Star Odyssey

A troubled expression appeared on Xu Xiangyin’s face. "Xuan Qi, do you truly want to join my Voidforce Universe?"

Lu Yin replied, "Of course. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of."

Xu Xiangyin opened his mouth, but no sound emerged. He no longer knew how to respond to this youth.

It would be difficult to take Xuan Qi away from Shi Jiao, as long as the youth did not possess an impressive life-bound voidforce puppet. However, the only way to find the best puppets was by entering the Voidchaos Territory. Unfortunately, outsiders would no longer be allowed to enter that place, which was a dilemma.

Would Xu Xiangyin really be forced to send this child to the Cyclic Universe? That would be such a shame. Even so, for the child's own sake, sending him to the Cyclic Universe might be the better option for his future prospects.

"For now, the Voidchaos Territory won't be opened," Xu Xiangyin quietly informed the youth.

Lu Yin showed a puzzled face. "Wasn’t the enemy already defeated?"

Xu Xiangyin explained, "This matter is hard to explain. Regardless, I will do my best to secure an excellent voidforce puppet for you. Should I fail, I will instead support your entry into the Cyclic Universe. Once you inherit Sage Stone’s seat, you will become one of humanity’s peak powerhouses."

"Senior-"

Lu Yin wanted to say something, but Xu Xiangyin stopped him. "Say nothing for now. Even if you end up as part of the Cyclic Universe, I won't blame you, and I will support you. Xuan Qi, you need to continue to fight for your own future."

With that advice, Xu Xiangyin left.

Lu Yin watched Xu Xiangyin's departing figure and felt a sense of loneliness.

He checked the contents of his cosmic ring. The three voidforce puppets that he had taken were all inanimate objects. Two had been stored in his cosmic ring, while one had been placed in his Void Nest. He wanted to find a way to bring one of the puppets out and to use it to join the Voidforce Universe, as he absolutely had to avoid joining the Cyclic Universe.

After Xu Xiangyin left, Shi Jiao arrived. "This time, the Voidforce Universe has suffered terrible losses. There’s no need for you to go there now."

Lu Yin again appeared confused. "Didn't Lord Xu appear and defeat the enemy?"

Shi Jiao replied, "Lord Xu did not show up. On top of that, the Voidforce Territory suffered tremendous losses. It’s to the point where…" She looked at Xuan Qi. "The voidforce puppets are gone."

Lu Yin's expression changed. "The enemy stole them?"

Shi Jiao replied, "The Cyclic Universe is partially responsible for what happened this time. Qi San was one of Sage Qi’s disciples, and thus Senior Sage Qi needs to take responsibility for this matter. Even so, the losses that the Voidforce Universe has suffered are not something that can be easily compensated. Xuan Qi, if you can't obtain a good voidforce puppet from the Voidforce Universe, then going there will waste your talent. I will speak with Xu Xiangyin and ask him to allow you to join my Stone Gate."

Lu Yin remained silent.

Shi Jiao took out a mace and stabbed it into the ground. "Your talent belongs to all of humanity, and it is not something that should be used to repay a debt. If you waste your talent for mere gratitude, it would be irresponsible towards humanity itself."

Lu Yin lifted his head to meet Shi Jiao's gaze. An abrupt smile touched Shi Jiao's lips as she continued, "Would adopting this mindset remove some of your burden?"

Seeing the astonishment on Xuan Qi’s face led Shi Jiao to remark, "Many people will frequently discuss righteousness, and I failed to grasp the significance before. However, I now believe that such words can serve a purpose by offering solace to oneself. Do you agree?"

Without waiting to hear the youth’s response, Shi Jiao grabbed hold of the mace and continued to speak. "Your talent qualifies you to receive Sage Stone’s seat. However, possessing the qualifications is no guarantee of success. To become the next Sage Stone, you must first undergo the Stone Gate’s assessment. The Eight Hands of the Stone Gate is merely the first trial, while the second is the Stone Cudgel.”

"The stone mace sweeps the world, leaving no trace in destiny. This is the core of the Stone Cudgel technique. Xuan Qi, pay close attention."

For the next month, Shi Jiao taught Lu Yin the Stone Cudgel battle technique. Once again, he demonstrated a learning speed that exceeded all of the woman’s expectations, and her eyes lit up whenever she looked at Xuan Qi.

During this month, contrary to Xu Han's expectations, news of what had happened in the Voidchaos Territory spread. Not only did the Sixverse Association learn of what had happened, but the information even spread to the youths in the Sixverse Academy. There, the students started discussing the steep losses suffered by the Voidchaos Territory.

In order to suppress such rumors, the Voidforce Universe would need to reopen the Voidchaos Territory. However, that simply was not possible. The lack of reaction led everyone to become certain that the Voidforce Universe had suffered tremendous losses.

Within the expansive grounds of the Cyclic School, two people were engaged in a fierce exchange, each utilizing the Stone Cudgel technique. No additional power was involved, only pure technique. Even so, the movements revealed a certain artistic comprehension of the battle technique, which gave off the impression of it being impenetrable and invincible.

There was a thud as Shi Jiao stopped and stared at Xuan Qi in amazement. "Not bad, you've mastered the Stone Cudgel technique after a bit more than a month. Most people will fail to learn this battle technique after even a full year. When it comes to techniques that require comprehension of their intrinsic concepts, many people struggle to succeed throughout their entire lives. Xuan Qi, you truly are perfectly suited for the Stone Gate’s battle techniques."

Lu Yin responded with gratitude. "Many thanks, Senior, for your guidance. Without it, I would have never been able to learn the battle technique. The Stone Cudgel is truly profound, and I still have a long way to go with it."

Shi Jiao was satisfied with Xuan Qi’s attitude. Despite the young man’s incredible talent, he remained humble and well grounded. Such temperament was truly rare.

"You do not need to go to the Central School for the time being. The knowledge and skills that you have acquired here already surpass what the Central School can offer you. Given that, stay here and focus on cultivating," Shi Jiao instructed.

"This junior understands," Lu Yin replied.

Shi Jiao soon left.

Lu Yin slowly released his domain, checking and ensuring that no one was monitoring him. He then raised a hand and started rolling his die. He was eager to see what the three voidforce puppets he had picked up were, especially the one that could influence the void.

The die slowly came to a stop, showing six pips. Lu Yin eagerly stared forward, but nothing happened. He felt disappointed. It seemed that his innate gift of Possession could only be used in the Fifth Mainland.

Still, his Timestop remained usable. How odd.

With that in mind, Lu Yin lifted his hand and tapped the die again to continue.

This time, he got one pip, but just like when he had rolled six, there was no reaction at all. Both rolls had failed to function in the Singularity Universe.

Lu Yin shook his head and tried again.

His third roll gave him four pips. His eyes lit up as he entered his Timestop Space.

After entering, Lu Yin immediately pulled the two voidforce puppets from his cosmic ring.

One was large and resembled a skeleton, while the other looked like a small sword.

Lu Yin was interested in the sword. He picked it up, and it felt quite heavy in his hand, giving off a disturbing sensation.

The sword had a rather common design, though the blade was colored black-and-white, which matched the bicolored mist that surrounded the power system inside Lu Yin’s chest. There were a few lines of text on both sides of the sword's hilt.

"The power of frost is of Yin, the power of heat is of Yang," Lu Yin murmured. On the opposite side of the hilt, the text read, "When Yin and Yang converge, the heavens shatter—Venerable Xuyi."

"Venerable Xuyi?" Lu Yin was puzzled. This seemed to be the name of some powerful figure from the Voidforce Universe. Since the sword had been left in the Voidchaos Territory, it indicated that Venerable Xuyi had most likely already passed away.

Lu Yin tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword and then slowly released the power from within his body. Powerful voidforce energy reverberated inside the sword, resisting Lu Yin’s efforts in a way that felt as though it was trying to shake off his power. He immediately released the power from within his chest. Stars appeared around him, shining brightly as a black-and-white mist spread out. Instantly, the voidforce energy within the sword became tame and obedient.

This was not because Lu Yin's cultivation surpassed Venerable Xuyi’s, but rather because the power within his chest was truly unique and had proven itself capable of suppressing all different kinds of energy and merging various powers into a single system.

Lu Yin had not been mistaken, as the sword possessed enough voidforce energy to compare to at least a Semi-Progenitor. As for the skeleton…

Lu Yin put away the Yin Yang Sword away and looked over.

He touched the skeleton, and a crisp sound rang out. The skeleton cracked open to reveal a clear fingerprint on the bones. The voidforce energy within the skeleton was completely suppressed.

Lu Yin pursed his lips. This skeleton was nearly as tough as a Semi-Progenitor. However, just Lu Yin’s physical strength alone was enough to easily crush a Semi-Progenitor, let alone the skeleton. As for the voidforce energy that the skeleton contained, it was clearly also at the Semi-Progenitor level.

Since the skeleton contained Semi-Progenitor-level power, then did that mean that the voidforce energy within the Yin Yang Sword was actually at the Progenitor level?

After putting away the skeleton, Lu Yin took out the void nest. This held the last voidforce puppet that he had acquired.

What about this puppet was the void unable to endure?

After a moment, Lu Yin put away the void nest. He was unable to open it. Rather, he was unable to open it in his Timestop Space. After spending a moment observing the nest, he had discovered that it was not actually a storage device, but rather a unique void construct that used voidforce energy. Its primary function was not storage, but rather concealment. It functioned in the same way that the Lost Clan's cards hid themselves in the void.

In other words, Lu Yin had not brought his third voidforce puppet into his Timestop Space with him.

As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin emerged from Timestop and returned to the Cyclic School. Only a single second had passed for the rest of the world.

A stone fell in front of him, and he reflexively caught it. He was stunned. Was this the voidforce puppet that the void was unable to endure? How was it anything other than a Peaks and Rivers Rock?

Lu Yin was very familiar with such stones. What he was holding was a Peaks and Rivers Rock just like the one that Aeternus had wanted so badly. They had gone to great lengths to track down the stone, even going so far as to send a corpse king to monitor the Lost Radiance Academy. Lu Yin had obtained that Peaks and Rivers Rock by negotiating with the academy. He had never even considered that he could come across another one in the Voidchaos Territory.

Lu Yin took out the Peaks and Rivers Rock that he had obtained from the Lost Radiance Academy and compared it to the one that was a voidforce puppet. They looked identical, though there were some differences in the artwork on each stone. It looked as though a single landscape painting had been broken apart and he held two fragments of the original painting.

As he held the voidforce puppet, Lu Yin closed his eyes and tried to sense how much voidforce energy it held.

After a while, he opened his eyes, astonished. The vast amount of voidforce energy within the stone was absolutely at the Progenitor level. Could this puppet be the work of Lord Xu?

Lu Yin put the two stones away. Regardless of who was behind them, he had no intention of revealing either to anyone. The secret behind the painting was no small matter either.

There was no longer anything in the Sixverse Academy that was worth Lu Yin learning. He had already mastered the power of the Three Monarchs Universe. As for the Transcendent Universe, their school’s requirements revolved around intelligence and specialized study. He intended to leave such things to Zi Jing.

It would not be long before he left the Sixverse Academy.

In the Voidforce School, Luo Lao'er grimaced as he stared up at an iron plate in the sky. He was currently trying to attract it.

It had been exactly nine months since he had entered the Sixverse Academy, and he had already met the Voidforce School’s requirements. He had moved on to trying to attract voidforce puppets and control them. It was a speed of improvement that was regarded as normal for most of the students who met the school’s requirements. Naturally, Luo Lao’er was unable to compare to Xuan Qi. There was nobody who could.

Shao Qingfeng had needed almost half a year to meet the school’s requirements, while Xuan Qi had succeeded in drawing the village down after just two and a half months.

"Keep going, keep going…" Luo Lao'er encouraged himself. A twisted thread of voidforce energy rose up in a shaky manner. After a moment, it jerkily tugged at the iron plate as he tried to pull it down. Only by personally attempting to do so did he understand how difficult it was to lure a voidforce puppet down. He simply could not comprehend how Xuan Qi had successfully lured a puppet that had twenty times more voidforce energy than him on his very first try. Luo Lao’er was unable to pull down even the iron plate that only had four times his voidforce energy reserves.