Chapter 1844: Finding Himself
One trillion enigma stones was enough to make cultivators struggling with thirty levels of sequence to forget all of their woes. With that fortune, they could buy whatever treasure they needed to break through their bottleneck. Anything it took to reach thirty-one levels was within their reach and becoming a supreme was possible for the first time in their lives!
Geniuses of large factions relied on innate potential and talent to reach thirty-one levels. At the same time, becoming a supreme at thirty-one levels was a disgrace. They would be the weakest of supremes if they followed that path.
They needed to achieve at least thirty-two levels before exceeding sequence. A dao palace forged from the shards of thirty-two levels of sequence would make them a strong supreme.
The Nebula Supreme had dared to call himself the Esteemed Nebula, and have that title be accepted by the Morans and dragons, because he’d exceeded sequence at sixty-four levels. Meanwhile, Moran Xuhua was a supreme of only fifty-four levels.
But among the factions, there were also plenty of powerhouses with poor potential and high status. Their path ended after thirty levels of sequence. Thirty-one was out of their reach, yet somehow, they ascended all the same and became supremes of thirty-one levels.
Such was the power of enigma stones—or rather, of money.
Apart from being cultivation resources, enigma stones were also the currency of the chief worlds. The major factions didn’t lack for stones and didn’t subscribe to the belief that someone of the legitimate bloodline should be discarded because of poor potential. That would only wear away at the unity of the faction.
These factions had more wealth than they knew what to do with. They could create a few supremes from pure money alone if they wanted to. A stone fit for a wall was not left on the street. While one’s cultivation potential might not be terribly strong, that didn’t mean their talents didn’t lie elsewhere. That the major factions remained controlling for so long wasn’t only a function of the survival of the fittest, but of ensuring all things served their proper purpose.
One could become a supreme so long as one exhibited sufficient value—sheer number of enigma stones alone would ensure a successful ascension.
Good-for-nothing trash appeared only in recently risen factions of new money. In the ever dominant factions—ones of old money like the dragons and Morans—trash was slated for death. Only geniuses had the right to become good-for-nothing.
None of the cultivators on the scene came from impressive backgrounds, so they could only fight tooth and nail for the chance to become a supreme. Even if Lu Yun hadn’t forced a protection fee out of them, they would attack each other until blood ran in rivers.
More than one person attacked Lu Yun at the same time.
BAM!!
The void where he stood shattered into a black hole five thousand kilometers across.
“Where’d he go? Has he been vaporized?” Someone frowned at the black hole.
“Impossible!” another person immediately rebutted. “His storage treasures would explode if that’s the case. Enigma stones are so durable that they can’t be destroyed, so they’ll scatter everywhere…”
“He’s on the run!”
“He can’t be far, search for him!” Cultivators stirred to action and swept the void with imperious consciousnesses, trying to locate Lu Yun.
The spatial tide had just receded and it would be a while until the next wave. They were all here to find an opportunity or accumulate enough strength to break through to thirty-one levels. What was one trillion enigma stones, if not both of them??
Obtaining that sum would make them the equivalent of the weaker disciples of those major factions. They would reach supreme through sheer wealth alone!
“Right, there’s a domain of absolute space here! That brute was only twenty-four levels, so it’s impossible for him to leave. We can find him!” roared a young man.
“Eh? Where did you come from, fellow daoist?” Another person next to him asked curiously after the young man called for action. There hadn’t been anyone within five kilometers of him before, but this fellow had appeared one and a half kilometers behind him at some point in time.
One and a half kilometers was too close for sequence experts. The second speaker wouldn’t have a chance to react if the young man ambushed him.
“My name is Zhu Lingyan,” the young man introduced himself instead. “I am the Myriad Spirit Supreme’s eight hundred and seventh disciple! I like your spot.”
“A supreme’s disciple?!” The other shuddered and raised a cupped fist salute, leaving without another word.
The Myriad Spirit Supreme was extremely famous in the chief worlds. He loved to take disciples; more than eight hundred counted among his personal disciples. If Zhu Lingyan said he was one of them, there would be no doubt about it.
While the supreme loved to accept disciples, that didn’t mean someone could pass themself off as one of his. Someone had once done so and scammed a fair bit of people using the supreme’s name. It ended when the Myriad Spirit Supreme projected his will and beat the person’s body and soul to pieces. Impersonation was fine, but creating a karmic relationship with a supreme placed one beyond redemption.
Therefore, no one doubted Zhu Lingyan.
Zhu Lingyan was a frail young man with delicate features. He was slightly pale, as if born with an inherent weakness, but his eyes shone brightly and seemed to encompass the cosmos. No one connected him with the muscular and roughly hewn man from earlier.
In reality, the rough-and-tumble man’s name was Zhu Lingyan. The young man’s appearance was something that Lu Yun had pulled out of a hat. His wan complexion was no innate inadequacy or part of his disguise either. The collective blow from earlier had been too horrifying! If he hadn’t used the Boundless Step and escaped by the skin of his teeth, he really would’ve been vaporized.
Zhu Lingyan was an identity that Myriad Spirit had prepared for him. The supreme loved accepting disciples and no one knew when a new disciple would be added to his ranks. If there was an eight hundred and seventh disciple now, perhaps there’d be an eight hundred and eight or ninth disciple tomorrow.
Lu Yun had performed the master and disciple ceremony with Fuxi. Whether Fuxi admitted to it or not, Lu Yun viewed him as his master. Myriad Spirit was thus his martial uncle, so it was perfectly logical to pretend they were master and disciple.
Thus reestablished as Zhu Lingyan, Lu Yun joined the crowd of people searching for him.
There were roughly three hundred thousand cultivators present; they found no trace of the brute from earlier after searching for three days. Dejection set in, and they wondered if perhaps the first blow really had vaporized him? Maybe the black hole had swallowed the treasures and storage items?
Sighs of disappointment echoed around the assembly.
“That’s the end of the enigma stone robber? I wanted to see if he’d hit up the supremes if after he became one himself,” Liang Ruyue mumbled.
Lu Yun looked at her with surprise and dusted off nonexistent particles from his robes. He walked up to her with a smile. “This humble one is Zhu Lingyan, the eight hundred and seventh disciple of the Myriad Spirit Supreme. Might I know your name?”
“This servant is Liang Ruyue,” she responded with a tempting smile. “Is handsome Lingyan interested in having me service you in acts of love?”
