Star Odyssey

"I’m going to try to use a battle technique now, so I need you to make sure that the black substance is replaced as soon as it disappears. It should never go away." Lu Yin said as he looked over at Hen Xin.

The gatemaster was taken aback. "You want to keep going?"

"That’s right," Lu Yin said.

Hen Xin grew solemn. "Consider this carefully. You’ve already experienced that same pain many times now, so you should understand that, no matter what, that pain will never diminish. You will also never grow numb to it. There was someone in the past who asked the Dao Monarch to do exactly what you are asking me to do, and the attempt quickly caused his mind to break. He went mad, and not even the Dao Monarch was able to help the man recover."

"How long did that person endure?"

Hen Xin took a deep breath. "A day and a half."

Lu Yin was quite surprised. "Someone endured that pain for a day and a half?"

The pain was so intense that even Lu Yin struggled to deal with it. Even if his mind could endure, his body could not. He could not understand where the pain came from, or how the ancient Dao Monarch had discovered it. But if Lu Yin did not use Extremes Must Be Reversed, he knew that he would not be able to endure the pain for long.

The fact that someone had endured such pain for an entire day and a half indicated that their willpower had been unbelievable.

"Don’t worry about me. Let’s just get started. If I can’t handle it, I’ll just stop," Lu Yin stated. As soon as he finished speaking, his body started to dry out.

Hen Xin had already spent more than twenty years in the Fifth Mainland. During this time, he had learned about the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas during the Daosource Sect era, including Progenitor Ku. The gatemaster had already seen Lu Yin use Extremes Must Be Reversed before, but every time the man saw the battle technique, he felt that it was truly miraculous.

Anyone who became a Progenitor was among the most elite of humanity, and Progenitor Ku had clearly been an extraordinary Progenitor. He could be considered a freakish genius on par with people like Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor.

Anyone who understood the capabilities of Extremes Must Be Reversed would realize just how miraculous the technique was. It could even affect something like the power of time.

Hen Xin watched as Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed. Was it possible that after so many attempts, Lu Yin had confirmed that this particular battle technique could be useful in his endeavor to reach the Wielder realm of battle force?

Lu Yin released his aurelian force once again, and Hen Xin tapped Lu Yin with a finger, causing the black spot to appear on Lu Yin's wrist.

Just like all the previous attempts, the same bone-aching pain appeared, and Lu Yin's withered body started to slowly recover.

Lu Yin gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain. What he was attempting was actually working! He reactivated the technique and continued enduring.

The purple-black substance quickly disappeared each time it appeared on Lu Yin’s wrist, but each time, Hen Xin would tap Lu Yin’s wrist as soon as it disappeared, preventing the substance from ever disappearing. In a similarly repeating cycle, Lu Yin’s body kept recovering, drying up, and then recovering once again.

An hour passed. Two hours. Half a day.

Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin's wrist, exhausted. Even after so long, Lu Yin still had not succeeded. The gatemaster felt rather relieved, but also helpless. How long would Lu Yin remain stubborn for?

After a full day passed, Lu Yin gritted his teeth. He knew that he could not have held on for so long without Extremes Must Be Reversed.

He had the necessary willpower to endure the pain, but his body had only managed to endure thus far because of Extremes Must Be Reversed. The technique was the only reason why Lu Yin had been able to persevere until now.

One day had passed, but Lu Yin still pushed ahead. The entire time, Hen Xin worked to ensure that there was a bit of the purple-black substance constantly on Lu Yin’s wrist.

At first, Hen Xin had only needed to cover the very tip of his finger with the purple-black substance, but as time passed, he had eventually needed to envelop his entire arm. After using it for so long, Hen Xin’s amount of the substance had been significantly reduced.

Hen Xin looked at his arm. If this was the state that he had been reduced to after a single day, he would not be able to endure for much longer.

There was a limit to Extremes Must Be Reversed, but even though Lu Yin was suffering from excruciating pain, it was still incomparable to the combined attacks that Lu Yin had suffered at the hands of the four Semi-Progenitors. Essentially, the attacks that Lu Yin had suffered in the past had increased the limits of what his Extremes Must Be Reversed could handle.

Two days passed.

Lu Yin found that it was indeed possible to counter the pain that he was using Extremes Must Be Reversed to endure.

Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to absorb attacks and then store their power to build up potential that could be later released. This was the method that Lu Yin had used to defeat the copy of Progenitor Chen that had appeared during his first stellular tribulation to become an Envoy, and it was also what Lu Yin had used to kill Semi-Progenitor Chai. At this moment, Lu Yin was absorbing the pain he was suffering, and he was even countering it with Extremes Must Be Reversed.

Progenitor Ku’s battle technique was still revealing itself to be far more miraculous than Lu Yin had ever imagined. Not only was it able to influence the power of time and grant a person the ability to control that power, but it was also able to counter the unbearable pain that Lu Yin was currently suffering. He could not help but admire Progenitor Ku more and more as time passed.

However, this was not the time for admiration.

Since Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to counter the pain he was suffering, it meant that Lu Yin had the liberty to analyze his situation.

Hen Xin watched as Lu Yin persisted for three days, four days, and then five days.

The gatemaster had no words for what he was seeing, as he was acutely aware of the pain that Lu Yin was suffering. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had once said that even a Semi-Progenitor with the firmest willpower would not be able to endure for more than three days, and yet Lu Yin had already endured for five days.

At this moment, Hen Xin desperately wanted to tell Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi that someone who could endure for five days had been found.

Despite the fact that Lu Yin had persisted for so long, Hen Xin had no idea whether Lu Yin would ever be able to acquire Wielder - Indestructible.

Even if a person could find a needle in a haystack, it did not mean that they had the same chance of achieving the final breakthrough in their battle force. Truthfully, the chances of finding a needle in a haystack were far greater than achieving this particular breakthrough.

Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had once said that if a person was able to endure for long enough, then they were guaranteed to achieve Wielder - Indestructible. But as for what amount of time was necessary, Hen Xin had no idea, and not even Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had known.

Ten days. Even after a full ten days passed, Lu Yin continued to persist.

However, Hen Xin could not. Even if he only needed to use a tiny speck of his manifested battle force each time, he had been doing so multiple times each day. After ten days, the purple-black substance that covered Hen Xin’s body had grown much, much thinner, and if not for Hen Xin’s fear of Lu Yin, he would have stopped long ago, even at the risk of being attacked by doing so.

Hen Xin truly admired Lu Yin for being able to endure such pain for ten full days. The Semi-Progenitor could not understand how Lu Yin was managing to do it. Had the young man perhaps already survived something that had tested the limits of his perseverance? That had to be it, as how else could such a young man be capable of during this much pain?

Hen Xin’s thoughts caused his admiration for Lu Yin to increase even further.

In the past, Hen Xin had not felt any true admiration for the Progenitors or their power that he had seen. This was true when Lu Yin had used the power left behind by Progenitor Chen to overpower the entire Fifth Mainland, and also when Lu Yin had defeated Xia Shenji and another Progenitor sent to kill him. Hen Xin had lived during the Heavens Sect era, and he had witnessed many true powerhouses whom the current Progenitors could not compare to at all. However, at this moment, Hen Xin felt genuine admiration for Lu Yin. He even felt that if Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi were present, he might also be impressed by what Lu Yin had endured.

Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors had stopped by the fourth array base’s headquarters several times, as none of them knew what Lu Yin and Hen Xin were doing. Still, no one disturbed the two men.

There was no worry for Lu Yin's safety. Aside from Progenitors, who else was able to pose a threat to Lu Yin?

Lu Yin had long since become completely immersed in his continuous attempts to achieve the Wielder realm of battle force. It was true that Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to reduce the pain afflicting Lu Yin, but he was still suffering unspeakable agony. Enduring the pain for ten days had indeed strained Lu Yin’s abilities.

Hen Xin sighed. The last of his purple-black substance was about to disappear. His next touch would be the last of it. It would be utterly regrettable if his own strength was impacted by this.

Suddenly, the Semi-Progenitor froze. He stared at Lu Yin's wrist, dazed. The black spot was not disappearing.

Hen Xin thought that he had to be hallucinating. He had repeated the same thing over and over again these ten days, and he was very clear that the black spot should have already disappeared, so why was he still seeing it?

Unless…

Hen Xin suddenly stared at Lu Yin in utter shock.

At the same moment, Lu Yin’s eyes opened, and he looked at Hen Xin as a smile spread across his face. "Thank you. I’ve succeeded."

Hen Xin was stunned by the success. Such a simple statement caused Hen Xin’s mind to instantly leap back in time to the Heavens Sect era. He remembered just how happy Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had been when Hen Xin had successfully achieved Wielder - Indestructible, as the Dao Monarch had seen it as a sign that the cultivation method that he had created had been correct. At this moment, another person had finally succeeded. "Really? You succeeded?"

Lu Yin nodded. All of his pain had already disappeared. The moment he succeeded, all of his battle force had started transforming into the purple-black materialized battle force that was indicative of the Wielder realm. The process would take a while, but Lu Yin had never feared time-consuming cultivation processes.

Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin, his emotions in turmoil. Was he happy? Afraid? Something else? The Semi-Progenitor could not help but consider the possibility that Lu Yin had been gifted with all of humanity’s luck, as he had actually successfully reached the Wielder realm of battle force. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹．𝐨𝐫𝗴

"The way to fight with Wielder - Indestructible is completely different from using aurelian force, right?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at the black spot on his wrist.

He had previously watched Hen Xin fight against Ancient God with Wielder - Indestructible, but because Hen Xin’s opponent had been Ancient God, Lu Yin had not been able to see just how powerful the Wielder realm was. After all, Hen Xin had almost been killed by Ancient God.

However, Lu Yin had also Possessed Hen Ye and seen many memories where Hen Xin had used Wielder - Indestructible. Every single instance had been close combat. Between Wielder - Indestructible and aurelian force, the former seemed to have a reduced range, but much, much greater destructive power.

Hen Xin replied, "There are many ways to fight with Wielder - Indestructible, but the truth is that there’s no difference in how it can be used compared to regular battle force."

"It doesn't seem to have the same range as aurelian force," Lu Yin replied.

Hen Xin shook his head. "Even if you face an opponent with aurelian force, it will mean nothing against your Wielder realm battle force. The range provides no advantage whatsoever."

Lu Yin realized that this was quite accurate after a moment’s thought.

"Besides, that is simply how I use my Wielder - Indestructible," Hen Xin continued, suddenly sounding nostalgic as a hint of longing appeared in his eyes.

Lu Yin felt rather confused for a moment, but he quickly understood. "Does Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi use his Wielder realm battle force differently?"

Hen Xin smiled wryly. "Of course. The Dao Monarch had already fully merged his materialized battle force with his body back then. While his Wielder - Indestructible still has a bit of texture, he no longer has the same purple-black substance. Dao Chosen, you have already seen the power that the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas wield, and you have also experienced a Progenitor’s world. A Progenitor’s world is truly terrifying, and every Progenitor has one, just like how every Semi-Progenitor has an inner world. What we call a Progenitor’s world is actually a region of space created by Progenitors. Such a space can have creatures, unique civilizations, religions, and more. The more stable the creations within the Progenitor’s world, the stronger the Progenitor is."

Lu Yin silently listened. While Progenitor Smoke had hinted a bit at this, she had not gone into any details, and Lu Yin also had not had any opportunity to speak with Senior Brother Mu Xie alone. Mister Mu had disappeared, and the entire Fifth Mainland only had the Progenitor of Bloodlines left. However, the Progenitor of Bloodlines probably felt that Lu Yin already knew about this information, seeing as he could fight against Progenitors.

Actually, there was one other option: Big Sis. However, Big Sis had probably forgotten to tell Lu Yin this.

"When Xia Shenji went to the Fifth Mainland, I could see that there were creatures that looked like they were formed from blades within his Shenwu World. They were training, living, and worshiping. They are the source of Xia Shenji’s power. There is no way to deal with such power, but Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi still believed that the Wielder realm of battle force is the true path of cultivation for humans. Can you guess why the Dao Monarch believed that?" Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin, his eyes blazing as he asked this particular question.

Lu Yin automatically replied, "Is it because the Wielder realm of battle force can also give birth to a Progenitor’s world?"

Hen Xin nodded.

Lu Yin's expression instantly changed. He had just made a guess based off of what Hen Xin had been saying earlier. It was only after Lu Yin finished speaking that his words actually registered in his mind and he understood the ridiculousness of such an idea.

However, Hen Xin had actually nodded.

How could such a thing be possible? Could a Progenitor’s world really be created by battle force that reached the Wielder realm? A Progenitor’s world was clearly the culmination of a Progenitor’s energy and cultivation, which came from external sources, while battle force was an internal power. How could an internal power reach the same level?

Was this really an example of reaching the same destination by a different path? Lu Yin had already guessed that once a given power rose to a threshold of strength, it could influence the river of time itself. Did this mean that a powerful enough person, even without the power of time, could still control time?