Star Odyssey

Lu Yin bowed low and solemnly stated, "This junior is absolutely not a spy of Aeternus. If you do not believe me, Senior, please feel free to conduct an investigation. Lord Xu has also already met me."

"Hehe, I’m well aware that you aren’t a spy. It was just a joke, so why are you being so serious?" The man chuckled. He then pulled out some food from his cosmic ring and grabbed Xu Wuji’s drink before turning back to watch the battle.

"Old Xiu Ci’s voidforce energy has increased yet again. We should try to persuade him to stop going back to the Endless Frontier. It won't be any good if he dies there. The Cyclic Universe has so many old monsters, so why not let them go fight? Those of us from the Voidforce Universe should hide in the back, as that’s the best strategy. Staying alive is the most important thing," Xu Wuwei muttered while watching the fight unfold.

Xu Wuji had no idea what to say to such a comment. Even if it was true, there were certain things that were better left unspoken.

Lu Yin felt his heart grow heavy as he looked at Xu Wuwei. No matter what he did, this old man's impression of him didn’t improve in the slightest.

"How do you plan on dealing with Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples?" Xu Wuwei asked.

Lu Yin replied, "The Bureau doesn't need to explain anything to them."

"What if Sovereign Ninth Lotus tries to make trouble for you?" Xu Wuwei continued.

Lu Yin did not answer. What could he do if Sovereign Ninth Lotus got directly involved?

"I will deal with any pressure from Sovereign Ninth Lotus for you. All you need to do is remain in the Bureau and continue serving humanity. There are benefits to being cunning, as you're at least quite capable when it comes to weeding out spies," Xu Wuwei said.

Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Senior."

"How did you know that you could trick Cheng Feng by impersonating Shaman God ?" Xu Wuwei suddenly asked.

His first comment about people assuming that Xuan Qi was a spy had not been a joke at all. Lu Yin had captured a number of spies almost immediately after joining the Bureau, which was not something that most people could do. However, suspecting Xuan Qi of being a spy just because of his accomplishments would only brew distrust, which was why Xu Wuwei had carefully chosen the right timing to raise the question. If Xuan Qi did not provide a reasonable answer, both Xu Wuwei and Xu Wuji would instantly become suspicious.

The truth was that Xu Wuji had already considered this question, but he simply had not found the right opportunity to ask it.

Lu Yin had already prepared an answer. "After I was chased away when posing as Tu Shuangshuang, I was followed by Shaman God."

Xu Wuwei and Wuji were both startled. "Shaman God chased after you?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Its puppet wanted to catch me. It’s possible that Cheng Feng wasn't deceived by the appearance of Tu Shuangshuang out of his abundant caution, but it’s also possible that he was warned by Shaman God. After that, it was easy for me to trick Cheng Feng by pretending to be Shaman God. Add in the fact that I really did capture Tu Shuangshuang and show her to Cheng Feng, he naturally didn’t suspect a thing."

"If Shaman God chased after you, how did you escape?" Xu Wuwei asked, staring intently at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin looked up. "Because of the Spiral Domain."

Xu Wuji immediately understood. It was already widely known that Xu Wuwei had taught Xuan Qi Spiral Domain, and that technique was what had led to Yun Wu being captured. It was also because of that technique that Xu Wuji had asked Xuan Qi to join the Bureau. While Shaman God’s avatars were indeed strong, only avatars could enter the Voidforce Universe, which meant that Xuan Qi had been chased by a Void Morphora at most. With Spiral Domain, it was indeed possible for Xuan Qi to escape from a Void Morphora.

While this made sense to Xu Wuji, Xu Wuwei did not understand at all. He heard the name “Spiral Domain,” and was rather stunned. "What Spiral Domain?"

Xu Wuji became confused.

Lu Yin replied, "The Spiral Domain that you taught me."

"What does you escaping from Shaman God have to do with my Spiral Domain?" Xu Wuwei still could not make sense of what he was hearing, as it had never occurred to the old man that the youth could actually comprehend his battle technique.

Spiral Domain was a technique that was based on spatial control. Even a Void Suprema expert who was proficient in battle techniques like Xiu Ci would never be able to learn Spiral Domain within such a short timeframe, if they could even learn it at all. How could Xuan Qi have possibly learned it already?

Lu Yin said, "Because I have already achieved an initial mastery over Spiral Domain, I was able to escape through my control of space. While Shaman God was searching for me, I took the opportunity to return and deceive Cheng Feng, rooting him out. If I had been even a single step late, Shaman God might have returned."

"What did you say? You’ve achieved an initial level of mastery over Spiral Domain?" Xu Wuwei exclaimed in astonishment.

Xu Wuji was caught off guard. "You didn't know? The entire reason why Xuan Qi joined the Bureau was because he’s able to use Spiral Domain to see traces that have been left in the void, which allows him to more easily catch spies."

Xu Wuwei completely ignored Xu Wuji. He was entirely focused on Lu Yin. "Have you really achieved initial mastery of Spiral Domain?"

Lu Yin nodded. "I believe so."

What did “I believe so” mean? Xu Wuwei had not taught Xuan Qi Spiral Domain out of kindness, but rather out of pure obligation. The old man had been absolutely certain that the youth could not learn the battle technique. Teaching Xuan Qi had been nothing more than a show that Xu Wuwei had put on so that Lord Xu and the rest of the Voidforce Universe would see that Xu Wuwei had completed his duty as the young man’s cultivation guide.contemporary romance

How had the young man achieved initial mastery? It was impossible.

"Show me." Xu Wuwei refused to believe it.

Lu Yin raised a hand, and a swirl of voidforce energy appeared and formed a sphere. After a moment, threads of energy started to run down spatial lines. There was no denying that he was using Spiral Domain.

Xu Wuji watched in admiration, despite not understanding the technique at all.

Xu Wuwei was dumbfounded. He could not have been more shocked if he had been struck by lightning. How could this youth have achieved initial mastery of Spiral Domain? It should have been impossible!

Even after the lines disappeared, Xu Wuwei still had not yet recovered.

Xu Wuji exclaimed, "Congratulations on obtaining such a talented student!"

"Get lost!" Xu Wuwei snapped angrily, startling Xu Wuji into a hasty retreat. Why is the old man so angry?

Xu Wuwei turned back to see Lu Yin's puzzled expression.

The old man had no idea how to respond. He felt like Xuan Qi had dug up a treasure from his own house. However, what made it even worse was that the old man knew that he had been the one to tell the young man where to dig. "How did you manage to comprehend this technique?"

Lu Yin blinked. "I just practiced, and somehow, it all came together. I was quite diligent in my training."

How could diligent practice explain this success?lights

Xu Wuwei's face twitched. Suddenly, he found that his food had lost all taste. "Practice is not enough to comprehend Spiral Domain. How did you really do it?"

"Senior, what's wrong?" Lu Yin asked, an innocent expression on his face.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Wuwei stared at Xuan Qi. The old man’s expression was very grave. "Xuan Qi, I'll ask you one last time. How did you manage to comprehend my technique?"

Beneath Xu Wuwei’s threatening stare, Lu Yin coughed softly. "It might have had something to do with the innate gift that I obtained from my arboreal transformation."

Xu Wuwei was taken aback. "What innate gift did you acquire from the Arboreal Realm?"

"Spatial control," Lu Yin replied. Xu Wuwei was so stunned that he nearly choked.

"You picked up an innate gift of spatial control?" Xu Wuwei was utterly flabbergasted.

Lu Yin nodded affirmatively.

Xu Wuwei was speechless. It was no wonder how this youth had successfully comprehended Spiral Domain! This explained everything. Spiral Domain was fundamentally a battle technique that was entirely about manipulating space. Since Xuan Qi had an innate gift of spatial control, Spiral Domain was practically tailor-made for him. The old man nearly slapped himself upon learning this.

"Senior, are you not happy?" Lu Yin asked cautiously.

Xu Wuwei stared at young man. "Why didn't you mention that you have an innate gift of space before?"

"Well, you never asked, Senior," Lu Yin responded casually.

Xu Wuwei's face was a mask of frustration. "You got it in the Arboreal Sanctuary?"

Lu Yin nodded again.

Things finally made sense to Xu Wuwei. It was no wonder why Xu Xiangyin had been so eager for Xu Wuwei to accept Xuan Qi as a disciple, and it now made sense why the Arboreal Realm had pulled out all the stops to steal the young man away from the Voidforce Universe. Xu Wuwei could really only blame himself, as he should have asked for more information about the young man. He had been too preoccupied with his contempt for the liar and had forgotten to ask about the details.

The more Xu Wuwei thought about the situation, the more frustrated he felt. He felt a sudden urge to destroy the youth’s innate gift of space. Let's see how he uses my Spiral Domain then.

Xu Wuwei understood that things were already over. Spiral Domain was no longer a technique that represented him alone, as another person had finally learned it. How infuriating.

"Since when was there a tree in the Arboreal Sanctuary with the innate gift of spatial control?" Xu Wuwei wondered. His curiosity was growing, and he was eager to learn the truth.

Lu Yin replied, "According to Mu Sanye, the tree has appeared numerous times in the past, usually during major battles. It’s apparently famous for whisking away peak powerhouses, but it flees from anyone who tries to catch it."

"That tree?" Xu Wuwei exclaimed in shock. "You encountered that wretched tree?"

Lu Yin nodded. "It seems that way."

Xu Wuwei examined Lu Yin from top to bottom, as if he was re-evaluating everything he knew about the young man.

Lu Yin continued, "It was actually a close call. If I hadn’t reacted quickly in the Arboreal Sanctuary, I would have been taken away by that tree. I only escaped by a hair's breadth, just a hair's breadth!"

Xu Wuwei opened his mouth to comment, but he instead left without saying a word. He did not even wait to see the conclusion of the battle. His irritation had driven him off.

Xu Wuji returned. "What's going on?"

Lu Yin shrugged. "I don't know."

Xu Wuji felt that something odd had just happened, but he did not ask any questions. The fight that they were observing had just taken a sudden turn, and the amount of voidforce energy being used started to wane.

"The two of you have indeed become Void Supremas, which is certainly a cause for celebration. However, you still can’t quite measure up to this old man. It’s possible that you will be able to catch up in another 10,000 years, but for now, you are still no match for me," Xiu Ci addressed Xu Leng and Xu Heng in a soft voice that betrayed his sadness. It was clear that facing Xu Heng and Xu Leng's powers had reminded the old man of Venerable Xuyi.

While Xiu Ci had fought against Venerable Xuyi many times due to their differing cultivation paths, they had been close friends. Xiu Ci had even taken a massive risk to retrieve Venerable Xuyi's corpse from the Endless Frontier.

"However, this old man is quite curious about something—where did you find the Yin Yang Sword?" Xiu Ci asked.

Xu Heng replied, "We will tell you that after our battle."

"You want to keep going?" Xiu Ci shook his head. "My only disadvantage when I faced Venerable Xuyi was that I had less voidforce energy than him, but that is no longer true. This fight is already over. My Formless Barrier is now beyond even his reach, let alone yours."

Xu Leng's face grew solemn. "Senior Xiu Ci, do you believe that Venerable Xuyi was stubborn and unwilling to change?"

Xiu Ci was caught off guard by the question.

"Senior Xiu Ci, many who struggled to cultivate with voidforce puppets have found their own path because of you. Even our ancestor admired the miracle that you've created. If you were able to cultivate a voidforce puppet and train your beard because of our ancestor, then our ancestor was also changed because of you," Xu Leng continued.

Xiu Ci' eyes started to positively blaze. "Venerable Xuyi changed because of me? He studied battle techniques?"

"We two juniors would ask to experience the power of your Formless Barrier. This is also what Venerable Xuyi would have wanted to see. Even if you had not sent us a challenge, we intended to challenge you after we both became Void Supremas. It was our ancestor's command before he went to the Endless Frontier," Xu Heng spoke up.

Xiu Ci laughed loudly. "Good, good, good! Venerable Xuyi didn't disappoint me! I've learned from his strengths and cultivated a voidforce puppet, while he learned from me and created a battle technique! Very well, let me see what kind of battle technique he mastered that he wished to use to challenge me."

As soon as the man finished speaking, a thick stone wall appeared in front of him. He then pressed a hand to the wall, aiming it towards Xu Heng and Xu Leng. Each time the old man’s hand touched the wall, a powerful palm print was sent through the wall, sweeping through space and shattering stars.

Lu Yin's expression shifted. Each of the palm prints shooting through space was far from simple, and even seeing it made Lu Yin feel very uncomfortable.

Xu Wuji exclaimed, "The Formless Barrier! It's incredibly robust, and only Senior Xiu Ci can launch attacks through it with his unique battle technique. Each attack carries the entire weight of his Formless Barrier. It is said that, when Venerable Xuyi fought Senior Xiu Ci in the past, even the Yin Yang Sword was barely able to stop these attacks. Doing so nearly shattered the blade."

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