Star Odyssey

After another half month passed, Lu Yin finally managed to narrow the distance between himself and the two people ahead of him to just ten meters.

The man looked back. "Young man, you're pretty fast."

Lu Yin replied, "You're quite fast yourself, Senior. This junior has been chasing you for over a month."

"Haha, there aren't many in the entire Voidforce Universe who can catch up to me. What's your name?" the man asked.

His eyes steady, Lu Yin answered, "Xuan Qi."

The man looked puzzled. This was a name that he had never heard of, so he turned to the woman beside him. "Have you heard of him?"

The woman remained aloof. "No."

"We've been competing here in the Void Pass for years now. We didn’t even know that such a talented junior had appeared," the man replied before turning back to Lu Yin. "Young man, who is your master?"

Lu Yin countered, "And who might you be, Senior?"

"We just asked you a question," the woman interjected as she stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin answered bluntly, "I don’t dare tell you. If I give you the name of my master, only to learn that you have a grudge against him, wouldn't I just be asking for trouble?"

"Hahaha, interesting answer!" The man burst out laughing, though he looked at Lu Yin with a good bit of appreciation. "You’re quite frank with your words, which indicates that you’re an upright man. Good. My name is Xu Heng, and this here is Xu Leng."

Lu Yin blinked. "Oh."

Xu Heng gave Lu Yin a blank stare. "Is that all you have to say?"

"What sort of reaction were you expecting?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

Xu Leng's eyes flickered. "You're not from the Voidforce Universe, are you?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "No, I’m from the Transcendent Universe."

"The Transcendent Universe?" The two people were stunned. Because all the members of the Sixverse Association were allowed access to the Void Pass, many people had attempted to cross it over the years. Even so, it was very rare for someone from the Transcendent Universe to challenge the pass. The Transcendent Universe focused on their cultivation technologies and used energy converters, which means that most people from the Transcendent Universe were rather poor cultivators. Let alone challenging the Void Pass, most of them were unable to even move through the sea of voidforce energy by utilizing the pressure of the tides. Most people from the Transcendent Universe would be forced out almost immediately after entering the Void Pass, which was why such people were very seldom seen in the depths.

Xu Leng and Xu Heng had certainly not anticipated meeting someone from the Transcendent Universe, let alone someone clearly so talented in voidforce energy.

"You're from the Transcendent Universe?" Xu Heng asked again to confirm what Lu Yin had told them.

"In a manner of speaking. How did you know that I’m not from the Voidforce Universe?"

Xu Leng explained, "Because you didn’t show any surprise when you heard our names. That means that you either already knew of us long before, and possibly even came here to find us, or that you’re from a foreign universe."

Lu Yin felt rather intrigued. "Does that mean that you two are quite famous in the Voidforce Universe?"

Xu Heng and Xu Leng exchanged glances. "Not particularly. How are you, someone from the Transcendent Universe, able to move through the Void Pass so quickly despite your low cultivation? Have you cultivated voidforce energy before?"

"You're from the Sixverse Academy," Xu Leng guessed.

Lu Yin nodded. "That’s right, I’m a student from the Sixverse Academy."

As the three spoke, the distance between them steadily decreased. This was because Lu Yin was constantly moving closer to the pair in front of him, while the distance between the man and woman remained constant.

"How many students are in the Sixverse Academy now?" Xu Heng asked, intrigued.

Lu Yin replied, "There are several tens of thousands."

"That many?" Xu Heng exclaimed in surprise.

Xu Leng broke in, "I told you a long time ago that the merging of the different civilizations is an inevitable trend. The people who stubbornly stick to ancient traditions will eventually be eliminated."

Xu Heng grew awkward when he replied, "Leng'er, don't say things like that. I'm often forced by circumstances, as you well know."

Xu Leng scoffed. "If a woman like me can do it, then why can't you? Men are always saying one thing and doing another."

Xu Heng gave Lu Yin an apologetic glance.

Lu Yin felt a bit curious. "It seems as though you two are competing somehow?"

Xu Leng suddenly turned to look straight at Lu Yin. "Young man, why don’t you do me a favor? Given your abilities, help me get a bit further ahead. If you can just put him ten meters behind me, you can choose from any treasure in my Void Yin clan's treasury."

Xu Heng gasped, "Leng'er, don't be reckless!"

Xu Leng laughed coldly. "There is no one in the Void Yin clan who dares to oppose me! What do you say? Xu Heng, are you afraid?"

Xu Heng frowned. "You are underestimating the human heart. It’s true that you are strong enough to overpower all others in your clan, but what about in the future? When adversity strikes, all those who oppose you will immediately come out of the woodwork."

"Then I'll crush them!" Xu Leng's voice expressed her ruthless determination. "What is there to fear?"

Xu Heng sighed, his head already throbbing. "There are other ways to solve problems aside from killing. They are your clansmen, so why do you insist on crushing them? It would be better to reach a compromise and use reason to convince them. That’s the only way for them to trust you in the future. The methods that you employ are too extreme, just like what happened to your parents." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝙚𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙚𝓵.𝓬𝒐𝒎

Xu Leng instantly shouted back, "There's no room for compromise on the path of cultivation! Get lost!"

Xu Heng sighed. "My Void Yang clan remains united, which is precisely how we’ve managed to surpass your Void Yin clan. You still haven’t come to understand that even after all these years? Excessive killing only intensifies conflicts."

"Who am I doing this for?" Xu Leng's eyes reddened as she glared at Xu Heng.

Xu Heng briefly hesitated, and complicated emotions flitted through his eyes as he looked at Xu Leng. He said nothing more.

Lu Yin had managed to more or less grasp the two’s situation. They were clearly from rival clans and shared a past, though they were unable to be together. Xu Leng suppressed her clan with pure force, clearly caring little about the opinions of others, whereas Xu Heng persuaded his clan with words and reason, valuing them. His treatment of his clan had caused Xu Leng to harbor a mixture of resentment and enmity towards him.

Lu Yin certainly had not expected to stumble upon such a situation while challenging the Void Pass. Still, these incidents happened all too frequently, and outsiders had no right to meddle in them. People’s personal tribulations needed to be resolved by themselves. Besides, Lu Yin had no time to spare for such matters.

If not for the fact that it had been so challenging to catch up to these two people, Lu Yin would not have interacted with them whatsoever.

A full day passed without a single word being spoken. Lu Yin, focused purely on moving forward, was slowly closing the distance between him and the other two. Even so, it would take him a few more days to move past them, and even longer to increase the distance between them.

Xu Leng turned her head to look back. "Young man, what do you say? I promise you, my offer is extremely generous. Since you’re from the Transcendent Universe, you may not know about my Void Yin clan's status within the Voidforce Universe, but I can guarantee you that, whatever voidforce you choose, will at the very least allow you to become a Void Brillium, and at best, a Void Suprema."

Xu Heng also looked at Lu Yin. "Young man, I would suggest that you refrain from getting involved in this matter. As a gift, I, Xu Heng, can offer you a voidforce puppet that will ensure that you can become a Void Morphora."

Xu Leng shot Xu Heng a venomous glare. Once again, things were becoming a competition, and Xu Heng was offering the youth a powerful voidforce puppet just to do nothing. This also gave Xu Leng the appearance that she was the one kicking up a fuss.

"Xu Heng, either compete or get lost," she snapped before turning back to Lu Yin. "Two puppets."

Lu Yin arched a brow. The stakes were climbing!

Xu Heng attempted to placate Xu Leng. "Leng'er, please stop this nonsense. You'll be risking a clan rebellion!"

Xu Leng instantly snapped back, "That's none of your business! Isn't the downfall of my Void Yin clan exactly what your Void Yang clan wants?"

Xu Heng quickly turned to Lu Yin. "Young man, you shouldn’t heed her words. She's just making a commotion."

Infuriated, Xu Leng raised her offer. "Three puppets!"

"Leng’er!" Xu Heng exclaimed sharply.

Lu Yin was left utterly speechless by the exchange. How was it possible for this man to be so socially clueless? The more Xu Heng tried to dissuade Xu Leng, the more defiant she became, and his repeated accusations were doing the opposite of helping.

"Four!" Xu Leng stared at Lu Yin. "You may choose four voidforce puppets from my Void Yin clan's treasury, as long as you help me push him ten meters back." free(w)ebnov(e)l

Xu Heng quickly glanced at Lu Yin, worried that the youth might accept the tempting offer.

The constant pressure of the Void Pass's tides was formidable. While Xu Heng was able to simply attack Lu Yin, it would most likely cause the pressure of the tides to throw him out in an instant, and that would create a much greater gap than just ten meters. This left the man with no leverage to use against the youth, and he could only try to use verbal persuasion.

The two individuals continued battling with words. One offered tantalizing incentives to entice Lu Yin into helping, while the other tried desperately to discourage him from getting involved. During the entire time, the two were bickering and arguing.

Finally, Lu Yin became fed up with the entire thing. Enough time had passed that his steady gains on the two had also brought him almost even with them.

"Seniors, please allow me to say something!" Lu Yin bellowed, causing both Xu Heng and Xu Leng to look at him at the same time.

Lu Yin continued, "Senior Xu Leng, I can offer you my assistance-" The words caused Xu Heng's expression to instantly change drastically, but his ready argument was silenced by a raised hand from Lu Yin, who then proceeded to address Xu Leng. "However, this junior has no interest in your voidforce puppets."

"Then what do you want?" Xu Leng asked, suddenly suspicious. Despite her rash personality, she was no fool, and there were things that she would not concede no matter what.

Lu Yin replied earnestly, "I simply ask that you allow Senior Xu Heng to speak his mind for one hour. For that time, you will remain silent and will not interrupt him at all."

Xu Leng and Xu Heng were both equally flabbergasted. What kind of demand was this?

Xu Heng looked horribly confused. "Young man, what...?"

Lu Yin turned to face the older man. "Senior, you should carefully consider what you will say during that one hour. Pick out what is meaningful from the meaningless from what you have said in the past. You are clearly smarter than most, so you should understand what I am saying. Besides-" Lu Yin glanced around before saying, "Right now we are in the middle of the Void Pass, and we have no company aside from ourselves. Both of you possess an astounding level of cultivation, so why not relinquish all worldly distractions, forsake the feud between your clans, and simply be yourselves?"

Xu Heng turned to look at Xu Leng, his feelings clearly complicated.

Xu Leng initially looked back at Xu Heng, but she reflexively looked away when their eyes met.

Lu Yin turned back to speak to Xu Leng again. "Senior, will you agree?"

Her eyes flickered, and she let out a huff. "Very well. As long as I can seize victory, I can tolerate his drivel for an hour."

After listening to the arguing for days, Lu Yin had come to thoroughly understand the situation; Xu Leng was impulsive and decisive, and frequently interrupted Xu Heng before he had the chance to fully explain his thoughts. Lu Yin’s condition would allow Xu Heng to finally speak his mind.

However, the more important detail was the fact that Lu Yin had become fed up with the entire situation. He had decided to help Xu Leng win, hoping that her sense of victory would buy him an hour of silence, as well as a bit of distance from the pair.

However, a single hour would not nearly be enough.

Lu Yin pursed his lips, regretting that he had not asked for a day. Still, it no longer mattered. They would not argue during the agreed upon time, and no matter if it was an hour or a day, it would not make much of a difference in how much distance Lu Yin put between himself and the two. No, the most important thing was that he had managed to buy a few moments of peace, during which he could focus entirely on speeding ahead.

"Senior, move three paces to your left," Lu Yin instructed Xu Leng as he also started to move forward.

"Five paces to the right."

"Hold there for three seconds, and then go straight ahead at full speed."

...

With Lu Yin's help, Xu Leng managed to slowly gain a bit of distance from Xu Heng, who calmly followed behind.

In the blink of an eye, five days had already passed. Xu Leng was just about to reach a lead of just over ten meters on Xu Heng.

Lu Yin believed that, even with the help that he had offered, it should have taken Xu Leng at least ten days to gain a ten meter lead on Xu Heng, but she had managed to do so in just five days. This was not solely due to Lu Yin ‘s help, but also because Xu Heng had deliberately slowed his own pace to let Xu Leng quickly gain a bit of distance. He intended to give her the lead in order to obtain his hour of time.

Lu Yin looked back and made brief eye contact with Xu Heng. The man gave Lu Yin a knowing smile, gratitude filling his eyes.