Liu Ye just smiled. “There’s no need for Sect Master Yuan to be so concerned. We’re just Alliance Leader Lu’s bodyguards.”
Yuan Qiong and the others were shocked by this information, and it pressed upon them the seriousness of Lu Yin’s status. They were able to sense Liu Ye and Fei Hua’s strength, and the two surpassed most of the Cosmic Sect’s elders in strength, and they were only weaker than the sect’s top powerhouses, such as their sect master. There were actually two people with such power protecting Lu Yin.
Fei Hua was not happy to be reminded of the situation she was in.
Lu Yin smiled. “Liu Ye is just being humble. Both of them are this disciple’s elders, and we just happened to be going the same direction and decided to travel together. However, this person is someone whom Sect Master and the other seniors should have heard of: Da Qiu.”
“The Hall of Honor’s former enforcer?” Yuan Shou was surprised.
Elder Yao Shan turned to study Da Qiu, also surprised at his identity. “You became an Envoy?”
Da Qiu casually replied, “It was a lucky chance. Mr. Lu helped me with my breakthrough.”
Instantly, Lu Yin’s status reached new heights in everyone’s minds. Who else in the Fifth Mainland qualified to have three Envoys protecting them? Not even Shang Qing, who the Hall of Honor had put their entire efforts into raising, warranted such protection. Also, Shang Qing had already lost to Lu Yin.
Yuan Qiong carefully observed Lu Yin. Something occurred to the sect master, and the more he considered the matter, the more he felt it was highly likely that Lu Yin would eventually become a Progenitor of the Fifth Mainland. Even though Elder Gong had not specifically said anything, Yuan Qiong felt that it was quite likely that Lu Yin had succeeded in that place.
If that was true, then it would not be unacceptable to allow Lu Yin to be registered as one of the sect’s disciples. It was absolutely worth the price if the Cosmic Sect had a hand in raising a future Progenitor.
Yuan Qiong changed his mind at that moment.
Within the Cosmic Sect’s great hall, Lu Yin was clearly reluctant to take the seat of a guest. However, Yuan Qiong had stopped forcing the matter, and Lu Yin was thus allowed to sit as though he were a disciple beneath elder Yuan Shou and others. Meanwhile, Liu Ye and Fei Hua were invited to use the guests’ seats. As for positions in the seating arrangements, Luo Shen sat with Lu Yin while Da Qiu sat just below Liu Ye and Fei Hua.
As for Mu Ziying and the other disciples of the Cosmic Sect, they were given no seats and had no choice but to stand as they watched the proceedings.
Lu Yin’s primary goal in visiting the Cosmic Sect was to learn the next level of the Cosmic Art, but he was not certain how he should bring it up, especially when Elder Yao Shan was present. At the very least, this one elder would not be willing to share the Cosmic Art with an outsider.
Though he was feeling desperate, Lu Yin had no options available to him, and he just sat and exchanged pleasantries with Yuan Qiong and others as though he was truly just visiting the Cosmic Sect.
After half a day, Lu Yin stood up. “This disciple recently saw Elder Gong, and thus I wish to greet him during this visit. I ask the sect master for his permission.”
“You’ve met Elder Gong before?” Yuan Shou was surprised. He had never seen the grand elder before. The Cosmic Sect’s Elder Gong was one of the Fifth Mainland’s seven Semi-Progenitors, and he was someone with a lofty status. When Yuan Shou had first started cultivating, Elder Gong had already been a Semi-Progenitor.
Yuan Shou was not the only one, as very few of the elders in the great hall had ever seen the Semi-Progenitor before.
Lu Yin replied, “This disciple did indeed meet him once before.”
Yuan Qiong’s eyes flashed, and he was now absolutely certain that Lu Yin had succeeded in that place. Elder Gong had been absent for a short while and had only recently returned. Lu Yin must have gone there, though Yuan Qiong had no idea how to travel to that place. “I will immediately inform Elder Gong of your intentions.”
“Thank you, Sect Master,” Lu Yin said. He did not lie about meeting Elder Gong before. As he thought about it, he sought an audience with Yuan Qiong, determined to find a way to learn the next level of the Cosmic Art.
With the amount of time that Lu Yin had spent cultivating, there was a certain truth that he had discovered: the longer a powerhouse lived, the more simple their lives were.
This was similarly true of Elder Gong. The old man lived on a very ordinary planet within the Cosmic Sect that had beautiful landscapes. No other cultivators lived on the planet, only ordinary humans. At best, some of them worked to improve their physical conditioning and had formed some primitive empires. The entire situation somewhat reminded Lu Yin of Starsibyl Planet.
When Lu Yin had stepped foot on that planet, he had seen two empires battling each other with armies of millions of ordinary people. Even though such a battle could not compare to a war between cultivators, regular humans could still be very passionate about their conflicts.
Blades cut through bones, and rivers of blood flowed. Killing intent had filled the air, and there were even some regular humans whose arrogance surpassed that of cultivators.
Elder Gong was sitting far from the edge of the battlefield, quietly watching everything. He looked as though he could pass away from old age at any moment.
This man was the oldest of all of the Semi-Progenitors that Lu Yin had personally seen.
“Disciple Lu Yin greets Elder Gong.” Lu Yin moved closer to Elder Gong and bowed.
Elder Gong shifted. “Disciple?”
Lu Yin respectfully answered, “This disciple once represented Eversky Island as an exchange student to the Cosmic Sect. While studying here, I was elevated to the position of the fifth core disciple.”
“Ah, yes. I remember something about that,” Elder Gong said, and then he stopped talking. He resumed quietly staring at the battlefield.
Lu Yin blinked. “Elder, what are you watching?”
Elder Gong’s voice was hoarse. “A general.”
“A general?” Lu Yin grew curious and he turned to look at the battlefield. Although there were millions of soldiers fighting at this moment, it was still easy enough to identify the armies’ generals with a glance, as they were too conspicuous.
The general that Elder Gone was observing was an old man dressed in black armor who was charging across the battlefield while wielding a halberd.
“This planet prevents people from cultivating. Ordinary people will always remain ordinary. No matter how much such a person trains, he will never be able to greatly surpass others, especially on a battlefield. Despite that, that general has already slaughtered thousands of people,” the elder simply explained.
Lu Yin was surprised. He then turned to stare at the elderly general raging across the battlefield. This man had killed thousands of people who had practically the same strength as himself while on a massive battlefield where the slightest bit of carelessness would lead to death.
“Thrice have I stopped him from stepping onto the path of cultivation. While on this battlefield, he has realized that arrogance can be like battle force. He is fearless. Fearless and unique,” Elder Gong explained.
Lu Yin wondered, “Given his circumstances, he should be extremely talented. Why hasn’t Elder brought him into the sect?”
“He refused.”
This answer startled Lu Yin.
“He said that a hundred years is long enough of a life for a person. During his short hundred years, he has created a glorious record for himself in this planet’s history. From birth to death, it does not matter how long he lives, only how he lives. He will fade away, but his name will forever remain behind,” the elder explained.
Lu Yin frowned as he stared at the old general. Everyone had their own pursuits. This person wanted to leave his name behind after death. He wanted to be famous throughout history, but there were other people who just wanted a longer life.
“Child, what is your purpose for cultivating?” Elder Gong asked.
Lu Yin considered the question for a while before smiling. “This disciple also wants to leave his name written down in history, but this disciple wishes to leave his name behind not on a single planet, but rather throughout the universe.”
Elder Gong smiled gently. “That is a different realm to aspire to. Do you think that this general can comprehend the heights to which you aspire to reach?”
Lu Yin answered without any hesitation, “Yes.”
Elder Gong nodded. “His wife is dead, and he wants to join her. Not only does he wish to leave his name behind, but he also wishes to join his dead wife soon. His only desire is to kill and die on this battlefield. This is the path that he has chosen. However, the chosen path is not necessarily the correct path.”
After speaking, Elder Gong fell silent and spoke no more.
Lu Yin bowed low. “Elder, this disciple will take his leave.”
After that, Lu Yin left the planet.
The chosen path is not necessarily the correct path? Lu Yin still remembered Shaman God’s scheme that had been shared with him in the Perennial World. The path that Lu Yin had chosen might not be the best choice for humanity, but it was what Lu Yin desired. And so, he would continue forward, just like the old general.
After leaving Elder Gong’s planet, Lu Yin visited Sect Master Yuan Qiong on his own.
“This disciple wishes to learn the fourth level of the Cosmic Art, and I wish to ask the sect master to allow this request.” Lu Yin respectfully asked Yuan Qiong.
Yuan Qiong stared at the youth. “Is this why you refer to yourself as a disciple?”
“It is indeed one of the reasons, but the other reason is that once a person has entered the Cosmic Sect, they are forever a disciple of the Cosmic Sect. Lu Yin will never forget this.”
Yuan Qiong stared intently at Lu Yin. “You went to that place, didn’t you?”
Lu Yin nodded. Many people were aware of the Perennial World, though naturally, only people with a status equal to or higher than Yuan Qiong’s were privy to such information. It was impossible for people like Yuan Shou to be aware of these things.
“Did you succeed?” Yuan Qiong stared at Lu Yin.
A small smile appeared on Lu Yin’s face. “This disciple will become a Progenitor in the future.”
Yuan Qiong’s eyes flashed. “Did you know that Senior Lingzhi Mavis, who recently died in her tribulation, was also successful in getting what she wanted in that place? There are people who succeeded and failed in the past and got what they sought. No matter what you may have gained, you do realize that you are only at the same starting line as them, correct?”
Lu Yin was surprised. This was the first time that he had heard that Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors all had Origin Matter. Yuan Qiong was telling Lu Yin that some of the members of the older generation had similarly succeeded in the Perennial World and brought Origin Matter back to the Fifth Mainland. Some people may have failed, but still carried Origin Matter. In that case, could it be that the Fifth Mainland already possessed Origin Matter?
This was absolutely shocking news, as when Arch-Elder Zen and the others of his generation had visited the Perennial World, they had not faced the four ruling powers, but rather the Lu family. The Lu family had far surpassed the four ruling powers, which showed just how lucky those seniors had been.
“This disciple has been cultivating for nearly sixteen years. Let me ask the sect master this: with just sixteen years of training, who can match this disciple? This disciple is currently able to even defeat an Envoy,” Lu Yin spoke in a calm and serious voice, his eyes steady.
Yuan Qiong replied, “That’s true. It’s possible that not even Progenitor Chen and the others on his level were able to compare to your current achievements at the same age.”
After a moment of silence, Yuan Qiong asked, “How did you learn the Teleportation Formation?”
Lu Yin had exposed his mastery of the Teleportation Formation when fighting against Shang Qing during ZENITH, and he had long since considered how to answer this question. “I was lucky enough to find it.”
Yuan Qiong showed no surprise. “Crimson Star?”
“Yes. This disciple discovered that Shang Ju, Crimson Star’s city master, killed Shen Fu and also coveted the Teleportation Formation. This disciple then secretly stole the Teleportation Formation.”
Yuan Qiong laughed. “No wonder I was never able to find the Teleportation Formation—Shang Ju didn’t even know where it was!”
The Cosmic Sect had already guessed as much, though they did not blame Lu Yin. In the same situation, nearly anyone would do exactly what Lu Yin had done.
This was the path of cultivation; when fighting against fate and the heavens, one would do whatever it took to survive. The most important thing was whether or not a person could maintain a bottom line and retain their humanity.
No one would walk an easy path while cultivating, and no one would dare to claim that they were infallible throughout the course of their cultivation. The path of cultivation was simple: the strongest always came out on top.
If Lu Yin had been discovered after stealing the Teleportation Formation, he would have been punished. However, at the present moment, who could punish him? If Lu Yin had not taken the initiative to visit the Cosmic Sect, then how could the sect have ever had the opportunity to ask him about this matter?
OMA’s Thoughts
Translated By: OMA
Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox
TLC’ed By: OMA
