Star Odyssey

Lu Yin’s face turned frosty. “This war has made us pay too high a price. This is revenge that must be carried out.”

Ban Jiu was stunned. “Your Majesty wants to use this military intelligence as an excuse to start the next war?”

Lu Yin looked at Ban Jiu before slowly asking, “Does Captain Ban Jiu have no desire to enter the Innerverse?”

Ban Jiu’s pupils constricted, and he started to seriously assess Lu Yin. The scene of this person standing in front of the throne and retrieving the star chart reappeared in his mind. He had assumed that this youth was just another proud and arrogant person, but now, he knew that he was qualified to be this ambitious after learning more about him.

With the Great Yu Empire’s current ability, it was simply impossible to launch an expedition into the Innerverse while facing an enormous power like the Ross Empire. However, no one could predict the future with certainty, and the Great Yu Empire now had both Princess Wendy and Lu Yin. Even so, it would take dozens of years of preparation before their power would rise to the point where they could suppress the Ross Empire, which meant that this youth was making arrangements for dozens of years into the future!

“Yes, Your Majesty, we can deliver this into the Ross Empire while avoiding detection,” Ban Jiu replied with a cold expression and an even icier tone that could cause others to shiver.

Lu Yin nodded. “Good.”

Lu Yin returned to a quiet corner of the palace where Undying Yushan had once taken him. This place contained the trap that Undying Yushan had prepared to kill all the powerhouses from the Innerverse. But after the departure of those powerhouses, it had been concealed once again.

Lu Yin moved underground, pushed the heavy metal door open, and entered the room.

He had come to this location because he had seen “Zishan” carved into the inside band of the ring of authority. The only places related to “Zishan” were the King Zishan Palace and this place inside of the imperial palace. These were the two locations that were rumored to hold the hidden treasures of the Zishan family.

Undying Yushan had been a great strategist, and his vision and temperament had also been extraordinary. Because he was primarily concerned about the Innerverse’s forces invading the empire, he had forced Duke Yushan to turn against him in an attempt to preserve a spark for the Great Yu Empire. Perhaps him giving this ring of authority to Lu Yin had been another attempt at preserving a spark of the empire.

Lu Yin entered the spacious room and looked all around him before noticing a small depression in the northeastern corner. He retrieved the ring of authority and placed it within the depression, causing the walls to split open and four items to appear before him.

Two of the items were memory chips while the other two were letters.

Lu Yin retrieved the letters. Both had been written by Undying Yushan, and one had been addressed to Wendy Yushan—which Lu Yin did not open—and the other letter was addressed to him.

‘Little Yin, if you are reading this letter, then it means that Royal Uncle is dead. Don’t be surprised, and don’t search for the Great Yu Empire’s secrets. The less you know, the better. The Great Yu Empire is a common empire in a fringe weave that won’t implicate any others. Remember this—the Great Yu Empire is very ordinary.

‘One chip belongs to you, and the other belongs to Wendy. Your chip is the Yushan family’s dowry for your marriage to Wendy.

‘Do not reveal the contents of the chip. Let me solemnly remind you again; do not reveal it! At least, do not do so until you are capable of protecting yourself.

‘One chip is sufficient to return the favor that This Emperor owes the Zishan Family. Cultivate diligently, and one day, you will be able to converse with the Ten Arbiters and even go to the Neoverse. That is where the peak of the human race resides.’

Lu Yin looked at the date at which the letter was written and saw that it had been written shortly after his last departure from the Great Yu Empire, which showed that Undying Yushan had already been considering the possibility of his death back then. The Ross Empire had just been an accident, or rather, it had ended up being implicated through the Daynight Clan’s resentment towards him. When he wrote this letter, Undying Yushan must not have been thinking about the Ross Empire but rather another power. Who? The Neohuman Alliance?

Lu Yin could not guess what secrets the Great Yu Empire could be hiding that would cause even a Hunter like Undying Yushan to have a premonition of his own death.

It was a pity that his family had not contacted him in a long time.

He took the chip, inserted it into his gadget, and then looked at the display. He thought that the chip would contain top secret information or some powerful technique. He was even hoping that it might actually be the Undying Manual that quite a few powers of the Innerverse were searching for. Instead, what appeared on the screen was not any technique or secret information, but rather some completely incomprehensible method for circulating star energy.

Lu Yin stared closely at the screen and then frowned. Strange, too strange. The written method of circulating star energy went against all logic, and he could not understand it at all. Moreover, his body could not even attempt this method of circulating the star energy, as it would cause many of the channels in his body to become clogged if he did so; it simply could not be circulated at all!

What in the world is this?

The strange method of circulating star energy soon vanished, and Lu Yin did not understand it at all. After the circulation method disappeared, several words appeared on the screen—Yu Secret Art - Void Transfer.

The chip then shattered.

Lu Yin was lost. What? Yu Secret Art? Void Transfer?

“I’ll be damned, it’s a secret art! Seventh Bro, you damn lucky bastard! No wonder the Great Yu Empire is full of trouble—it was actually hiding a secret art!” the Ghost Monkey shouted loudly as he became very agitated.

Lu Yin was puzzled. “Speak clearly. What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you know what a secret art is?”

Lu Yin shook his head.

“Right, it makes sense that you don’t. Those at your level shouldn’t. You humans think that only those super powerhouses are qualified to know about secret arts. Even normal Hunters that have a power level over 100,000 wouldn’t know about them, so it’s not strange that you’re clueless.”

Lu Yin did not interrupt and continued listening silently.

“I can’t clearly explain what these so-called secret arts are even if I try. Anyways, here I go: it’s a unique method of circulating energy that allows one to understand the universe, and they can even contain a method of circulating star energy that allows one to display unique innate gifts. These things are so rare that just hearing of one would make your hair stand on end, and their value is incalculable. That’s as best as I can do,” the monkey explained.

Lu Yin was lost. “So are you saying that it’s a man-made innate gift?”

“Of course not! Innate gifts can’t even begin to compare to secret arts! You humans’ innate gifts are indeed rare and wondrous, and possessing one is a huge edge in the path of cultivation. However, those innate gifts are not on the same level as a secret art. To put it another way, a secret art can only be created by a Progenitor.”

Lu Yin’s pupils shrunk. “A Progenitor?”

“That’s right, so you should understand just how precious and powerful this thing is now. A secret art can only be created by a Progenitor who has observed the changes of the universe. It is a very mysterious and powerful thing that a regular person can’t even comprehend. Even if you memorize it and learn how to circulate your energy according to the method, you still won’t be able to understand anything. Even if you were given a thousand or ten thousand years to ponder its mysteries, nothing would change. This stuff involves the deepest level of the universe, which is something that only a Progenitor can understand,” the Ghost Monkey explained with an excited look.

Lu Yin breathed out and looked at the other chip. This should also contain the Yu Secret Art - Void Transfer. 

“That’s strange. If this family had this secret art, they shouldn’t be too weak, but he died in this fringe Weave war? That’s ridiculous.” The Ghost Monkey was puzzled by what the existence of this secret art signified and continued thinking out loud. “Anyone who has practiced a secret art would find Realmbreaking as natural as drinking water. Throughout your entire Human Domain, there should be less than ten people who have grasped a secret art, which should be quite similar to your revered Ten Arbiters. Actually, if one or two out of the Ten Arbiters have comprehended a secret art, then that’s already pretty good.”

“They’re that rare?”

“Bro, this is a secret art that we’re talking about! A Progenitor can only create maybe one or two of these throughout their entire life. Only two or three Progenitors have even been birthed across the entire universe, so how many secret arts do you think there are? Don’t assume that this is something that can be easily spread, as a secret art isn’t easily learned. You should know about the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords—a secret art’s inheritance is ten times more difficult than that, and that’s not even mentioning the fact that no one under an Explorer can cultivate one. You can only imagine how difficult it is to successfully learn it.”

Lu Yin closed his eyes and recalled the secret art’s method of circulating star energy. He had memorized the method and the route, but it would indeed be difficult to learn it, as there were many clogs in his energy channels.

The body would undergo huge changes when one broke through to become an Explorer. Perhaps he would be able to circulate his energy according to the secret technique at that time.

“So does that mean that I can’t use it even if I’m able to master it now?” Lu Yin helplessly asked.

The Ghost Monkey was dismissive, “Master? You must be kidding! If a secret art could be mastered that easily, then experts would be mass-produced by the boatload! You can probably at most memorize this secret art’s circulation path, but if you want to successfully circulate your energy through that path, then you have a long, bitter path ahead of you.” The Ghost Monkey suddenly grew excited. “Seventh Bro, following you’s not so bad after all! Although it’s slightly more dangerous, I’ve gained a lot as well, especially after I discovered your shocking innate gift.”

“What innate gift?” Lu Yin’s brows leaped up. This idiotic monkey should not have discovered his secret die!

“You broke through realms at the border warfront and defeated an Explorer as easily as drinking water. As for your lockbreaking accomplishments, you comprehended the Secret Sidestep! Now, you’ve even gotten your hands on a secret art! I feel like I’m watching a new dazzling star of the universe being born! However, once your situation is made known, you’ll definitely end up on the Heaven-Devouring List, and then you’ll be dead meat.”

Lu Yin laughed. “The high-profile Ten Arbiters are fine, and they are much more threatening than I am.”

“That’s different; the Ten Arbiters are too strong. Although their names are on the Heaven-Devouring List, no one dares to attack them. Those ten are completely immeasurable, and who knows what heights they’ve attained. People like you are different, and many human geniuses die every year. Once your name is placed on the Celestial Vanquisher's List, countless beasts will come for your life.”

Lu Yin frowned. “I’m still not on that list?”

“I don’t know. Maybe not, but I can’t be too sure. Your performance at the border warfront was too brilliant, and you managed to gain an Honor Point after just two months. Just that level of contribution is enough for the Astral Beast Domain to make note of you. Be careful!”

“As an astral beast yourself, you should be able to sense when any others attack me. Don’t forget that you can’t survive if I’m dead since I’ll definitely kill you first.”

“I know, I know. All you know to do is threaten me! Hurry up and cultivate more so that you can break into the Explorer realm and begin grasping this secret art! The universe is large, and you can head to the other regions. That way, it won’t be as easy for you to die even if the Ten Arbiters want to kill you.”

Lu Yin’s eyes grew cloudy. Breaking into the Explorer realm was a cultivator’s greatest hurdle. He would never forget the obstacles he had encountered while breaking into the Melder realm, and because of that, he felt that it would not be easy to reach the Explorer realm.

At that moment, Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. Right, I should try and see if my die’s Enhance can upgrade the grade of this chip. Lu Yin grew excited at this prospect and immediately screened off the Ghost Monkey without any hesitation.

The more time that passed between each use of his die, the greater the probability of him rolling the desired outcome. Perhaps the innate gift of the die was somehow connected to his heart, as it had been born with his body.

Lu Yin raised his hand, and his die appeared, emitting the same faint radiance. He tapped it, and it quickly spun before eventually stopping on five pips—Gift Copy. He instantly became annoyed; where could he find a cultivator with an innate gift in just ten seconds? Hold on! His right arm shook, and he removed the screen blocking the Ghost Monkey’s senses. Instantly, his head was filled with the Ghost Monkey’s scolding. “Outrageous! I just shared so many secrets with you, but you dare to screen me off! Too shameless…”