Star Odyssey

“Dao Chosen, do you find the Fifth Mainland’s network useful during war?” Zi Jing asked.

Lu Yin nodded. “Of course. Having a clear channel of communication is crucial during any battle.”

“What if a similar network were employed on the battlefield?” Zi Jing prompted.

Lu Yin was not certain what the woman was suggesting. “What do you mean by that?”

“On the battlefield, the situation is always unpredictable and constantly changing. No one knows where an attack might appear from, or the enemies’ exact positions. But what if I told you that there's a network that can envelop an entire battlefield and provide real-time updates on the enemy’s attack configuration, positions, and even their resources? How do you think that would affect things?” The corners of Zi Jing’s mouth curled upwards as she spoke. She already knew the massive impact that her words would have on Lu Yin.

“Are you telling me that your networks are able to navigate a battlefield?” Lu Yin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Zi Jing’s expression instantly grew serious again. “I call it the Battle Navigation System, and if you have a moment, Dao Chosen, I highly suggest that you test it out by conducting a simulated battle between two of your forces within a designated area. Let the Battle Navigation System demonstrate its utility for itself.”

Lu Yin stared at Zi Jing for a long moment. He did not ask any questions about the principles behind the system, who had created it, or anything else. He quickly ordered the Second Nightking to find two hundred cultivators of similar cultivation levels and to split them into two armies of one hundred each. They were to conduct a battle simulation within the confines of a single spacecraft, and this battle would demonstrate the effectiveness of the Battle Navigation System. Lu Yin intended to ask questions only after confirming that the system had a practical use in war. Otherwise, anything further would be nothing but a waste of time.

However, given the fact that Zi Jing had taken the time to personally visit Lu Yin and offer assistance, Lu Yin was already convinced that the system would be incredibly useful.

Lu Yin waited eagerly for the two hundred cultivators to start their battle.

Fu Shi had never expected his first opponents after answering the Heavens Sect’s conscription to not be monsters from Aeternus, but rather his own human allies.

He looked at the one hundred solemn-faced cultivators who stood opposite his own group. Was he really supposed to fight against these people?

He unconsciously glanced over at the distant form of Lu Yin, a trace of worship appearing in his eyes. Lu Yin was the man whom Fu Shi respected most even though he did not know the Dao Chosen personally. Fu Shi had heard many things about Lu Yin since his youth, including how Lu Yin had crushed all of his peers with pure strength, established himself as invincible, and become the champion of ZENITH. From that moment on, Fu Shi had vowed to one day follow Lu Yin into battle. While Lu Yin did not even know that Fu Shi existed, even if Lu Yin would never spare a glance for him, they were already comrades in battle. For Fu Shi, this was enough.

At this moment, all one hundred of Fu Shi’s opponents turned red.

He was initially taken aback, but he quickly remembered that he was currently wearing a lens in his eye that he and his companions had all been given by the woman standing beside Lu Yin.

It was this lens that painted the people opposing them red.

“Begin!” The moment the command was shouted, the two teams charged toward each other and clashed.

The battle’s observers expected to see a draw, as both teams had been specifically selected to possess approximately the same level of strength, and no exceptional geniuses had been placed on either team. Most observers therefore felt that it would take some time for a victor to be decided.

However, the true results of the simulation left everyone gasping in disbelief.

The first company followed the anticipated approach of charging headfirst into their opponents. However, the second company demonstrated unusual behavior by predicting and avoiding the offensive. People who observed carefully would notice that the first company only managed to land a few strikes on the members of the second company. Conversely, after the second company dodged the initial assault, they launched a quick counteroffensive, only to retreat after just a brief moment. After the two companies separated, it was clear that the first company had sustained more injuries, as the second company was almost entirely unharmed. Such a stark contrast led to a suspicion that the two companies had rehearsed their performance beforehand.

Lu Yin was blown away by the system's effectiveness. He had also placed a lens in his right eye, and it highlighted all the members of the first company in red, while those in his own company were blue. An arrow constantly shifted about, providing real-time information about an individual's position, available angles of attack, and movements to counter enemy actions through suggested courses of action. By following the arrows, when the entire company attacked as directed, it became relatively easy for them to evade enemy attacks and even follow up with accurate counterattacks.

At this moment, Fu Shi and the other members of his team who were using the lenses for the battle simulation were the most stunned out of everyone present.

They had simply followed the arrows’ directions to a tee. Even if they had not attacked at all, they had still been able to avoid all of the incoming attacks, and were even able to join or leave the fighting at will.

Who could possess a view of an entire battlefield amidst the chaos? Who could enter or leave a battlefield at will? It was something that only those who possessed immense power and were capable of single-handedly dominating the battle could do. For ordinary cultivators, they could only blend into the background of the chaos and conflict.

At this moment, the members of the second company felt like they were not even participating in a real battle. Instead of confronting living opponents, it felt as though they were facing a simulation. The final results? The first company was completely annihilated, while the second company sustained negligible injuries.

Fu Shi looked at Lu Yin, his reverence for the man blazing to fanatical levels. With this system, could battles in the future still even be called battles?

Lu Yin had a similar feeling. He gestured for everyone else to leave before turning to face Zi Jing, his eyes full of shock and awe. “Did you create this?”

“Yes.”

Lu Yin removed the lens from his eye. It was a common-looking lens that many cultivators wore to estimate other people’s power levels. Such a lens would estimate an Explorer’s power level at 10,000, while Envoys would start with a power level of 500,000. This was why those numbers were used as a basis for each cultivation realm. However, Zi Jing had invented and installed a new system into these common lenses, which had completely transformed their functionality.

“Why did you invent this?” Lu Yin was curious.

Zi Jing replied, “War is a matter that will always be part of our universe. Whether it is against humans, other creatures, astral beasts, or even unknown enemies, we will always have to deal with war. While cultivators have the responsibility to continuously improve their strength and cultivate, our duty is to reduce the number of casualties during such wars. Dao Chosen, you worked with Aurora Enterprises to create weapons that use microarray technology, while I invented this, the Battle Navigation System.”

“The Battle Navigation System,” Lu Yin muttered to himself. He then looked back at Zi Jing. “The impact that this system will have on humanity is immeasurable. Can this be used on any battlefield? For example, can it be used during battles against Aeternus?”

Zi Jing nodded. “Of course. The system will automatically read and analyze the data regarding opponents’ speed, strength, attack methods, and movement patterns. It can instantly provide the user with an optimal route or angle of attack. If the system determines that the user is not a good match for their opponent, it will issue a warning. Furthermore, it will also send a signal to other nearby users who would be a better match for that particular opponent. The system is not simply designed for individual use. Instead, it truly shines in its ability to coordinate all of the people on a given battlefield into an unified system that can help everyone determine their ideal opponent to face…”

.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he listened in silence. From this moment forward, humanity’s military strategies and battlefield techniques would undergo a complete revolution. The transformation caused by this Battle Navigation System was in no way inferior to the way that microarray technology had transformed weapons. 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝙢

Humans had used their intelligence to create new inventions since the dawn of time. They had come up with deceit, civilizations, cultivation, and inheritances. The invention of the microarray technology paved the way for new, more powerful weapons, and the Battle Navigation System represented the dawn of a new era for humanity.

“A node needs to be installed every one million miles to expand the battlefield’s location, as without nodes, the Battle Navigation System can only provide individual functions for each user. Once the nodes are in place, the system can connect every user within a million-mile radius and provide an overview of the entire battlefield…” Zi Jing continued her explanation. As she spoke, Lu Yin shared her explanation with Shui Chuanxiao. In the forthcoming battle, Shui Chuanxiao would be commanding all of the Fifth Mainland’s forces.

As soon as Shui Chuanxiao heard the first part of Zi Jing’s explanation, he immediately dropped everything and rushed over. He then led Zi Jing away to privately learn everything about the Battle Navigation System and its uses in greater detail.

Before the two left, Lu Yin asked Zi Jing what reward she desired.

Zi Jing silently considered the question before seriously replying, “No matter what, as long as I don’t betray humanity, I would ask the Dao Chosen to guarantee my safety.”

There was nothing that could threaten Zi Jing’s safety within the Fifth Mainland. The Hall of Honor and Heavens Sect would absolutely protect her. However, she had specifically requested safety as her reward. Or rather, it was her condition for providing him with the Battle Navigation System, and she appeared to be extremely serious when stating her request to Lu Yin. That raised the question—just who or what was she so worried about?

“I will elaborate further after the battle,” Zi Jing said before leaving with Shui Chuanxiao.

Lu Yin looked away. Zi Jing was yet another person who harbored her own secrets. Still, since she was certain that Lu Yin was able to protect her, it was unlikely that her secrets were a serious matter.

Lu Yin redirected his attention to the entrance to the Starfall Sea. The war had already begun.

…

Six days had passed since Lu Yin had left the Perennial World. During these six days, the Seven Skygods had increased the pressure on the Dominion Realm, and at the same time, corpse kings had continued to flood the rear battlefield without giving the array bases any reprieve. Lu Yin had not wasted a single second of these six days, and at the moment, he was finally standing next to Mt. Microcosms.

Mt. Microcosms had originally been known as the Sky Pillar, and it had held up the Daosource Sect during the ancient eras. It was a treasure that had been created by the Origin Progenitor himself. Even Progenitors struggled to damage it.

There was also a sourcebox array within Mt. Microcosms that had once forced Corpse God back, which had let them seal the path to the Starfall Sea in the first place. The sourcebox array possessed a strength comparable to Ceaseless Impetus. In fact, Lu Yin had a strong feeling that Progenitor Hui had only managed to create Ceaseless Impetus after gaining inspiration from Mt. Microcosms.

This was similar to how Grandmaster Gu Yan had created the Sealing Path sourcebox array after studying Ceaseless Impetus.

Sealing the Starfall Sea with Mt. Microcosms had only been accomplished after long and arduous effort from the entire Fifth Mainland. On this day, the path would be reopened.

Everyone looked up at Lu Yin as he stood beside Mt. Microcosms. Even at this moment, many people did not agree with his decision to remove Mt. Microcosms. They preferred to live their lives out in peace and safety. After learning that the Perennial World was facing disaster, some short-sighted people had even suggested destroying the New Corridor in order to protect the Fifth Mainland and to avoid fighting against Aeternus for a period of time.

Lu Yin had told Bai Xian’er that there was a difference between the Lu family and the four ruling powers, and he was purposely demonstrating that difference with his actions.

The Lu family had refused to live in a repressed and self-deceptive manner just to prolong their own survival for a few more days. They had always been trying to force Aeternus to retreat so that they could assure the long-term security and future prosperity of mankind.

When the Lu family had still been around, they had occasionally led invasions into the New World and had struck deep into the heart of Aeternus. While the rest of his family was no longer around, Lu Yin had every intention of once again invading the New World.

If Aeternus was truly invincible, then humanity would no longer exist. The fact that humans still lived proved that there was a way to defeat Aeternus.

With that thought in his mind, Lu Yin turned to look at Lu Buzheng.

The sourcebox array within Mt. Microcosms had originally been activated with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, and it had remained active since that time. Deactivating the sourcebox array also required the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

Lu Buzheng had a solemn expression on his face as he pressed a palm against Mt. Microcosms. The gears spinning on the back of the Mt. Microcosms gradually slowed down. When they finally stopped, the entire mountain trembled.

Lu Yin’s determination was written all over his face. “Open it.”

At his command, Lu Buzheng drew on his entire strength as a Semi-Progenitor and removed Mt. Microcosms from where it had stood.

There was a bang as the seal was removed.

Everyone intently stared past where Mt. Microcosms had stood, their breaths held from the suspense. One pair of scarlet eyes after another appeared, and they all stared straight back at the human army. These eyes brought back many memories of endless slaughter and battle. That war was beginning once again.