Yōu Qi was Burial Garden’s top disciple and an Enlighter realm cultivator, but he had still been defeated.
Mu En could not help but look over at Highsage Shenwei.
Highsage Shenwei simultaneously looked at Mu En. “I feel that such a balance is fine.”
Mu En shook his head. “Watch Shang Qing. We can no longer interfere.”
Highsage Shenwei looked back at the screen. Kid, good luck.
It was possible that not even most of the people from the Hall of Honor were aware that the true strength of the Tri-Yang Technique still had not been revealed yet.
Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, five people stood atop the golden screens, and their golden light covered the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.
The other people in the Mountain and Seas Zone were all watching those five figures. Were they the Cosmic Five?
Shang Qing calmly looked over the others in the group and then at the eyes atop one of the split open mountains. Those eyes were an inheritance. They might be some sort of ancient remnant, a power vessel, a natural treasure, or even possibly some kind of experience. The drop of Progenitor’s blood had been a treasure, and during each Astral Tower contest, various phenomena would appear that were each able to affect the entire Mountain and Seas Zone, and those phenomena represented the inheritances. Whoever obtained one of the inheritances would become one of the Cosmic Five.
Shang Qing could take the inheritance from his mountain, but he did not move, and the other four would not either.
Lu Yin did not move either, though that was because the drop of Progenitor’s blood that had appeared atop the mountain that he had climbed had already been absorbed by the Ghost Monkey. Instead, Lu Yin was staring intently at the mountain with the plant. That rhizome looked incredibly familiar. Could it be the Root of Intelligence?
If that plant was actually the Root of Intelligence, then Lu Yin had to find a way to grab it.
Lei Nü had originally reached the top of the mountain with the root, but she had just been replaced by Xia Jiuyou.
Xia Jiuyou assumed that Lu Yin was looking at him, as Lu Yin would not stop staring in his direction. So, he smiled and said, “Brother Lu, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Lu Yin had not been looking at Xia Jiuyou, but he still heard the greeting, so he glanced over at Xia Jiuyou. “Are you the Xia family’s inheritor? You look a great deal like Xia Luo.”
Xia Jiuyou’s lips curled up, as there were certain details that no longer needed to be kept hidden. At this juncture, he needed to obtain support from the entire Human Domain, not just the Xia family. “Xia Luo once told you that he’d wait for you here, and his words are akin to mine.”
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank, and he suddenly stared fixedly at Xia Jiuyou. Lu Yin could not conceal the shock in his eyes, and a veritable storm was raging through his mind.
Xia Jiuyou smiled quite happily, though it also seemed to contain some deep meaning that left people trembling.
Lu Yin stared at Xia Jiuyou in disbelief. “You- you and Xia Luo-?”
Xia Jiuyou laughed.
Shang Qing, Yuhua Mavis, and Qiu Shi all looked at Lu Yin, feeling rather confused.
In Lu Yin’s mind, he heard the Ghost Monkey’s hurried shout, “Him and Xia Luo? They do look very similar, but they’re definitely not the same person. Seventh Bro, what’s the matter? What does he mean by saying that Xia Luo’s words are his?”
Lu Yin’s finger twitched, and his thoughts quickly went back to Daosource Sect’s ruins, when Xiao Qing had mentioned that there were some people from the Fifth Mainland who possessed auras that came from the same source. That only had two explanations: they were either the same person, or they had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique.
If not for Xiao Qing’s words, Lu Yin knowing of the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and Xia Jiuyou’s words, then Lu Yin could never have guessed at such a possibility. This was too absurd! Did the Nine Clones Secret Technique actually exist?
“You’ve cultivated the fabled Nine Clones Secret Technique? Is Xia Luo one of your clones?” Lu Yin was stunned.
This one sentence caused the other three people atop the golden screens to become alarmed, and they all turned to stare at Xia Jiuyou.
Xia Jiuyou’s lips curled up, and he calmly looked over at Shang Qing, Yuhua Mavis, and Qiu Shi. “The Nine Clones Secret Technique, is it that strange?”
Lu Yin let out a deep breath as Xia Jiuyou had basically just admitted it. He had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and Xia Luo had been a clone. Hold on—in that case, then Xia Tian should be a clone as well, and the other Xia family heirs like Xia Kang might also be clones. One person had split into nine: the Nine Clones Secret Technique.
Shang Qing stared at Xia Jiuyou in shock, The Nine Clones Secret Technique? That legendary, peerless technique?
In ancient times, Progenitor Chen had used this technique to fight nine Progenitors all by himself. Although he had only been a single Progenitor, he could also be thought of as nine Progenitors.
The Tri-Yang Technique was indeed an unrivaled technique, but if a direct comparison was made, then it would be difficult to determine whether the Tri-Yang Technique or the Nine Clones Secret Technique was stronger. They had never clashed within the same era.
Yuhua Mavis stared at Xia Jiuyou in amazement. The Nine Clones Secret Technique? The Mavis family did have records that mentioned such a technique, but they had assumed that it was nothing more than a rumor. However, had someone actually managed to cultivate it? How had they obtained it? Was the inheritance of the Nine Clones Secret Technique in the Xia family’s possession?
The Mavis family’s records actually revealed Progenitor Chen’s surname to be Xia. Could he actually have been the Xia family’s ancestor?
Qiu Shi frowned and stared at Xia Jiuyou. The Nine Clones Secret Technique was Progenitor Chen’s unrivaled technique. To others, the revelation of this technique was merely shocking, but it was different for the Cosmic Sect. The Cosmic Art was also something that had come from Progenitor Chen, so the two techniques shared the same source. Thus, the Cosmic Sect craved the Nine Clones Secret Technique in ways that were unimaginable to others.
The Cosmic Sect had long since discovered that the Xia family’s ancestor had been Progenitor Chen. So, it made sense for them to have inherited Progenitor Chen’s secret techniques. Still, she was surprised that even the Nine Clones Secret Technique had managed to be passed down.
Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Mu En and the others were in shock as well. The Nine Clones Secret Technique actually existed, and someone had actually successfully cultivated it.
Quite a few people turned to look at Xia Meng, as they all believed that Xia Jiuyou’s Nine Clones Secret Technique had been given to him by the Xia family.
Xia Meng had a calm expression on her face as she looked at the screen. Everyone believed that she was watching Xia Jiuyou, but in truth, she was actually looking at a woman who was slowly ascending a mountain.
Xia Jiuyou looked around the area. “Is the Nine Clones Secret Technique leaving you all that surprised? I’m not the only one.”
Lu Yin was shocked, and he turned around to look in the direction of Qiu Shi.
Shang Qing and the others also turned to look in the direction of Qiu Shi as a woman had arrived behind her: Starsibyl.
Qiu Shi slowly turned around to look at Starsibyl.
Xia Jiuyou also looked at Starsibyl. “You couldn’t hold yourself back anymore? You’ve finally jumped out?”
Starsibyl looked over at Xia Jiuyou. “It no longer matters.”
Qiu Shi stared at Starsibyl. “The other person who’s cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique that he mentioned is you?”
Starsibyl denied nothing, and she exchanged glances with Qiu Shi. “Among the Cosmic Five, my Innerverse definitely needs to hold one place.”
Qiu Shi was puzzled. “Why? Others may not know, but you should have a clear understanding that there is no meaning in the Cosmic Five themselves. Why is the Starsibyl Sect willing to pay such a steep price to fight for such a title? If not for your Starsibyl Sect acting and using divination as a condition to allow the Innerverse to participate in the Astral Tower contest, then neither the Ten Arbiters nor you would have come here. What do you people want? Just the reputation connected to the Cosmic Five?”
Starsibyl calmly replied, “We can talk about this after we obtain the position. Everything is meaningless otherwise.”
Qiu Shi responded indifferently, “That’s something that you can’t have, as you people can’t seize it.”
Starsibyl then looked over at Lu Yin. “Find a way to become one of the Cosmic Five. If you succeed, the Starsibyl Sect will serve you, Lu Yin alone, as our leader for 10,000 years.”
Lu Yin had already been surprised enough for one day, and at this point, Starsibyl could not say anything to shock him more. Serve him for 10,000 years? He did not actually believe this promise. After all, who knew what this woman was actually thinking.
She was someone who had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique yet still hid behind the scenes. She had wanted to take advantage of Nightking Zhenwu to make him one of the Cosmic Five, but after Nightking Zhenwu had been defeated, she had wanted to tempt Lu Yin in his stead. And now, at this time, she was entering the contest herself. The position of the Cosmic Five seemed to be extremely important to the Starsibyl Sect, and for this position, there was nothing that this woman would not do.
Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the group of elders were all quite confused. Not only were they able to watch the events by looking at the screen in front of them, but the same images were also simultaneously being transmitted to the Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, the Seven Courts, and the other various great powers.
Not even these old powerhouses from the Neoverse’s top forces were able to understand what the Starsibyl Sect wanted. The Cosmic Five were just titles given to members of the younger generation, though it technically also contained authority over the younger generation. More generally speaking, the Cosmic Five held influence over the people of their own generation, but the older powerhouses were still alive, and there were also some old monsters preserved through cryostasis that acted as hidden powers for their organizations. Standing over a single generation was not considered a great deal of power, so why was the Starsibyl Sect so focused on this particular title?
The Starsibyl Sect seemed to be overly fixated on the Cosmic Five, and nobody understood why.
In the Honor Zone, within a truly strange area, Arch-Elder Zen opened his eyes as his gaze transcended the void to look at a screen. On it, he looked at Starsibyl. “I also hope that the Innerverse can destroy the Neoverse’s monopoly over the Cosmic Five, but unfortunately, this generation is not enough. The Tri-Yang Technique has appeared, and all others are destined to hold nothing more than supporting roles. The Nine Clones Secret Technique will allow for amazing accomplishments in the future, but not right now. The current era belongs to the Tri-Yang Technique.”
In the Mountain and Seas Zone, atop a golden screen, Starsibyl’s arrival had frozen everyone.
Everyone was watching the people on the golden screens from everywhere in the Mountain and Seas Zone.
The stutterer looked up at Lu Yin with longing in his eyes. “Meat, it- it- it’s meat! Follow meat!”
Ku Lei stared up at the golden screens. He craved the thought of climbing up onto that stage, but he was too weak, and this definitely was not the right opportunity. If Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum had opened sooner, then he could have obtained a better inheritance and become an Enlighter. In that case, he definitely would have been qualified to climb onto the golden stage.
The Little Leaf King looked up at the origins of the golden radiance that illuminated the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.
He had been frozen in cryostasis for many years, and before he underwent preservation, he had been one of the top powerhouses of his generation. He had thought that, after emerging, he would easily dominate his peers. However, the moment he saw the Ten Arbiters, he had realized that such a dream was not realistic. Those ten were simply too strong, and after coming to the Neoverse, he had discovered that there were even stronger opponents. He truly could not understand this generation. Were just a few formcast models really enough to produce freaks on their level?
Ming Yu looked up into the sky. Of the six people standing up there, three of them were men. Her destiny was to wed one of those three, even if she was offered up as a slave. After every Astral Tower contest, Azure Mansion’s Flower Queen Ming Yu would always be given to one of the winners. Of course, she also hoped for such a fate as only then could she shake that person off.
She wondered, who would she marry?
Ming Yu looked at Shang Qing, then at Xia Jiuyou, and finally, at Lu Yin. He was clearly in a disadvantageous position, as the others were obviously stronger than him. Thus, the most realistic options were Shang Qing and Xia Jiuyou.
“Lu Yin, do your best! Get rid of them!” Black and White shouted in high spirits.
Lan Si let out a long breath as he looked up at the golden screens in the sky. The Cosmic Five represented more than the strongest of a generation. After this contest, Lan Si would return to Grayweed Continent, as there were palm techniques that followed his Vacuum Palm. Brother Lu, at that time, let’s have another match.
On a golden screen, as though an agreement had already been made, aside from the Progenitor’s blood that had been secretly swallowed by the Ghost Monkey, nobody touched any of the inheritances. Each of them was supremely self-confident, and they were certain that they would be able to take their inheritance and defeat the others.
Qiu Shi attacked Starsibyl as Nine Clones Secret Technique was the Cosmic Sect’s greatest desire. Xia Jiuyou had been able to learn it because he was a descendant of Progenitor Chen, but it was uncertain as to what Starsibyl had relied upon.
The moment Starsibyl stepped onto the golden screen, she had already been prepared to fight against Qiu Shi.
Just one step took Shang Qing past the highest part of the golden screens, and he shot towards Xia Jiuyou. “I want to experience the power of the Nine Clones Secret Technique.”
Xia Jiuyou pulled back with a relaxed and serene expression as he watched Shang Qing approach. “I also want to learn from the Tri-Yang Technique.”
Four people began to fight, and in the end, Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis were the only ones left.
