Star Odyssey

Chapter 2134: Opening Ceremony

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered as he looked over at Wang Si. "The four ruling powers took advantage of the White Dragon Rolls Over, but what else was there to the plan? I’m most curious about how you dealt with Patriarch Lu Tianyi and my Lu family’s other Progenitor."

"The other Progenitor was Uncle Lu Feng, right?" Progenitor Smoke interjected.

Wang Si coldly replied, "Things were never that simple. Lu Xiaoxuan, do you want to know what happened? I won't tell you anything. If you want to know more, you’re going to have to find out on your own. There’s not a single Semi-Progenitor other than me who knows about what happened, so if you want to find out, you’ll have to pry it from a Progenitor! Go ahead, climb up and force it out of Patriarch Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, or Progenitor Long. Do you have the courage? Hahahaha, go on, if you aren’t afraid to die that is!

"All I’ll tell you is that there was more to the Lu family being exiled than you can even guess."

Lu Yin shouted, "There were traitors within my Lu family!"

Wang Si just sneered. "A mere traitor would never have been enough to change the Lu family’s fate. The more you understand just how powerful the Lu family was, the more impossible everything will seem! Go, find the truth for yourself, but you’ll need to go to the Dominion Realm in the Perennial World and face the four ruling powers’ Progenitors! You’ll die beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Lu Yin turned and left. There was absolutely no chance that Wang Si would tell him anything more. The old whore did not fear death in the least. If she did, Lu Yin would have been happy to fulfill it.

Progenitor Smoke followed Lu Yin. She looked at him, and saw that he was upset by what he had learned. "That was a lot to take in."

Lu Yin took a deep breath. True, it had been a lot of information. He had not even known of Wang Si’s involvement in banishing the Lu family, let alone the history between Wang Yi and the Lu family. And apparently, even Progenitor Chen had somehow been involved.

Lu Yin was slowly learning about the various grudges and relationships involving the powerhouses of the past.

The grievances of ordinary people could affect a few families at most, but the grievances of these cultivators could affect the entire human race.

There was nothing more reassuring to humans as a whole than unity. Lu Yin lifted his head. It was as though his eyes could pierce through space for a moment to see into the Perennial World, and he gazed at the Higher Realm.

So much hatred and so many grudges had formed just because of Progenitor Chen. One man’s life had birthed so much evil. Lu Yin would learn from the past and not repeat those same mistakes.

In the past, he had focused on getting revenge, but at this moment, he considered other possibilities.

…

A deafening bell rang, echoing throughout the entire Outerverse. For the first time since the Daosource Sect era, all of humanity had united under a single power, and this was being formalized with the Heavens Sect’s opening ceremony.

Many people had already waited twenty years for the sect’s ceremonial founding, and some, such as Arch-Elder Zen who had been alive since the Daosource Sect era, had waited eons for this day.

Even though the Hall of Honor had ruled over the Fifth Mainland for countless years, it had never truly united the Fifth Mainland.

If not for the threat of the Aeternals combined with the desire of the ancient powerhouses who had awoken from the Heavens Sect era, the Heavens Sect would have never been reestablished.

The reestablishment of the Heavens Sect represented a new era for humanity.

This was not merely a momentous occasion for humanity, but also an important occasion in the context of humanity’s entire history.

At the time of its founding, the modern Heavens Sect only had a single elder, which was the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Under him, there were three educators: Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong, and Lan Xian. There were also three protectors: Kui Luo, Arch-Elder Zen, and Herb Immortal. Finally, there were the eight gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates, who protected the Heavens Sect in every direction.

There were fourteen Semi-Progenitors who answered to the Heavens Sect. Seeing so many powerful experts was enough to excite anyone. With this many powerhouses, how could humanity not thrive in the future?

Twenty years ago, the Human Domain had only publicly recognized the existence of seven human Semi-Progenitors. With the death of Lingzhi Mavis and the disappearance of Burial Garden’s Tombkeeper, only five powerhouses had been active. Even if Chief Justice Qing Ping was included in that accounting, there had only been six Semi-Progenitor-level experts. That number had jumped all the way to fourteen at the time of the Heavens Sect’s formal founding. The only person missing was Jiu Chi, who had disappeared from public eye with no desire to carry any responsibilities.

Also, Tian Dou’s whereabouts remained unknown.

Finally, the existence of Progenitor Smoke remained a complete secret.

A staircase rose through the Heavens Sect from the main gate up to the main hall. It stretched through outer space, and the gathered Semi-Progenitors walked up it from the base. After all the Semi-Progenitors climbed up, the Envoys followed.

Even if not all of the Human Domain’s Envoys had arrived for the opening ceremony, the vast majority had.

Yunying Mavis, Highsage Wudi, Elder Jiu Shen, the members of Team Resolution, and the rest of the most powerful Envoys who were all part of the new Heavens Sect climbed the stairs. Ku Rong, Ce Yue, and many more who were mid-ranked Envoys climbed the astral staircase one after another. This assembly of the elders was to demonstrate the power of humanity.

In the past, people as a whole rarely ever saw a single Envoy, let alone so many gathered in one place.

As Liu Huang climbed the stairs, he looked up and saw the Semi-Progenitors looking down on him. He saw the power of the Heavens Sect, as well as the statue of the Origin Progenitor. Despite his own impressive strength, Liu Huang felt rather nervous at this moment.

Just twenty years ago, before so many changes had shaken the Human Domain, Liu Huang had been powerful enough to rank among the top ten powerhouses in the Fifth Mainland’s Human Domain. At this moment, the Heavens Sect did not consist of just the Fifth Mainland, but the Sixth Mainland as well. The number of powerhouses had more than doubled, and there were fourteen Semi-Progenitors. It was possible that Liu Huang no longer ranked among even the top twenty human powerhouses.

Liu Huang stared at the very top of the stairs for a moment, and he suddenly felt that following Lu Yin had been the best decision he had made all those years ago. No matter how the youth might fall, he would always rise up to stand at the top once more.

Yuan Shi followed behind Liu Huang. The old man’s cultivation lagged a bit behind Liu Huang’s, though Lu Yin had actually asked Yuan Shi to be the first to climb the stairs in space. The old man had refused.

In contrast to Liu Huang, not many thoughts were running through Yuan Shi’s mind at this moment. He was simply ecstatic. Humanity had been fully united, and they would only grow stronger in the future. That was all that Yuan Shi cared about.

Liu Ye escorted Fei Hua up the astral staircase. He could not help but think about how the Forsaken Land had changed. With the reestablishment of the Heavens Sect, just which place was the real home of humanity now?

The Forsaken Land had the Heavens Sect, was ruled by a member of the Lu family, had gatemasters from the ancient Heavens Sect era, and even had a Dao Chosen. In comparison, the Perennial World seemed more like the forsaken land.

Envoys continued to appear one by one. The entire opening ceremony was being broadcast live throughout the Human Domain, thanks to the emergency repairs that CyNet had been frantically conducting. While it remained impossible to reconnect the entire Human Domain to a unified network, the repairs at least allowed all the most important locations to see the broadcast.

Chu Yuan stepped out and also started to climb the stairs. He had a calm expression on his face, appearing neither sad nor happy.

Given his strength, he should have held the qualifications to climb the stairs right behind Yunying Mavis and the other top-ranked Envoys. But instead, Chu Yuan followed behind all the Envoys. This was simply because, at this moment, Chu Yuan had no position within the Heavens Sect.

If he were still a Dao Chosen, he would have a completely different status, and he would even qualify to stand above the gathered Semi-Progenitors.

Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, Lu Lai, Lu Jiao, Wei An, Hen Mo, as well as the modern era’s Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, Xiao Qing, and the rest of the top geniuses who had once achieved widespread fame all appeared. They represented the future of humanity, as they were the next generation of powerhouses.

Prosperity could only continue with the passage of inheritances, and this meant that the young people climbing the stairs were actually even more important than the Envoys who stood above them.

Many experts had gathered at this time, starting with the Semi-Progenitors, and continuing down to the Envoy and the young geniuses.

Next to appear was the Heavens Sect’s army, equipped with the technology that would usher in a new age. This opening ceremony was not only intended to start a new chapter for humanity, but also to act as a demonstration of human power that would intimidate outsiders and encourage humanity.

A drum echoed as Big Sis pounded on the drum that sat above the Heavens Sect’s main gate. Everyone looked past the gate, as the most important person for this ceremony was finally about to appear.

The expressions on the people within the Heavens Sect were completely mixed. There were looks of admiration, resentment, envy, and even fanaticism as people looked down to see the final arrival.

The moment he appeared, he stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at everyone who was gathered. However, it would just be a short amount of time before he climbed the stairs and stepped above every single person present to look down on them. He would become the representative of the entire Fifth Mainland, the leader of humanity’s new era.

On Earth down below, Zhou Shan became short of breath as he stared at the massive screen in front of him. He could not believe that, in just forty years, a former comrade-in-arms during Earth’s apocalypse would rise so high. Zhou Shan felt as though he was living in a dream.

Next to the man stood Zhou Xixi. She had long since shed her previous innocence. During the war against Aeternus, she had fought on the front lines and had narrowly escaped death multiple times there. The experience had completely changed her temperament, and she had become a calm and composed woman.

But when she saw Lu Yin appear, all the old tension and admiration that had previously appeared in Lu Yin’s presence returned, and Zhou Xixi’s eye’s flickered. Who in the entire universe could compare to her Uncle Lu?

Far away, in Astral-10, many of the instructors were also staring at a screen. Who could have imagined that the young student that they had once tutored would one day rise so high?

Even the mad headmaster had a rare moment of clarity. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared at the image of Lu Yin on the screen. "You are already qualified to inherit humanity."

Even further away, in the Astral Beast Domain, all the high-ranking officials of the Celestial Beast Empire, such as Yao Di and Skymender, were also focused on the events taking place in Earth’s solar system. They also had a connection to the Human Domain’s network.

How could the Astral Beast Domain ignore all the massive changes that had taken place in the Human Domain in recent years? When the Aeternals had been driven from the Fifth Mainland, the astral beasts had instantly considered the likelihood that they would be the next target for the humans’ forces.

"This is too soon. The Human Domain is changing too quickly. We didn’t even realize what was happening." Xu Qing's expression was ugly.

All the astral beasts were focused on the person who had just appeared outside the Heavens Sect’s gate. This was the person who had been at the center of every major human event in the last forty years, and he would continue to do so on an even greater scale in the future.

"It would have been better if he had died back then," one astral beast commented coldly, verbalizing the thoughts of many others. In fact, even Yao Di felt the same.

Unfortunately, it was already far too late.

"Since the humans have reestablished their Heavens Sect, a congratulatory gift needs to be sent." Even Skymender appeared rather gloomy.

Lu Yin passed the Heavens Sect’s main gate. As he did so, billions of lights shone on him, and he became the center of the universe. Every move he made caused ripples throughout the universe.

He had first established the Great Eastern Alliance with the goal of uniting the Outerverse, and he had later cast his sights onto the Innerverse and even the Neoverse. However, the truth of the matter was that Lu Yin had been stumped on how to proceed, as he had never had any clue as to how he could conquer the Neoverse or deal with the Hall of Honor.

However, everything had come together in a very natural manner. There were times when even the greatest plans could not compare to the natural zeitgeist. Lu Yin was taking advantage of this flow to rise to the top.

Countless soldiers filled the main plaza of the Heavens Sect, including the Giants’ Army that Lu Yin had put together. Ku Wei stood with the giants, and he looked up at Lu Yin with a blazing fanaticism in his eyes. Master! Master! Keep going! Your disciples will follow you for hundreds of millions of years!

Wendy Yushan stood at the bottom of the stairs. She was included among the most talented youths. She had created her own fame and built a reputation during the twenty years of war against Aeternus. Her actions had made her renowned throughout the Human Domain, and her innate gift had saved countless lives.

Lu Yin’s feet rose up, and he stepped forward. This was what Lu Buzheng had mentioned. A Dao Chosen acted on behalf of a Dao Monarch and oversaw the powerhouses of an entire Mainland. Walking up to the Heavens Sect’s main hall, Lu Yin understood what it truly meant to represent the heavens.

However, there were no longer any Dao Monarchs. All that humanity had left was a statue of the Origin Progenitor. That, and a sword.

Lu Yin set the sword right next to the statue of the Origin Progenitor without saying a single word. The sword lay very close to Hen Xin, and it was within easy reach, but did the man dare to actually touch the Origin Progenitor’s sword? Even if he had not been told about how Forgotten Ruins God had vanished after touching the sword, would Hen Xin have the courage to touch it? Did anyone?

This sword was set in place to intimidate anyone with evil intentions. Lu Yin had simply left it lying in the open, but who in the current era had the courage to touch it?