Star Odyssey

Xiao Chi led Lu Yin to the far side of a planet where Gui Junheng was waiting for them. When they arrived, the Array Master had already been waiting there for quite some time, and he was accompanied by a young man with an indifferent expression.

Lu Yin was blown away upon seeing the youth. Even though he was not using Truesight since he was in the Hall of Honor, Lu Yin could tell that this young man was extraordinary just by the star energy surrounding him.

Once one's star energy control reached the Worldliness realm, their sensitivity would qualitatively change compared to that of ordinary people. It was this sense that allowed Lu Yin to feel—to some extent at least—the level of another person's star energy control. In fact, he could also weaken or even reverse the star energy that a person was manipulating if their control was far enough behind Lu Yin's. However, he was not able to feel any sort of superiority against this youth.

When the young man noticed Lu Yin, his expression also showed his astonishment, along with a hint of interest.

Both Lu Yin and the young man instantly felt that the other person was someone who had reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control.

Lu Yin stared at the young man for a bit before shifting his focus over to Gui Junheng.

The video that Lu Yin had seen all those years ago had not been too clear, so upon seeing the real person, Lu Yin grew a bit excited. "Junior Lu Yin greets Array Master Gui Junheng."

Gui Junheng was surprised when he looked at Lu Yin, and the Array Master commented, "The Worldliness realm of control. It's no wonder why you dare to challenge the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker exam. You have a good chance of passing."

Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Many thanks, senior."

Gui Junheng nodded and glanced over at the young man next to him. The youth then stepped forward towards Lu Yin, and somberly introduced himself. "My name is Wu Dan, and I am a one star Advanced Lockbreaker."

Lu Yin grew serious. "It's an honor to meet you."

Wu Dan replied, "I am also honored to meet you. Lu Yin, I've heard your name more than once before."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Why would that be?"

Wu Dan casually replied, "Your fast progress. You quickly became a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, skipped past the one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker level, and immediately became a five star Intermediate Lockbreaker instead. Skipping levels like that is very rare even throughout history, and your name has already spread all the way from the Outerverse to the Neoverse. It has even entered this Lockbreaker World."

Lu Yin quietly absorbed this information.

"I wasn't too concerned about you at first, as lockbreaking requires experience, and talent alone isn't enough. However, I never expected that your star energy control would have already reached the Worldliness realm. In both the Innerverse and Outerverse, you're the only person who has the ability to compare to me," Wu Dan said.

Lu Yin arched a brow. "What about the Distinguished Five?"

Wu Dan contemptuously said, "They're just five pieces of trash. None of them have become an Advanced Lockbreaker yet, and it doesn't look like any of them are capable of doing so within the next ten years. It's just advancing one step, but that step is like the difference between heaven and earth. None of them can ever compare with me."

"What about Master Wusheng?" Lu Yin pressed.

Wu Dan responded with the same disdain as before. "He's known as the heir to the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society President, and although he's a gifted Lockbreaker, his strength is too low. While lockbreaking focuses more on one's ability to perceive and understand, if one doesn't have the strength to stay alive while lockbreaking, then it's all useless. He'll never be able to compare to me, regardless of if it's his cultivation or his lockbreaking ability."

Lu Yin stared intently at the young man in front of him. This Wu Dan had criticized all of the best Lockbreakers in the Innerverse and Outerverse, and he saw only Lu Yin as a peer. No, that was also not quite right. Before meeting Lu Yin, Wu Dan had not considered him either.

Wu Dan did not even glance at Xiao Chi or Xiao Shi. Instead, he simply turned around and left the planet. "You're clearly capable of becoming an Advanced Lockbreaker, so learn a sourcebox array as soon as you can. Otherwise, there won't be any actual point to advancing. I'll also be participating in ZENITH, and I'll going to let everyone know just how powerful Lockbreakers are, though I don't want to be the only one there."

Lu Yin watched Wu Dan leave, not knowing where the young man's confidence came from. Wu Dan was a Hunter at best while Enlighters had participated in the contest in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

While Lockbreakers did enjoy an advantage in battle, it definitely was not an advantage that could allow a Hunter to reach the same level of strength as Lu Yin's. Lu Yin could not discern just how strong Wu Dan actually was.

Xiao Chi suddenly sighed in relief. "He's finally gone! He's so scary."

Xiao Shi nodded. "Too scary."

Gui Junheng glared intensely at Xiao Chi. "I've allowed you to slack off on work for too long, and you didn't even have the courage to participate in ZENITH. Just look at what you've become! Hurry up and get rid of that mushroom head."

Xiao Chi scowled a bit, as did Xiao Shi. The two were unexpectedly stubborn about their mushroom heads. "My mushroom head is my lockbreaking tool! It's a powerful lockbreaking tool that surpasses all others! It cannot be cut!"

Xiao Shi nodded. "My history is true."

Lu Yin speechlessly stared at the two teens. They really were exactly the same.

This clearly was not Gui Junheng's first time hearing these protests, and he helplessly smacked his forehead. He then looked at Lu Yin and laughed. "I've let you see a joke. Come, let's have you take the Advanced Lockbreaker exam."

Lu Yin answered respectfully, "Many thanks, senior."

Gui Junheng waved a hand. "There's no need to call me senior—just call me Master Gui. That's what everyone else calls me."

"Very well, Master Gui."

Xiao Shi moved right behind Lu Yin and nodded at him with a curious expression. Xiao Shi then whispered, "Master Gui is very easy to get along with, but if he starts lockbreaking, you should immediately sneak away."

"Why?" Lu Yin was stunned.

Xiao Shi purposely slowed Lu Yin down and quietly whispered in an awed tone, "Master Gui's behavior when lockbreaking is completely different from normal. He's like an entirely different person. How should I say this? He becomes very rude, exuberant, and will easily turn violent. We all run away, and no one dares to stick around."

A double personality. These words appeared in Lu Yin's mind, as this sounded very similar to Ming Yan.

The entire planet was covered with spiritual thread. Lu Yin could not understand where so much spiritual thread had come from. The entire Great Eastern Alliance had searched everywhere, but they had only managed to scrounge up enough spiritual thread to construct one lockbreaking room while spiritual thread was literally everywhere in this Lockbreaker World.

Spiritual thread was the most effective material at stopping the danger zones radiated by sourceboxes. Although many sourceboxes had danger zones powerful enough to easily slaughter powerhouses, spiritual thread was still able to curtail that power. Everything in the universe had its natural opposition, and this was simply the way of things.

Gui Junheng eventually stopped, and Lu Yin and the other two stood behind the Array Master. The older man casually waved his hand, and the spiritual thread in front of them was suddenly swept away into the sky as a bridge appeared on the ground.

Neither Xiao Shi nor Xiao Chi felt anything, but Lu Yin was dazed.

The moment the spiritual threads moved aside, the star energy surrounding the bridge had transformed. The void warped, and illusory voices suddenly called out. They had filled his ears with countless voices of worship, arguing, fighting, cultivation, and more. It was as if the bridge had experienced countless people's lives.

Gui Junheng looked at Lu Yin. "This bridge is a Boundless Advanced sourcebox. You can start, and if you succeed in unlocking it, you will be an Advanced Lockbreaker."

Xiao Chi was taken by surprise. "Master, where did this bridge come from? Why has this disciple never seen it before?"

Gui Junheng fiercely glared at the teen. "What do you want to see? Not mentioning this, but there are many intermediate sourceboxes that you can't see."

Xiao Chi jumped in shock and moved to hide behind Xiao Shi.

Lu Yin bowed to Gui Junheng and then cautiously began approaching the bridge. At the same time, his eyes filled with star energy. Since he was lockbreaking and would stay on this planet for the time being, he could use Truesight.

Lu Yin's pupils transformed into runes, and he saw countless runes covered with more runes. The sheer amount that he saw was astounding, and he estimated that the number matched up to those of an expert with a power level of at least 300,000.

This is not just a normal Advanced sourcebox.

A Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker needed to be in the Hunter realm at the very least, which meant that even the worst advanced sourceboxes had the strength of a Hunter. One really did need to have the strength of a Hunter in order to unlock such a sourcebox, and for a sourcebox that had a strength comparable to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000, it was clear that this was not a one star advanced sourcebox.

Gui Junheng's voice reached Lu Yin. "You can give up on this exam. As you can see, this sourcebox is not simple."

Lu Yin said, "There's no need. This junior will still try."

Gui Junheng nodded in admiration. "An ordinary person would instantly give up, but you fought in the Mountain and Seas Zone. Also, this sourcebox is not impossible to unlock, and you should have no trouble staying alive, which is why I brought you to this sourcebox for your exam. Also, some time ago, Wu Dan became a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker by unlocking a similar sourcebox for his advancement exam."

Lu Yin understood that this was an attempt to compare him to Wu Dan, and it was likely also Wu Dan's intention.

They were challenging him, and Lu Yin grew a bit excited. Renewed with vigor, he started walking closer to the bridge.

At this time, the entire Lockbreaker World, as well as the Lockbreakers on many outside planets, were watching this scene, as was Wu Dan.

It was not clear how many Lockbreakers there were in the universe, as many preferred to remain hidden. Still, even if the number of Lockbreakers surpassed the recorded number, there was no way that the difference was too large, as otherwise, Lockbreakers would not be so rare.

Word soon leaked out of the Lockbreaker World that Lu Yin was taking the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker exam. Since the news had reached the outside world, it would not take long for the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society to hear of it as well.

Still, no matter what happened in the outside world, Lu Yin was too busy to care.

He used Truesight to make his way past the numerous rune lines as the sourcebox released its first wave of attacks.

There was a shocking boom that sounded like an explosion of thunder, and it echoed through Lu Yin's mind. He was stunned; this attack contained both spiritual power and star energy. It was no wonder why there were so many rune lines.

Lu Yin's vision was completely different from everyone else's. Most would not see anything at all, as spiritual force attacks were formless and invisible.

Fortunately, these spiritual force attacks were not quite as strong as Nightking Zhenwu's Skybreaker, and compared to back when Lu Yin had fought against Nighking Zhenwu, he had already become a Hunter. Thus, he was able to easily endure these spiritual force attacks. Otherwise, he would have been forced to start reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

Step by step, Lu Yin approached the bridge. The spiritual force attacks continuously assaulted Lu Yin's mind and grew more and more powerful as he drew closer. When he was still about a meter away from the bridge, Lu Yin actually saw a scene from ancient times. There was a young man kneeling before the bridge, and on the other side, there was an old man.

"If you and the others who want to join our sect can cross this bridge, you will prove your strength of will. Only those who can cross the bridge qualify to enter the sect.

"Anyone unable to cross this bridge must immediately leave."

"This bridge represents the immortal splendor of my sect and the pride that will not allow others to defile it."

The moment Lu Yin raised a hand to touch the bridge, a terrifying attack descended from beyond the sky. The bridge shook, moving out of reach of Lu Yin, and simultaneously, sword qi severed the massive sect that lay beyond the bridge.

"We are immortals! This should not happen! My sect should not be suppressed!'

"We are unwilling to seal this bridge! This bridge records my sect's peerless battle skills, and whoever can receive this bridge will inherit them when rebuilding my sect. My sect was known as the Rocksoul Sect."

…

As Lu Yin pressed a hand against the bridge, his eyes snapped open. He saw an overwhelming number of rune lines gather together and crash down to crush him. He was startled, and he immediately began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures as an oppressive spiritual force attack fell down upon him. The attack took on the form of a visible sound wave that spread out, so intense that the void began trembling.