Star Odyssey

Xi Yue’s strength was not that much inferior to Jared’s, but there was still a slight disparity. Xi Yue was currently about as strong as Michelle, but Jared had already been an Area Master when Michelle first joined the Astral Combat Academy. For this contest on Planet Pyrolyte, the Blaze Realm had given him a portion of the karmic flames that were already low in quantity. This meant that he could now use the Blaze Realm’s inherited battle technique: the Karmic Flame Sword.  

However, Jared did not use the Karmic Flame Sword against Xi Yue, as there was no need for him to do so. Instead, he used an illusionary battle technique that he had obtained from the trial zones, easily defeating Xi Yue since her musical technique could not react in time. Fortunately, her cosmic ring was filled with gathered pyrolyte ore, so Xi Yue simply detonated all of it, which made Jared apprehensive enough for her to make her escape. 

Xi Yue’s time of being the strongest Limiteer on Planet Pyrolyte had come to a complete end once the heirs from the other great powers demonstrated their power. 

Seven days passed, though Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi were still traversing through the heavens. The situation in the Northcastle Weave had stabilized with the arrival of numerous Outerverse Enlighters, but the contest on Planet Pyrolyte only intensified further, with the casualties continuing to mount. 

The various great powers’ battleships were like monsters that were constantly monitoring every little thing that happened on Planet Pyrolyte. Those on the vessels could watch every single battle from start to finish, such as when Wen Qian'er led the Wen family to defeat a certain flowzone’s power, when Jared showed his dominance by massacring all the disciples from another power, or when Kuang Wang followed the Second Grade Hall’s troops and kept a low profile, not even acting once. All of these scenes were displayed to everybody. 

Planet Pyrolyte was rather barren, and not many plants grew on the planet. Those that did exist resembled cacti and were very tenacious at clinging onto life. There were not many indigenous animals, and most remained burrowed underground, only emerging to look for water on rare occasions. 

The strong winds were filled with dark-red sand and constantly streaked across the skies. On one part of the planet, multiple tornadoes suddenly formed in the distance, headed towards a group of people. 

They were draped in cloaks, and each one was holding a pyrolyte detector. From time to time, they would draw close to each other to discuss something. 

When the group of tornadoes arrived, one member of the group casually raised their hand, causing powerful star energy to burst out and transform into an invisible hand that directly swept the tornadoes aside. In an instant, the area turned to a peaceful state. 

The others in the group were not surprised. If given enough time, a Limiteer was strong enough to destroy an entire planet, let alone suppress meteorological phenomena on a planet’s surface. 

Suddenly, one member of the group cried out, and the others immediately ran over. 

“That’s right, there’s a reaction indicating massive amounts of pyrolyte ore. There should be a huge aggregation ahead.” 

“Can you tell how far?” 

“Probably about a hundred kilometers away.”

On Planet Pyrolyte, a hundred kilometers was a minuscule distance, but it was still very far for ordinary humans. Most cultivators could not see that far, and only those with more extraordinary innate gifts could. Fortunately, one of the members of the group had sharp eyes, and he gazed into the distance. “There’s a mountain about a hundred kilometers in front of us.”

“Miss, that mountain should be where the pyrolyte ore is located. The reaction is rather strong, so there should be quite a lot there,” someone spoke excitedly.

“Let’s go. We’ll talk after we occupy that place.” The group then charged straight towards the mountain. 

Coincidentally, on the opposite side of the mountain, also about a hundred kilometers away, another group also discovered the existence of this pyrolyte vein. This group appeared to be more complex than the first, mostly because there was a strange-looking beast next to almost every single cultivator. This group was from the Second Grade Hall. 

Gadgets could not be used on Planet Pyrolyte, so neither side was aware of the other’s existence. Only when they arrived at the base of the mountain did they discover traces of the other party, and a battle soon started without any reservations. 

The Second Grade Hall quickly fell behind, because the girl in the opposing group was Wen Qian'er. Her star energy was abundant. and it filled the area with a feminine aura; this was her domain. 

Han Chong could draw a picturesque scenery of sea and mountains with his star energy while Wen Qian'er drew out a female skeleton. 

That was just a description; those who came in contact with Wen Qian'er’s star energy while she was supported by her domain would notice their determination being rapidly sapped away. Almost half of the Second Grade Hall’s men lost their will to fight in an instant, and they were then crushed by the Wen family’s Limiteers. 

Erudite Flowzone and Beast Tamers Flowzone were neighbors, and they did not hold much animosity towards each other. Thus, there were no fatalities in this clash. 

Wen Qian'er waved a hand and ordered her people to go investigate how much pyrolyte ore was present. Then, they sent out a signal to the Wen family’s battleships above the planet to have them send some people down to the mountain to mine it all. 

If the Wen family could see it, then so could the other powers. However, there were not many who were able to compete with them. 

They smoothly prepared all the equipment needed to extract the pyrolyte ore.

Suddenly, Wen Qian'er’s face changed, and she dodged to the side. In the place where she had just been standing, there was now a fierce and strange-looking snake with antlers on its head that was lunging at her. 

Wen Qian'er turned around and flicked a finger, wanting to use a gale to eliminate this strange snake. However, the beast easily resisted the gale and then opened its mouth, unleashing a peculiar sound that resonated through the sky and took the form of a grey hurricane as it swept out. The storm was not destructive to the air or to the earth, and not even the mining equipment was harmed. However, the strange tempest caused all the people from the Wen family to feel nauseous. 

Wen Qian'er’s face paled, and she saw the strange snake lunge at her once again. Her gaze shivered, and she raised her left index finger. “Literary Prison, sixteen characters.” As soon as these words left her mouth, lines of characters dropped down from the void and trapped the strange snake within their formation. No matter how the creature pounded against the characters, it could not shake the Literary Prison. 

The Literary Prison was the Wen family’s ancient inherited battle technique, and only those who had grasped at least sixteen characters could form it. Wen Qian'er had just recently comprehended that number.

At that moment, another figure attacked her from behind. She did not move, and someone else from the Wen family acted. It was a middle-aged man, and he raised a hand to fend off the figure as he moved to stand behind Wen Qian’er. 

There were many people in the Wen family who had reached the Limiteer realm but were unable to break past it. Although they were not as outstanding as Lu Yin and many others, they had ample battle experience. This person had pretended to be powerless when the strange snake first attacked, but he had suddenly acted at this moment, which caused the assailant to be severely injured since he had been left with no time to defend himself. 

Wen Qian'er slowly turned around and looked at the man lying on the ground with a deathly white face. She said, “You must be Hui Chuan.”

The man spat out a mouthful of blood. “I never thought that the Wen family’s mistress would actually recognize little old me.”

Her lips curled up. “You aren’t unknown. In the younger generation of the Divine Grade Hall, you’re one of the top few, but unfortunately, you can’t compare to that elite, Kuang Wang, and the others. Aren’t they also here?” 

“You want to meet them?” Hui Chuan spoke with great difficulty as he raised a hand and pointed into the distance. Suddenly Wen Qian'er looked down, and her face changed. A blade of grass had unknowingly started waving in the wind. It looked very gentle, almost as if it could be blown away at any moment. However, Wen Qian'er’s expression was as if she was facing a great enemy; she had recognized this fleeting blade of grass as emperor butterfly topgrass, a tyrannical plant that could dispel star energy. This plant was one of Kuang Wang’s tamed beasts.

Kuang Wang had finally arrived.

The Astral Combat Tournament had shown countless people throughout the Human Domain the power of a Realm Master. Although Kuang Wang had ultimately lost under Liu Shaoqiu’s blade, his power was undeniable. Even though he was not on the level of the generation’s greatest elites, he was still quite terrifying, and was at least qualified to force Wen Qian'er to be on guard. 

When the emperor butterfly topgrass revealed itself, regardless of whether it was Wen Qian'er or the others from the Wen family, they all found that their star energy had been dispelled in a tyrannical fashion. 

Originally, there was no star energy on Planet Pyrolyte, and it could only be absorbed through star crystals or star essences. And in this battle, the Wen family members’ star energy had been dispelled so quickly that they simply had no time to absorb any more; this was simply a fatal blow. 

To Kuang Wang, Planet Pyrolyte could be treated as his home ground. Anyone who battled against him would be thrown into a situation where they had insufficient star energy. The sole exception was if someone at Liu Shaoqiu’s level appeared. Those whose power level was close to Kuang Wang’s would not be able to match up to him at all, and Wen Qian'er was no exception. 

If she was still in her peak state, then she was confident in being able to use her Literary Prison to trap Kuang Wang and then defeat him from there on out. However, she could not do that now, as she did not have enough star energy to form another Literary Prison. In fact, the one around the strange snake had already started dissipating. 

As the emperor butterfly topgrass dispelled star energy, it created a true vacuum of star energy. This was the terror of this grass, and this was also the reason why Kuang Wang was so formidable on Planet Pyrolyte. 

Kuang Wang appeared from under the sandstorm as he made his way over to the group, step by step. The giant azure dragon snarled when it appeared from his left arm, and it soon covered the sky. 

No one dared to drop their guard against Kuang Wang, especially given the current circumstances. 

“You guys should back off. I don’t want to harm you,” Kuang Wang said as he calmly looked at Wen Qian'er. 

Not too far away from Wen Qian'er, two of the Wen family’s Limiteers suddenly took action, battle force bursting forth from their bodies. These two powerhouses who had mastered three-lined battle force moved to surround Kuang Wang, intending to use physical strength to break through Kuang Wang’s emperor butterfly topgrass. 

The azure dragon was still flying around in the sky when Kuang Wang suddenly looked up, causing pure purple battle force to envelop his body. This was four-lined battle force! He had only displayed three-lined battle force during the Astral Combat Tournament, but now, he had broken through and comprehended four-lined battle force. 

Every additional line represented a new level of strength, and the two three-lined battle force powerhouses from the Wen family were easily defeated by Kuang Wang. 

Wen Qian'er was unresigned to their loss. She raised a hand and formed a sixteen-character Literary Prison around Kuang Wang. However, since her star energy was insufficient, the Literary Prison was too frail, and the azure dragon smashed it apart with a whip of its tail. 

Kuang Wang proudly proclaimed, “I’ll say it one last time: back away now! This mountain belongs to me.” 

Hui Chuan, who was lying on the ground, wiped his lips. The Literary Prison that had entrapped his strange snake had vanished by now, and the serpent landed on Hui Chuan’s shoulder since it was his tamed beast.  

There was no use in resisting anymore even if Wen Qian'er was unwilling. She could only helplessly raise her hand, commanding the entire Wen family to retreat.

The Wen family, the steward family of Erudite Flowzone, one of the eight great Flowzones, had been forced out. This event made Wen Qian'er feel humiliated, and she glared at Kuang Wang. “Just wait and see.” 

Kuang Wang could not care less about her threat, as Planet Pyrolyte was his playing field. Anyone who battled him here would be weakened by one level, and he was even confident about challenging Liu Shaoqiu on this planet. Even if Liu Shaoqiu had once defeated him within the the emperor butterfly topgrass’s star energy vacuum, that had been some time ago. Kuang Wang’s battle force had reached the four-lined level, so he felt confident in being able to block Liu Shaoqiu’s sword. As long as he could withstand that sword, he would be able to retaliate. 

After all, the foundation of cultivation was star energy. Without it, cultivators were nothing.

Of course, a freak like Lu Yin could not be seen as a normal cultivator, and Kuang Wang’s ego was not so inflated that he dared to challenge Lu Yin. Regardless of if he was in the wider universe or on Planet Pyrolyte, that freak was simply a monster. 

The Wen family retreated, but their mining equipment had been forcefully seized by Kuang Wang. Based on the Wen family’s investigation, this mountain most likely contained a large amount of pyrolyte ore. Based on his calculations, they would be able to obtain at least five hundred grams of refined ore, or possibly even more. 

In other areas of the Astral Wilderness, the amount of unrefined pyrolyte ore in one place would not even amount to five hundred grams. In many cases, even after a planet was completely extracted of all ore, the net sum would be no more than tens of grams of refined pyrolyte ore. However, this mountain contained so much more, which excited the Second Grade Hall. They immediately maneuvered all of their manpower to ensure total control of the mountain. Kuang Wang did not retrieve the emperor butterfly topgrass back into his body, and instead left it out to perpetually maintain the energy vacuum around the mountain. 

Also, Kuang Wang personally named the mountain Pyrolyte Mountain.