Star Odyssey

Every time Lu Yin fainted, this finger would appear in his mind to crush the heavens. It wanted to completely pulverize him, and he had seen it many times before. Not once had he been able to suppress his boundless anger at this finger. 

Now, the illusion of the Ocean of Death had penetrated Lu Yin’s inner being, dredging up this finger, and for the first time ever, manifesting it outside of the realms of his mind.

When the jade-green finger appeared above the skies of the Ocean of Death, the Dao of Heaven trembled, and all nine trial zones started vibrating as one. It was as if something incomparably terrifying was approaching. 

All the headmasters of the Astral Combat Academy branches opened their eyes simultaneously as a strange feeling sprouted in their hearts. Heaven itself was collapsing.

At this moment, Lu Yin had almost reached his limits in terms of reciting the Stonewall Scriptures and was about to faint. But before he did, he opened his eyes, and they narrowed. This jade finger felt too familiar. He stared at it, watching it press down. The heavens rumbled, and Lu Yin saw a scene even deeper than the void. In fact, it was a scene even deeper than a blackhole. What was that? Also, he could sense something different in the nature of the finger that was pressing down towards him.

He could not suppress his anger as he stared at that finger, but he continued to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. For some reason, he should have already reached his limit, but he somehow continued reciting. Even more strangely, Lu Yin did not feel like he was close to fainting. Reciting the Stonewall Scriptures allowed him to clearly visualize the many changes and details going on, and through this, he was able to observe the variations, nature, and power of this finger that was crushing the heavens; it was a battle technique. 

This singular finger had transcended the heavens and crushed the distant ages.

The Ocean of Death was barely able to manifest this finger even with its boundless rune lines, but even this incomplete form couldn’t be withstood by the Dao of Heaven. All of the students were ejected from the Dao. Actually, it wasn’t only the Dao of Heaven. All of the students in every single one of the Nine Trialzones died and were pushed out. It was as if no living thing could survive beneath this finger. 

It was a finger that reached the heavens and contained an unimaginable strength. Its only target was Lu Yin, and he was able to clearly observe it because of the Stonewall Scriptures. At this moment, he felt like he could even learn this battle technique. 

The finger in the sky above the Ocean of Death crushed down. A moment passed, but it felt like a long time had passed even as the Dao of Heaven continued trembling. The instance before the finger crashed into Lu Yin, it dissipated as the Ocean of Death was unable to support it any longer. Even if it had only been a phantom image, the entirety of the Dao of Heaven’s runes could not support the image. It was a supreme level of strength. 

The moment right the finger vanished, Lu Yin completely fainted. But right before he lost consciousness, he released the Ghost Monkey. 

The abnormal changes in the Nine Trialzones had captured the attention of the entire Astral Combat Academy. The nine headmasters moved out together to get a grasp of the situation, as the trial zones were vital resources of the Astral Combat Academy. Still, they were destined to be unable to make sense of the matter. 

In an unknown place, at an unknown time, possibly in the future or in the past, or even possibly deeper in the long river of history, a pair of elegant eyes opened. “So it’s from that area of the universe.” 

No one knew the reason behind the changes in the Dao of Heaven, but some had guessed it was related to Lu Yin. However, everyone from Astral-10 sang the same tune: Lu Yin had also been pushed out from the Dao of Heaven, and his fate was unknown. 

Just like before, a dark yellow fog covered the Ocean of Death’s surface. Lu Yin was lying in his boat, still unconscious. The monkey blankly sat there, doing his best to keep the boat together.

His strength, at best, could match up to a Realm Master, which meant that he was at Kuang Wang’s level, who could not hold out for long in this location. Fortunately, the current boat was formed from Lu Yin’s star energy, or else it would have broken down a long time ago. Even so, the monkey estimated that he would not be able to endure for more than a few days. 

“What kind of broken place is this? There’s not a single shadow here. Monkeys aren’t meant to row boats.” 

“There’s no way that any war spirits will show up, or else I’m dead.”

“That thing just now was a finger, right? That was too terrifying. How did Seventh Bro—no, this bastard, withstand it? What kind of curse was he reciting?” 

“It looks like this bastard has a bunch of secrets, and that’s why he’s always screening me off. I’ve told him this so many times, that we are one body and that we can’t be separated, but he still insists on screening me. What kind of secret could he possibly have? Can it actually be bigger than Progenitor Wushang's hide?”

“Eh, it looks like there’s a ghost here!”

…

The monkey just continued chattering nonstop as he guided the boat across the water. For the entire time that Lu Yin was unconscious, he continued to incessantly blabber on in the same fashion, and he even constantly repeated himself. Just like that, he turned the lifeless Ocean of Death into a tea party of his own. 

The boat was visibly thinning, and the monkey desperately wailed, “Seventh Bro, why haven’t you woken up yet? I can’t hold on for much longer!”

“No! Men can’t say that they can’t endure things! Speaking of which, I wonder how little sister Feng Jiu’s doing. She must be very lonely—bah, she can’t be lonelier than me.”

“What’s this Ocean of Death actually made of? Is it drinkable? I’m actually getting quite thirsty.”

…

After some time, Lu Yin felt like his brain was about to explode. He awakened, but he felt very dizzy. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the Ghost Monkey in front of him.

Lu Yin frowned and used a firm hand to smack the monkey.

The monkey crashed against the boat with a bang and scolded Lu Yin, “Bastard, are you crazy? Why’d you hit me?”

Lu Yin rubbed his forehead. “Ever since I let you out, you haven’t stopped spouting crap, and now, you’ve given me a headache.”

The monkey felt wronged. “How can you blame me? Look at where we are! This place is lifeless, and we still can’t see the end. It’s so terrifying, and it even feels haunted. A war spirit even appeared earlier to scare me.”

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. “A tomb raider like yourself is afraid of ghosts? Speaking of, aren’t you a ghost yourself?”

“I’m a mighty monkey, not a ghost! Also, I’m not a tomb raider, but an archaeologist and a researcher. A researcher!” the monkey shouted.

Lu Yin had no comeback for that. “Alright, alright, I got it. A researcher.” He then checked the small boat and found that only a thin layer remained. In a few hours, the boat would have disappeared, and the monkey would have been in a difficult situation.

Lu Yin acted and quickly restored the boat to make it sturdier. He then withdrew the monkey and looked into the distance. “I wonder how far we are until we reach the end of this.”

With that, he started guiding the boat further into the ocean.

The boat forged across the Ocean of Death as Lu Yin’s mind replayed the image of that phantom finger and the multitude of changes that he had observed. If not for the Stonewall Scriptures, he definitely would not have been able to see those changes. Also, if not for that finger, the Stonewall Scriptures would have made him forcibly pass out much earlier. Unexpectedly, the two forces had mutually countered each other. 

Lu Yin had always felt that the Stonewall Scriptures were unfathomable and that there was a great history behind it. That finger had further confirmed his suspicions, as that finger had transcended the void. 

Although he could not distinguish how strong an old freak with a power level in the hundreds of thousands truly was, he had a feeling that not even they had set foot in the realm that that finger came from.  

Whether it was in his dreams or at the Stargazing Deck, although he had seen that finger approaching him with the intent of crushing him, he had never seen it clearly. This time, however, he had clearly seen it, and he could tell that the finger definitely belonged to a woman and that it was a terrifying battle technique. 

Since it was a battle technique, that meant that he could learn it. Just that thought made Lu Yin light up. He had observed the various changes of that finger and knew that it could transcend the heavens. Such a battle technique easily surpassed any of the combat methods he currently possessed. At present, his Cosmic Palm could not keep up with his strength, the Skybeast Claw’s power was too insufficient, and the Daynight Punch was not suited for him. His attack style had become overly simple, as he was currently only relying on the Overlaying Stacks. Once he faced a strong opponent who could defend themselves against that attack, he would be at a severe disadvantage. 

There were still Limiteers who could rival him, and they might even be able to withstand Thirty Stacks, which meant that he still lacked a trump card. 

That finger had given Lu Yin some hope. He was certain that it was stronger than any other battle technique. This strange, irrefutable belief stemmed from his intuition.

He had to learn it!

However, it was useless, as just looking at that finger had caused him to faint, and a dream was not something that he could manipulate.There was no way that he would be able to learn the variations of that finger in his dream.

He thought about it deeply, but in the end, he could only come up with one solution: the Stargazing Deck.

The first time he had seen this finger had been when he ascended the Stargazing Deck. More importantly, the Stargazing Deck was dependent on his willpower, and he could even use lockbreaking tools there. Not only could the Stargazing Deck show him that finger again, but it could also show him the complete form of the Skybeast Claw as well, which would be killing two birds with one stone. 

Lu Yin decided to make a request to ascend the Stargazing Deck once again after leaving the Ocean of Death, and he hoped that the Starmaster would allow him to do so. 

“Seventh Bro, look ahead!” the monkey suddenly shrieked.

Lu Yin looked up, where something different finally appeared in the distant scenery. It was the silhouette of an island. 

Lu Yin stood up as his emotions surged; he had finally arrived.

Ever since the Astral Combat Academy had taken over the trial zones, few people had managed to reach the end of the Ocean of Death. But right now, he had joined their ranks.

As the boat slowly drew closer, Lu Yin could see the island more clearly. It was a very normal-looking island. 

As they got closer, Lu Yin became more cautious, as he was wary of whatever he might encounter here.

When the boat reached the shore, Lu Yin felt that it was a bit surreal. Was he able to just get off of the boat that easily? 

“Seventh Bro, hurry up! I want to see what the supposed end of the Ocean of Death contains!” The monkey was excited.

Lu Yin stepped foot onto the island, and the beach very much felt like real soil, though it was a little sticky. He squatted and touched it to examine it further, and his face instantly changed. It was blood; the soil was soaked in blood. 

His face turned solemn as he unleashed his domain, covering a radius of a hundred meters, then a thousand meters. Every single grain of soil was soaked with blood, and he could not find a single patch that had been overlooked. How many people had died here? 

“Seventh Bro, look. There’s footprints over there,” the monkey pointed out.

Lu Yin turned around and saw that, not far away from where they had landed, there was a set of footprints leading towards the center of the island. “Those should have been left behind by that Arbiter from before.” 

“If there’s only one set, then does that mean that only one of the Ten Arbiters made it this far?” the monkey guessed. 

Lu Yin wasn’t sure. He walked over beside the footprints and studied them. “It’s a small footprint. Either this person wasn’t too old, or they were a girl.”

“Probably a girl. Didn’t one of the Arbiters make it here before?” the monkey said.

Lu Yin agreed with him and then turned to look into the depths of the island. A gloomy canyon stretched across it. Perhaps he would truly enter the island after crossing it.

Lu Yin did not hesitate and moved towards the canyon. 

When he just entered it, a chilly breeze swept across that caused Lu Yin’s hair to stand on end. He was just about to speak, but then, suddenly, a rumbling loud voice was heard. “This can't be, this can't be! What are you maggots relying on to kill me, what exactly…

“Five changed the sky. Five was replaced with six. Since then, a fake veil has been draped across the heavens. We won't allow it!

“The sky has changed. It has changed. We will revolt! We will massacre the heavens and turn it into a river of blood!”

…

Lu Yin covered his head and panted as he stared ahead. This voice should be the will of some ancient remnant being transmitted along with that chilly wind. It was filled with deep resentment and unwillingness. It sounded as if it was in disbelief.