Lu Yin smacked his forehead, feeling rather helpless. “I still can’t have a pleasant time looting.”
Then, right after he uttered those words, he turned around and looked to the side to see a cultivator peeking their head out.
When the man saw Lu Yin look over and see him, the cultivator tried to smile in an ingratiating manner before quickly turning to leave.
Lu Yin’s figure flashed as he chased after the man. When he caught up, he set a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Bro, what a coincidence! How many times have we run into each other now?”
This cultivator was Qian Zou, and he had never expected to run into Lu Yin’s group yet again. Their meetings were so coincidental that he was starting to feel nervous.
“That- I’m just passing by, so sorry if I disturbed you three. Anyways, I’ll be heading out now,” Qian Zou hurriedly said. He then glanced at the Mountain and Seas Pouches behind Black and White’s backs. If he remembered correctly, these three definitely had not had anything like that when they first met. And yet, they now had bulging pouches. The tablet world didn’t have any treasures, so these three must have robbed others. Bandits! Gangsters!
Lu Yin held tight to Qian Zou’s shoulder. “Bro, what’s your name?”
The cultivator hoarsely replied, “Qian- Qian Zou.”
Black was surprised at this response. “Are you asking for a beating?”1
White clenched her fists. “Then we’ll beat him up.”
Qian Zou’s mouth opened wide. “I’m not asking for a beating! My name’s Qian Zou!”
“Beat him up,” Black stated.
White grew eager. “Beat him up!”
Qian Zou was about to cry, as he could not win against these two brats.
At that moment, the tablet world suddenly underwent a momentous change, and a distant city was instantly shattered. The earth and sky also changed, especially the sky, which seemed to shatter. Countless figures flew up into the skies and shot towards the ruined city, and quite a few figures that had been in the city shot up towards the figures in the sky.
At the same time, shadowy figures started killing each other all around Lu Yin’s group.
Their small group was startled, as a significant change was clearly taking place.
The tablet world would continue on until a certain day or event occurred. Then it would restart the cycle once again. Lu Yin’s group had not expected the end of the cycle to take place right then and there.
At this moment, a loud shout echoed out from the distance. There, several cultivators who had failed to dodge the commotion had ended up touching one of the remnant spiritual forces, which had drawn the attention of that remnant spiritual force. That group of people had been immediately killed.
Lu Yin tightly held onto Qian Zou as they backed away. At the place where they had just been standing, an attack struck and broke through the ground.
Qian Zou’s face went white.
The attack had come from the sky, and it had merely been an aftershock from a battle. And while it had been only an aftershock, the power of the attack had definitely surpassed the power level of an Enlighter.
Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn as he looked up at the sky. An ancient battle was being replayed, and it should be the scene of this city being invaded.
The city master made another appearance, and he used his powerful finger technique to tear the sky apart. However, his body was soon torn apart by another grey figure. The victor’s physical strength was so formidable that the watching cultivators all trembled. As the figure smashed through the sky, the shockwave from its attack caused the ground to visibly cave in slightly.
Lu Yin quickly grabbed onto Qian Zou and retreated. Black and White were both very fast, so there was no need to worry about either of them.
Behind them, in front of them, and on all sides, grey humanoid figures were fighting and massacring each other.
These figures were all grey, and it was impossible to determine where they came from. However, the ones that were attacking the city all used strange techniques, and there was a certain sense of something contemptible to their techniques.
“It’s- it’s the Neohuman Alliance!” Qian Zou was petrified with fear as he softly mumbled this realization in surprise.
Lu Yin was shocked. “What did you say? The Neohuman Alliance?”
Qian Zou nodded. “The figures attacking the city are corpse kings. Look at their attacks!”
When Qian Zou mentioned this, Lu Yin suddenly realized that it was true; the attacks and movements of the attacking humanoids were identical to the corpse kings he had faced in the past. These beings were simply charging forward and howling, and there were some that paused for a moment before suddenly becoming far more terrifying. That should be the corpse king transformation.
This was the record of an ancient battle. The tablet world was something found within the Mountain and Seas Zone, so if one followed this line of thought, then the era when this battle took place should be when the Fifth Mainland still had Progenitors and when the Daosource Sect had not been destroyed yet. The Sixth Mainland had not invaded the Fifth Mainland back then, but even in the ancient past, the Neohuman Alliance existed? Lu Yin remembered hearing that the Neohuman Alliance had been established after the Seven Courts.
No, that was not right. Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. Back when he had visited the Six-Fingered Tribe’s ancestral grounds, he had seen a stone slab with scarlet eyes and vertical pupils carved into it. That stone slab had been incomparably ancient, and there had also been some of the most ancient characters he had ever seen carved on it. If the Neohuman Alliance had been born after the Seven Courts, then there would not be such ancient characters on it. When Lu Yin saw that stone and the red eyes, he had already formed a theory that the Neohuman Alliance had existed since long, long ago. It was possible that it might have not been known as the Neohuman Alliance in the beginning.
The entire city was reduced to ruins, and Lu Yin dragged Qian Zou along as they constantly evaded the aftershocks of the battle. Within the city, quite a few cultivators had been discovered, and they were instantly killed by the humanoid figures.
“Some people are approaching from the distance,” White whispered.
Lu Yin turned around to see quite a few grey figures streaking through the sky from the distance, moving towards the city. One of them raised his hand and used a battle technique that Lu Yin surprisingly recognized: Skybeast Claw.
Lu Yin had not used the Skybeast Claw battle technique in a while. He had long since known that the Skybeast Claw was not an ordinary battle technique; otherwise, when he had used the technique on the Stargazing Deck, he would not have seen marks from the technique on that ancient warship. However, the battle technique had become rather weak in comparison to his other attacks as his strength had improved.
He had actually almost forgotten about this battle technique, and he had never thought that he would see it in this tablet world.
The Skybeast Claw that this figure used looked like Lu Yin’s, but the moment that he saw it, an ancient beast howl rang out next to Lu Yin’s ears, and it was far more intense than when he used the technique. It sounded as if a massive beast had truly emerged from the ancient era as the claw descended.
One claw slashed through the area, and it tore straight through the humanoid who had killed the city master.
Qian Zou’s face went pale, and his legs became slightly wobbly.
Lu Yin’s eyes grew fervent as he stared intently at the Skybeast Claw. Was the battle technique actually this formidable?
A single battle technique had targeted all of the corpse kings that had ambushed the city.
Following the Skybeast Claw, all sorts of other battle techniques were unleashed, and the power of each one was peerless, and there were even some battle techniques that felt more powerful than the Skybeast Claw. The aftershock of each attack forced Lu Yin to take evasive maneuvers as he dragged Qian Zou behind him. Fortunately, they had already reached the edge of the city before this new barrage, as otherwise, they would have never been able to escape.
“Starry Star Art!” Black cried.
In the sky, countless grey orbs revolved about before eventually enveloping the city and the entire sky. These stars were actually from the Cosmic Art, only that they were grey like everything else in the tablet world.
Lu Yin was overwhelmed, as there were thousands of stars here. What the hell? Not to mention the city, but even an entire region of space would not be able to withstand this attack, so why would such an attack appear in a city?
Cosmic Art and the Skybeast Claw were not the only techniques that appeared, and later on, more people arrived who used more and more different techniques, each one able to destroy an entire region of space. However, only a portion of the city was destroyed with each attack, and not a single one of the attacks was able to destroy the entire city.
This clearly had not been an ordinary city.
Lu Yin tightly held onto Qian Zou as he constantly evaded the various grey humanoids and raced out of the city.
In another direction, God Taiyi was also racing out of the city. He noticed Lu Yin running along and saw that Lu Yin was holding onto Qian Zou with Black and White closely following behind. God Taiyi’s expression changed, and he immediately distanced himself from the group. He did not want to be caught up with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin had actually wanted to greet God Taiyi, but seeing God Taiyi avoid him left Lu Yin somewhat unhappy. Thus, he actually led Qian Zou, Black, and White to chase after God Taiyi.
When God Taiyi looked back and saw that Lu Yin was chasing after him, he was momentarily taken aback. He repeatedly gestured with his eyes for Lu Yin to move away.
Lu Yin raised a hand in greeting.
God Taiyi was infuriated; what a bastard!
At this moment, Qian Zou also wanted to curse at Lu Yin, but he did not dare to do so. “Um, brother? Could you please let me go? I can take care of myself.”
Lu Yin asked, “Where can an Explorer like you hide? Just quietly follow me. Otherwise, don’t blame me when you die.”
Qian Zou grew flustered. “Bro-”
“Call me Seventh Bro.”
“That- Seventh Bro, let me down. I’m very fast.”
“As fast as those two brats?”
Qian Zou glanced over at Black and White and thought about the question. “Just about.”
Lu Yin was astonished, and he looked Qian Zou up and down. “You’re about as fast as those two?”
Qian Zou nodded seriously.
Lu Yin let go of the youth. “Best of luck.”
At the same time, countless grey attacks fell down from the sky like meteors, and they completely covered the city and reduced it to ruins. Lu Yin subconsciously wanted to grab hold of Qian Zou and dodge, but Qian Zou’s feet moved about with a strange pace. He looked like he was stepping backwards, but his body continued to move forward and released ripples that traveled through the void. The sight of him moving gave people the misconception that he was moving in the reverse direction, which made for an extremely uncomfortable feeling.
Lu Yin was surprised; what sort of battle technique was this?
Qian Zou had not been lying, and he truly was not slower than Black or White. This was the Inverse Step. In the past, when he had been surrounded by enemies, he had luckily managed to acquire this technique from an auction house, and he had subsequently used the Inverse Step to escape from numerous dangerous situations after that. This time was no exception.
Lu Yin was very curious about Qian Zou’s Inverse Step, but there was no time to observe the movement technique in detail, as various strange attacks were sweeping through the city from the sky. Another group of grey humanoids had landed, and based on their attacks and movements, these attackers were more corpse kings.
Who knew why there were so many of them here.
One corpse king crashed right in front of Lu Yin’s group, terrifying God Taiyi. He quickly fled off in another direction, as that grey humanoid had nearly struck him.
The corpse king stood up and snarled where it stood. Its voice should have been exceptionally loud, as the void was fluctuating from its howl. However, since it was just a remnant spiritual force, there was no sound at all.
Lu Yin’s group dodged the attack once again, but right when they were evading, the void split open. A finger that contained an indescribably bizarre feeling descended. A single finger shattered the corpse king.
Qian Zou’s face turned deathly white, and he picked up his pace.
Lu Yin stared at that finger, and his pupils shrank; that was the Dream Finger! He was certain, as that had unmistakably been the Dream Finger just now.
Lu Yin had cultivated for over twelve years, and he had made his way into the Neoverse from the Outerverse. Over the course of his journey, he felt like he had seen countless battle techniques, and among them were quite a few finger techniques. However, he had never seen the Dream Finger anywhere else. He had even secretly made some inquiries to see if the Dream Finger was somehow connected to his past, but there had been no news at all.
He had never thought that he would see this technique in the tablet world.
Lu Yin stared intently at the void behind the finger, as he wanted to know who had used this Dream Finger.
However, the void instantly closed back up, and Lu Yin was not able to see anything.
Lu Yin blankly stood in place as he looked at the recovered void in front of him. As long as he managed to uncover the identity of the person who had used the Dream Finger just now, he would be able to delve into his past. It might even reveal some of the mystery behind his missing memories.
With great difficulty, a few cultivators managed to escape from the city, and they all looked back to see it be reduced to ruins. Countless grey humanoids were fleeing in all directions, though they represented mere commoners, and they disappeared after being struck by the aftershocks of various attacks.
This battle was something that had occurred in ancient times, and the people from the city had died long, long ago.
Outside the city, besides Lu Yin’s small group, there were a few other cultivators, and they all looked rather disheveled. There were a few cultivators who would never be able to leave the city.
Black tugged at Lu Yin’s clothes, and he followed where her finger was pointing, only to see Lei Nü and Qiu Shi.
Quite a few experts had gathered in this place, though Lu Yin did not see any of the Ten Arbiters.
Qiu Shi also noticed Lu Yin, but her expression remained calm, and she continued to stare at the city.
[1] Qian Zou = asking for a beating. ☜
