious position within the Arboreal Realm and that he managed to obtain an incredibly rare innate gift that no one’s obtained for countless years."

"Can you find out what innate gift it is?" Lu Yin was very curious about this, as he had asked Seruzen about it, but Seruzen had refused to say anything at all.

Luo Lao'er shook his head. "I haven’t been able to find out. I asked people from the Arboreal Realm, but it seems not many of them know anything about it. Don't get fooled by his old appearance. He has a mysterious background that’s at least as good as Jiang Xiaodao’s."

Lu Yin looked back over at Seruzen. It seemed that, out of everyone who had left Earth, the person who had integrated the best after being relocated was Seruzen, if Lu Yin himself was excluded.

Zhang Dingtian had lost the protection of the Liu family and become an independent cultivator in the Perennial World, where he hoped to one day avenge the Liu family.

Bai Xue was caring for Big Face Tree in Seed Garden. She had become someone who pursued peace and tranquility.

Xu San had followed Ancestor Lingtong for his own reasons, though Ancestor Lingtong treated him quite well.

Even so, not one of those three had a background that could compare to Seruzen's.

Oh, there was also Bai Qian who seemed to hold an extremely high position in the Transcendent Universe, as Lu Yin had seen even Ke Jian bow to her.

After meeting up with Seruzen, the three men naturally continued on together.

They soon arrived in Cliff Town after covering their faces with the strange fruit.

Lu Yin glanced over Seruzen and suddenly realized that there was no point for the man to hide his face, as his arm was too conspicuous. No matter what, everyone would be able to recognize him.

Cliff Town was incredibly busy, and it was filled with more people and stalls than ever before.

Luo Lao'er led the other two to the location of the underground auction. As they moved through the town, they encountered several people who offered Seruzen very respectful greetings. Lu Yin also noticed Shi Hong and Zuo Yu traveling with another person from the Arboreal Realm.

"Sister Hong, is that the strange person from the Arboreal Realm that you mentioned to us?" Zuo Yu whispered.

Shi Hong nodded. "Yes. While I don't know what kind of innate gift he has, even Senior Brother Mu Cheng needs to be respectful to him. His innate gift is definitely extraordinary, and the Sixverse Association has recognized him as one of humanity’s few future powerhouses."

"One of humanity’s future powerhouses?" Zuo Yu exclaimed in surprise.

Shi Hong nodded again. "Someone recently compiled a list. The people referred to as powerhouses are all at least as strong as someone wielding a black energy converter. In terms of power levels, that means that theirs exceeds five million."

Zuo Yu gasped. She had lofty ambitions and dreamed of becoming strong herself, but she had never even fantasized about one day reaching such a high level.

What did a power level of five million mean? Such a person could probably destroy most of a universe with a single wave of a hand. Even a Bestowal Carrier would be destroyed in a single blow.

"Who else is on that list?" Zuo Yu asked curiously.

Shi Hong replied, "As far as I know, the Cyclic Universe’s Shao Qingfeng and Jiang Xiaodao, Seruzen from the Arboreal Realm, Xu Ji from the Voidforce Universe, and Zhi Xiao from the Lost Clan. Right, there’s also our Transcendent Universe’s He Shu, and quite a few more. Oh, and…" She paused, her expression growing complicated. "Xuan Qi might also be on the list."

Zuo Yu felt confused. "How could Xuan Qi end up on the list? Because of his talent?"

Shi Hong explained, "There’s no way that Xuan Qi's talent won’t attract the attention of the Voidforce Universe’s powerhouses, and there are even rumors that more than one is interested in him. As soon as any one of them takes him under their wing, it’s practically guaranteed that his talent will eventually make him a powerhouse equal to the others on that list.

"Of course, the people that I just mentioned simply have the potential to become powerhouses, but there are also already a few individuals who have almost reached that level despite being about as old as us. Those people are the true monsters, and they would never come to this Sixverse Academy. If they want to learn from other universes, they have no need to come to this place."

Zuo Yu did not understand. "Real monsters?"

Shi Hong did not answer, as Mu Cheng had returned. "Strange, I don't know who those two people with Seruzen are. It's not easy to get close to him."

"Is Seruzen difficult to get along with?" Shi Hong wondered.

Mu Cheng explained, "It's not that he’s difficult to get along with. Rather, it's not easy to get close to him."

The man continued to watch Lu Yin and Luo Lao'er.

People from all around Cliff Town started heading towards a specific area. The size of the crowd quickly grew.

Lu Yin suddenly noticed several people approaching him. Everyone nearby gave the people a wide berth, and it seemed that no one dared to get too close to the approaching people.

Lu Yin paid attention to two of the people. One was wearing a blue and white coat and had longish hair that hung loose upon his shoulders. He had an indifferent expression.

As for the other person, he was wearing a pale golden robe and moved along with his hands clasped behind his back, and he gave off an illusory feeling.

Both of these young men had already left a deep impression on Lu Yin, as they were the two young men who had followed Sage Yuan to the Fifth Mainland.

From Zi Jing, Lu Yin had learned that one of them was named He Shu. Lu Yin had repeatedly heard this name after he entered the Transcendent Universe. He Shu was one of that universe’s greatest geniuses, as well as the brother of that perfect woman. As for the other man, Lu Yin had also learned of his identity. He was Shao Qingfeng, the Cyclic Universe’s genius whose record Lu Yin had surpassed in the Voidforce School.

The two men were both regarded as two of the greatest young geniuses in the entire Sixverse Association. They were also both in the academy’s Central School.

A woman walked in between the two men, and Lu Yin recognized her as Mu Mu, the woman who had fought against Jiang Xiaodao.

"Seventh Bro, I think that that’s Mu Mu," Luo Lao'er said. He was able to recognize the woman because Mu Mu had not changed her mask from the one that she had used during the previous auction.

Pride meant that there were some people who were simply unwilling to hide their identities. In this, Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao were no different from each other.

At this moment, Mu Mu and the others also noticed Lu Yin and the other two,. Her expression changed, and she moved a few steps closer to stand in front of Lu Yin's group. "Who are you?"

Lu Yin spoke, "Cliff Town has its own rules, and asking this question means that you’re breaking them."

Mu Mu frowned. "Rules only apply to certain people. Who are you? And why are you with Seruzen?"

Seruzen spoke up, "Mu Mu, you don't need to worry. He's a friend."

Mu Mu felt lost. "You have a friend?"

Seruzen spoke calmly, "I'm willing to make friends. You are also my friend."

Seruzen's words caused the woman’s expression to improve slightly, though she still shot Lu Yin a threatening look. "You'd best not have any ideas about Seruzen, or else an unimaginable fate will await you."

Lu Yin found the threat very odd. The Arboreal Realm truly seemed to value Seruzen highly. Whatever innate gift he had obtained must be truly exceptional.

Shao Qingfeng and He Shu remained standing a short distance away and did not bother approaching. They both looked quite calm.

A large crowd gathered, all of them waiting for the secret auction to begin.

Two hours passed, but there was still no sign of the auction starting.

The auction was supposed to be held through the cliffside, but the passage did not open.