Star Odyssey

Sovereign Ninth Lotus calmly asked, "I heard that the Voidlord proposed that the Origin Universe join the Sixverse Association so that their strength can be used against Aeternus. Is that right?"

"That’s right," Lord Xu replied.

The woman turned to look beyond the Heavenly Gate, her expression indifferent as the cultivators there all kneeled down. "I agreed to Shao Yin's proposal that the Origin Universe be added to the Endless Frontiers, which would have had the same result. Why did you not agree to that proposal, Lord Xu?”

Everyone turned to look at the man.

Arrow Sage[1] was also curious, and he had even wanted to ask the question himself.

Lord Xu casually explained, "It would be counterproductive."

It clearly was not a satisfactory answer, but Sovereign Ninth Lotus did not ask anymore questions, opting to continue observing from outside the Heavenly Gate.

Everyone else nearby did the same.

All the cultivators outside the Heavenly Gate were on their knees, with a single exception that stood out from the crowd. A glance was enough to instantly identify Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had not expected to be exposed in such a manner. Should he kneel? No, that was impossible. He would not do that even for the Great Sovereign, let alone Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

Everyone both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate focused on Lu Yin.

He let out a breath, and as everyone stared, approached the Heavenly Gate.

"Here he comes." Lord Xu’s eyebrows rose.

Sovereign Ninth Lotus's eyes flickered. "Is that the descendant of the Lu family?"

Arrow Sage, Food Sage, and all the others continued to stare at Lu Yin beyond the Heavenly Gate. Had he already arrived? None of them had sensed a powerful person’s presence. Clearly, he was quite skilled at retracting his aura.

Lu Yin slowly walked towards the Heavenly Gate.

Inside the gate, Junior Sister Rou stood behind her master, a look of disgust on her face as she loudly shouted, "Why don't you kneel down in worship? How dare you disrespect Sovereign Ninth Lotus!"

Food Sage frowned. This girl was rather mouthy.

Irritation flashed across Lord Xu's face. How was it this girl’s place to speak?

Sovereign Ninth Lotus coldly stated, "Slap yourself for speaking those antagonistic words."

Junior Sister Rou had not expected her Master to say such a thing. She had merely scolded some trash from the Origin Universe. That place was hated by the Cyclic Universe, so why had her master defended him?

"Senior Sovereign Ninth Lotus told you to slap yourself, so do it." A beautiful woman approached from nearby. She was carrying a long white sword, while a dragon turtle rested on her shoulder. It was Jiang Qingyue.

At the same time, another beautiful woman approached from the opposite direction. She was as beautiful as a painting, and something about her appearance seemed ethereal, like a fairy. She was Bai Xian'er.

Jiang Qingyue and Bai Xian'er simultaneously approached from two different directions, complementing each other. Compared to them, Junior Sister Rou looked like a weed.

Even Sovereign Ninth Lotus was taken aback by the two women’s appearance.

Jiang Qingyue did not have Bai Xian'er’s same beauty, but there was an indescribable natural attraction to her. The moment she appeared, she seemed to become the center of the universe, and everyone felt drawn to her.

Bai Xian'er had a divine appearance, looking like she was untouched by mortal dust, and just looking at her made people feel ashamed.

Even Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s grace and beauty could not overshadow that of the two young women.

At this moment, just inside the Heavenly Gate stood three women with three different demeanors. Somehow, each one was arrogant and superior to all others. Not one could suppress the others, and this had nothing to do with the strength of their cultivation.

Jiang Qingyue was surprised by Bai Xian'er's ethereal beauty, while Bai Xian'er was taken aback by Jiang Qingyue's natural allure. It seemed as though this was not the circumstances that they should have met in.

Forced to a deadend and unable to do anything else, Junior Sister Rou slapped herself. She did not dare to disobey Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

The sound of the slap woke everyone up.

However, it also caused everyone to refocus on Lu Yin as he walked towards the Heavenly Gate.

Outside, all of the people on their knees looked up to watch Lu Yin as he slowly walked forward. Ultimately, all they could see was his back.

The people on their knees were nothing. Even the elders and masters who had escorted a few geniuses to the Heavenly Gate were only as strong as Semi-Progenitors, at best. None of them could make Lu Yin feel even the slightest bit of pressure.

The only pressure he felt came from within the Heavenly Gate. The gazes of the Progenitor-level powerhouses there fell upon him like mountains.

Food Sage's eyes flared as an invisible power caused the void to tremble as the pressure fell upon Lu Yin, locking down the void completely.

Arrow Sage's gaze felt like an arrow aimed at Lu Yin’s back. He felt a chill in his heart, head, and each of his limbs. He felt like he was being targeted, and as long as Arrow Sage wanted to, Lu Yin’s body would be riddled with holes.

However, the greatest pressure came from Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Despite the woman’s title, she did not give off the impression of a lotus at all. Instead, she seemed more like the ruler of all flowers. Just a glance from her was enough to cause lotuses to bloom wherever her eyes passed.

Lu Yin even saw a green lotus swaying in the wind, growing larger and larger high above the sky. Before that green lotus, Lu Yin was like an ant that was forced to look upwards.

It was as if he had entered a world of nothing beyond the flower and the leaves of that green lotus. That one flower made up the entire world and had even replaced the Heavenly Gate and the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Lu Yin was unable to see anything other than the green lotus.

Lu Yin slowed down to stare at Sovereign Ninth Lotus. His eyes gradually lost focus and moved upwards, as though to worship what he saw in the sky above.

Junior Sister Rou grew excited, licking her lips as she watched. This was the end. No one could act arrogantly before her master. How dare this trash not fall to his knees before her master? He was nothing more than a mere Demi-Immortal!

Food Sage and Arrow Sage both grew solemn as they looked at Sovereign Ninth Lotus. There was a clear hierarchy between the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, and the Three Sovereigns were unquestionably superior.

All of them were peak powerhouses; which of them was not proud and arrogant, and who had not slaughtered countless people to rise to power? How could any such person be willing to accept such a hierarchy? They did not accept it because of the Great Sovereign, but rather because each of the Three Sovereigns had become a peak powerhouse on their own and not been granted that strength.

While Sovereign Ninth Lotus appeared weak, she had disciples across the entire Sixverse Association, and no one could look down on her. She was in no way inferior to even the rulers of the different parallel universes, such as Lord Xu. The woman was high above everyone, like the sky, and could overshadow anything.

The green lotus alone was able to replace the entire world!

The green lotus had become the sky itself!

Lu Yin stopped moving. He no longer faced Sovereign Ninth Lotus, but was instead looking upwards, staring at the empty sky as though looking at something there. Anyone familiar with Sovereign Ninth Lotus would also be familiar with what Lu Yin was experiencing. They would know that his entire reality had been replaced by a green lotus.

Lord Xu's eyes flickered. He had felt a bad premonition the moment the Sovereign had appeared. The Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe, and it would not be easy for it to join the Sixverse Association, much less for a descendant of the Lu family to become the ruler of the Origin Universe. The Sovereign’s presence was a sign, and the moment that Lu Yin knelt down, he would no longer retain the dignity necessary to become the ruler of the Origin Universe.

The Origin Universe’s four ruling powers were nothing more than the most powerful families from the Fifth Mainland, and none of them had the qualifications to make the Great Sovereign notice them, but the Lu family was different. That was the family of a Dao Monarch, and the Great Sovereign’s distaste for the Origin Universe was essentially his hatred of the Lu family and Lu Yin.

While the Great Sovereign was not taking direct action, Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s behavior made his stance quite clear. She was trying to force Lu Yin to kneel to her, when not even Luo Shan, who had been acknowledged as the ruler of the weakest member universe in the Sixverse Association, had not been forced to kneel the first time he had met Sovereign Ninth Lotus. It was a matter of the respect that the ruler of a universe had to command.

Lu Yin was only a Demi-Immortal, and not even an Ascendant. Before a powerhouse like Sovereign Ninth Lotus, it was only natural that a Demi-Immortal kneel. However, the moment that happened, Lu Yin would lose all qualifications to stand before the Sovereign in the future. Lu Yin was being suppressed before countless cultivators from the Cyclic Universe, and no matter how impressive he was and how superior to countless others, kneeling now would make him forever beneath the Sovereign, no matter how much time passed.

This was a matter of status, and if Lu Yin wanted to possess a status that surpassed his current cultivation, he needed to be able to endure the consequences.

Would he kneel?

Lu Yin slowly bent down as he leaned forward.

Everyone watched carefully.

Jiang Qingyue frowned. She could not understand what was wrong with Lu Yin, as she did not understand Sovereign Ninth Lotus, and neither did Dragonturtle.

Bai Xian'er calmly watched the scene. It was impossible to discern the woman’s thoughts from her expression.

Lu Yin’s legs bent, and he bowed at the waist as his hands rose up.

Just as everyone thought that he was about to kneel down, and Lord Xu was unable to resist intervening, Lu Yin let out a violent sneeze. "Achoo!"

Everyone both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate stared on in stunned silence. Had Lu Yin really just sneezed? In this place? This was the sacred Heavenly Gate, entrance to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. This was a place overseen by the Great Sovereign! How could anyone sneeze?

It was completely unimaginable.

The people kneeling outside the Heavenly Gate were badly startled. Nothing like this had ever happened during the countless years of the Cyclic Universe’s existence. Not even Sovereign Dou Sheng Tianzun, who was regarded as the most lawless and fearless person, someone who was bold enough to even disobey the Great Sovereign, had done such a thing.

Lu Yin was a cultivator, so how could he possibly be unable to control his body? Clearly, that sneeze had been very deliberate.

Snack Sage, Jiang Xiaodao, Gong Yu, Yuan Qiunan, and all the other young people were dazed.

Food Sage, Arrow Sage, and the other peak powerhouses were similarly stunned.

Lord Xu blinked and then started to laugh.

Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s face was covered with a veil, which prevented anyone from seeing the expression on her face.

However, behind the Sovereign, Junior Sister Rou’s face was livid. She was stunned and in utter disbelief. Where did this person’s courage come from? The girl knew that there had just been a contest between her master and Lu Yin, and his behavior had been no different from a slap the Sovereign in the face.

A smile tugged at the corners of Jiang Qingyue's lips.

"Young Mistress, this kid is very impressive." Dragonturtle grinned.

On the other side, Bai Xian'er smiled, which accentuated her otherworldly beauty. Unfortunately, no one saw it, as they were all staring at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin rubbed his nose. "Sorry, I'm new here and not used to this place yet. I need a moment."

Another sneeze then exploded, and he let out a contented breath. "Now I feel better!"

Silence reigned both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate as everyone stared at the young man.

Lu Yin blinked and then looked around. Finally, his eyes landed on the man at the front of the line who was next to challenge a guard and try to pass through the Heavenly Gate. "Brother, are you heading in?"

The man took a moment to react. "What?"

"I asked if you’re heading in," Lu Yin repeated.

The man looked at the Heavenly Gate and then at Lu Yin. "After you, after you."

The man immediately stepped aside. Even an idiot would understand that this young man was a monster, and it was also quite clear that all of the important people had gathered just inside the Heavenly Gate for this man.

Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you."

He then continued walking towards the Heavenly Gate, moving closer and closer to Sovereign Ninth Lotus, Food Sage, and the others. There was only about a hundred meters between them.

Lu Yin did not know if he would be allowed to go through the Heavenly Gate. He might have been allowed before, but after what had happened with Sovereign Ninth Lotus, Lu Yin felt that it would not be that easy.

Everyone knew about the Great Sovereign's dislike towards the Origin Universe. The Lu family had been exiled because Sovereign Shao Yin had suggested that the family be forced to shoulder the sins of the Heavens Sect, but the Great Sovereign was the one who had ultimately approved the proposal.

How could the Lu family have ever been exiled if the Great Sovereign did not also hate the Lu family? The Lu family was a powerful deterrent to Aeternus, and yet the Great Sovereign had chosen to abandon the Lu family to put an end to the grudge against the Heavens Sect. This also suggested that a reason existed behind the Great Sovereign’s actions.

It was very likely that Sovereign Ninth Lotus had acted at the Great Sovereign’s orders. If that was the case, then after breaking past Sovereign Ninth Lotus, what would be the next challenge for Lu Yin to face?

He was one step away. As long as he took this last step, he would be through the Heavenly Gate.

Everyone watched. Would the Great Sovereign let him through?

Lord Xu could not understand the Great Sovereign's thoughts and thus could only watch.

Lu Yin met some resistance, and a figure appeared before him. "The Heavenly Gate is an important place, and no unauthorized entry is allowed."

Everyone both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate did not know whether they should relax or take pleasure in Lu Yin’s misfortune, but as expected, he had been blocked.

Even so, everyone was startled, because the person who had appeared to block Lu Yin’s entry was one of the Nine Sages. Specifically, it was the guardian of the Heavenly Gate, Evergreen Sage.

1. Sage Gong has been updated to Arrow Sage. ☜

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