Star Odyssey

Ten days passed, and on the border between the Human Domain and the Technocracy, Lu Yin sat on a planet in what had once been Endless Weave. The massive jiao crouched behind Lu Yin, its breathing causing the universe to tremble with each inhale and exhale.

A wireless jincan trembled, and Lu Yin checked the incoming message.

"Repairs will be completed at any moment." It was a simple message from Sky Creation Academy.

Lu Yin put the wireless jincan away and instead pulled out Zenith Mountain. Xia Shenji was released.

The Progenitor-level clone had not been released even a single time since he had been captured. In fact, Lu Yin had not said anything to the man. It was finally time to do so.

Xia Shenji fell from Zenith Mountain and collapsed onto the ground.

His injuries were severe. Lu Yin had nearly crushed the man’s Progenitor power, and the clone was barely able to even sense it at this point. He had been completely defeated by the jiao, and right now, Xia Shenji could not even display the power of a Semi-Progenitor.

Lu Yin calmly looked down at Xia Shenji’s miserable clone. The Champions’ Stage sat beside Lu Yin, and the jiao crouched behind him. There was no one else around.

Xia Shenji struggled to pick himself up and stand, and he staggered as he silently looked over at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin stared back. "Aren’t you at least a bit curious as to why I released you?"

The clone just sneered and glanced around. "What’s the point? Go ahead and tell me what you want, but just a reminder, I’m only a clone."

Lu Yin rubbed his head, clearly frustrated. "I know, and clones don’t fear death. I’ve dealt with more than one clone like you before. The first one I met I helped to defeat his main body and replace it."

Xia Shenji's eyes grew cold.

"The second clone did the same thing," Lu Yin continued.

Xia Shenji's eyes grew colder and more vicious. Twice, Lu Yin had worked with clones created with the Nine Clones Secret Technique to replace their main bodies. This meant that Lu Yin had twice worked with descendants of the Xia family. Both of those people should die for betraying their family.

"You are the third clone I’ve met." Lu Yin smiled as he looked at Xia Shenji with open interest. "Do you also want to work with me to defeat your main body and replace it?"

The clone grew angry. "Lu Xiaoxuan, do you really expect me to believe you right now? Clones can never replace the main body. This is an immutable law of the Nine Clones Secret Technique. If it did not exist, Shenwu's Sky would have long since fallen into chaos."

Lu Yin smiled. "And yet I helped two clones replace their main bodies. The first clone came to me for help, and since he was already a friend, I agreed. However, for the second clone, I granted them the ability to fight back against his main body."

Lu Yin leaned forward as he spoke, and the clone’s pupils shrank. "That’s impossible."

Xia Shenji was absolutely certain that he was correct, as even though he was a Progenitor-level clone, he was unable to go against his main body. The main body had full control over all the clones, and since this was true even for a Progenitor, it demonstrated to Lu Yin just how overbearing the Nine Clones Secret Technique truly was.

A person with an independent personality was forced to willingly merge into another person and essentially disappear. This was a truly terrifying technique.

"Nothing is impossible. Do you want to know who I helped?" Lu Yin asked slowly.

The clone’s eyes narrowed. "A clone cannot go against their main body. This is an inviolable law. Lu Yin, you can’t deceive me. What is it that you want?"

Lu Yin let out a long breath. "I just want to chat with you. Find out what this place should look like from the eyes of a Progenitor like you."

Xia Shenji was caught off guard, but then he began to laugh arrogantly. "It’s whatever you think of, as it is whatever you want it to be."

Lu Yin shook his head. "I don't understand."

"You’ll understand when you become a Progenitor, though, Lu Xiaoxuan, you will never become a Progenitor!" Xia Shenji taunted.

Lu Yin arched a brow. "I fought against four Semi-Progenitors as a three-tribulation Envoy, and I even killed one of those Semi-Progenitors. You really think that I can't become a Progenitor?"

Xia Shenji replied in a cold voice, "Your mind is flawed. I can see the seal that’s been placed on your body, and I could also feel it when we fought. That seal is not simple, and it has cut off your chances of ever becoming a Progenitor. That is why you will never reach that level."

Lu Yin replied, "I broke through a layer of that seal when I became a Melder, and again when I became an Explorer. Why are you so certain that this seal can stop me?"

Xia Shenji brushed off Lu Yin’s response. "Even if you do manage to break that seal, so what? If you want to become a Progenitor, will it be you, or Lu Xiaoxuan?"

"What do you mean?" Lu Yin became confused.

Xia Shenji stared intensely at Lu Yin. "I’ll tell you that becoming a Progenitor is not merely a matter of one’s cultivation, as their state of mind is just as important. Lu Xiaoxuan was an optimistic and kind person who was like a ray of sunshine, whereas you are dark and gloomy. You are completely different from who you once were. You want to become a Progenitor, but will it be Lu Xiaoxuan who becomes a Progenitor, or you?"

"Of course it will be me," Lu Yin replied without hesitation. He had already lost all of his memories of his life as Lu Xiaoxuan, so how could Lu Xiaoxuan possibly be the one to become a Progenitor?

Xia Shenji sneered contemptuously. "If you don't break that seal, you will never become a Progenitor, but if you do break the seal, you will regain all your memories of being Lu Xiaoxuan, which includes the emotions, personality, and everything else that made him Lu Xiaoxuan. When that happens, will you remain Lu Yin?"

Lu Yin’s eyes flared. Would he still be himself? The question echoed in his mind. Would he still be himself? Who would he be? Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin?

For a moment, Lu Yin was at a terrible loss.

Xia Shenji laughed. "Your mental state is the obstacle that will bar you from ever becoming a Progenitor! You can't become a Progenitor without breaking that seal, but if you ever do so, what will happen to Lu Xiaoxuan? Kid, you are doomed! While you would indeed become an invincible and peerless Progenitor, you will never reach that level! You are already doomed, hahahaha."

Lu Yin’s mind was still dwelling on the earlier question. Will you remain Lu Yin?

It was something that he had never considered before, and it left him badly confused.

Xia Shenji was cunning. He had seen through Lu Yin's desire to become a Progenitor, and he had used a single question to shatter Lu Yin’s mental state. One sentence from the Progenitor had accomplished something that none of Lu Yin’s enemies had ever managed to do.

This was the ability of a Progenitor. Even without his strength or cultivation, he still remained a Progenitor.

Achoooo!

A deafening noise rang out as the jiao sneezed, startling Lu Yin from his daze. He slowly turned his head to stare at the jiao.

The beast blinked its eyes, instinctively wanting to brandish its fangs and claws, but it restrained itself. Instead, it bent its claws in what it believed to be a submissive manner.

Lu Yin actually ignored the jiao’s antics, as he was staring at the top of the jiao’s head. More accurately, he was staring at the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

Xia Shenji was also absolutely correct. Upon becoming a Progenitor, all memories from Lu Xiaoxuan’s life would be recovered. When that happened, would he be Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin? This question was quite reminiscent of the Nine Clones Secret Technique; between Xia Luo and Xia Jiuyou, which was the main body? Xia Jiuyou had started as the main body, but Xia Luo had proven himself capable of resisting the main body’s control, which meant that Xia Luo had also been the main body.

A single person had been split between two bodies, and both had also been the main body. This was also the disadvantage of the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

Wait, did that mean that Lu Yin’s flawed mental state could be resolved with the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

Lu Xiaoxuan had been an individual, and Lu Yin was also his own person. Regardless of whether Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin emerged as the final and dominant personality, only a single person could become a Progenitor.

Or, Lu Yin could copy Progenitor Chen and have each clone from the Nine Clones Secret Technique become a Progenitor.

Lu Yin suddenly grew solemn, and he turned back to look at Xia Shenji. "Thank you for the warning."

Xia Shenji frowned. "Lu Xiaoxuan, your flawed mentality will prevent you from ever becoming a Progenitor. So what if I’ve warned you in advance? You will still never become a Progenitor."

Lu Yin gave the clone a smile that conveyed both arrogance and contentment. "Who says that I can't become a Progenitor? If there’s a flaw in my mental state because I am both Lu Yin and Lu Xiaoxuan, then I’ll just separate the two. Isn’t that what your Xia family has always been doing?"

Xia Shenji's expression instantly and drastically changed. He had definitely miscalculated, as he had actually forgotten about the Nine Clones Secret Technique!

"All nine of Progenitor Chen's clones became Progenitors, didn’t they? So then why can’t both I and Lu Xiaoxuan become Progenitors? Thank you, Xia Shenji, for the reminder," Lu Yin stated loudly. The moment he finished speaking, his head whipped around, and he stared towards the Technocracy. The New Corridor’s repairs had just finished.

Within the Technocracy, just outside of Sky Creation Academy, the void distorted as a path appeared in space. This was the New Corridor.

Aeternus’s forces had previously destroyed the New Corridor and its connection to the Wang family’s territory, but after many years, it had finally been fully repaired.

The moment the connection to the Perennial World was restored, a person emerged from the New Corridor and entered the Technocracy.

Sky Creation Academy started crumbling. Headmaster Senn had already known that powerhouses from the Perennial World would appear as soon as the New Corridor was repaired, but he had expected Semi-Progenitors to arrive, not an actual Progenitor, let alone a Progenitor from the Xia family who had lived since the era of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

The moment Xia Shenji emerged from the New Corridor, tremors ran through all of Sky Creation Academy, First Edition city, as well as countless planets in the Technocracy. Every single creature—human, cyborg, android, or astral beast—suffered from the unimaginable pressure of a Progenitor.

The Lost Course Army that had once terrorized the battlefield with their mechanical giants, the Third Fleet, and many more powerful forces of the Technocracy all froze where they were standing. All of them felt the pressure of a Progenitor wash over them, and it terrified them. None of them could even imagine this much power. How could such a terrifying power exist? Was this truly something that a living creature could achieve?

Xia Shenji stepped away from the New Corridor as he glanced around. He sensed a familiar aura. Was that Hui Wen?

Was this the power that Hui Wen had left behind?

The Technocracy had been created by Progenitor Hui, who had specifically tasked the Technocracy with collecting materials to make mechanical ants that would be able to deal a massive blow to the Aeternals’ near infinite armies of corpse kings. However, all of those preparations had been used up when Aeternus had invaded the Fifth Mainland.

Even if the power had not been completely consumed, the mental network that Progenitor Hui had left behind would be useless against Xia Shenji unless Progenitor Hui himself appeared.

After all, the two Progenitors were peers.

Xia Shenji was not at all concerned with Progenitor Hui's remnant power. He immediately stared in a particular direction, and a smile appeared on his face. "Found it."

The universe then started to tremble, and the void shattered as the Shenwu World appeared.

It was not that no Progenitors had ever appeared in the Fifth Mainland. Rather, if the Sixth Mainland's three Progenitors were compared to Xia Shenji, the Progenitor worlds belonging to the three of them were far, far too weak.

The moment the Shenwu World appeared, it was not only felt in the Technocracy, as the Human Domain, and the Astral Beast Domain also felt its effects.

The Progenitor of Bloodlines instantly noticed the appearance of another Progenitor, and he went pale from the shock. "This-!"

Such a terrifying Progenitor’s world reminded him of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that he had seen during the Daosource Sect era. Had someone with that level of strength arrived?

All of the Semi-Progenitors looked up one after another, shock filling their eyes.

In the Heavens Sect, the Astral Beast Army grew uneasy, and they all started squirming. Even Yao Di began to tremble. The power of an almighty Progenitor had fallen upon the Fifth Mainland. This power could change the Fifth Mainland itself, and its appearance transformed the Fifth Mainland’s very understanding of power.

At this moment, even Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Heavens Sect era, who had encountered many top powerhouses back then, were also shocked. A Progenitor with this level of power had been extremely rare even in their era.

Destina, Destiny’s heir and disciple, frowned. "What an amazing power… A Progenitor?"