Chapter 2342: Big Event
In the current universe, the only way for anyone to break through Progenitor Wen’s sourcebox array, aside from asking a Progenitor to simply overpower the array, was to use an Array Grandmaster.
Since the four ruling powers were determined to destroy Virtue Archives, they had naturally thought of Progenitor Wen's sourcebox array. Thus, Mu Shang had already been invited to tag along.
Mu Shang looked up at the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird, admiration lighting up his eyes. "Progenitor Wen truly deserved his reputation as an Array Grandmaster! This sourcebox array is unique and completely different from normal. The sourceboxes’ danger zones somehow simulate the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird, and there’s even additional threats hidden within. This won’t be easy to open."
Wu Yao asked, "Is it still possible to open it?"
Mu Shang laughed. "Every sourcebox array needs to be maintained. As long as there’s no Array Master to maintain it, an array is just a dead formation. Of course it’s possible."
"Then we’ll have to ask Grandmaster Mu for help. I must thank you for your assistance," Wu Yao replied.
Mu Shang smiled. "I actually need to thank you seniors. It is this junior’s honor to fight against Senior Progenitor Wen."
The man then approached the sourcebox array on his own and immediately entered it. However, the array did not instantly kill the man. He walked a strange path that made no sense to anyone watching.
Headmaster Wen's expression turned ugly. This man was an Array Grandmaster. While both Progenitor Wen and even Headmaster Wen surpassed Mu Shang when it came to cultivation and pure strength, Mu Shang was the youngest Array Grandmaster in history, and his talent for lockbreaking was monstrous. Let alone Headmaster Wen, not even Progenitor Wen had necessarily surpassed Mu Shang’s mastery of sourcebox arrays. After all, Progenitor Wen had only become an Array Grandmaster after becoming a Progenitor, whereas Mu Shang was still an Envoy even years after becoming an Array Grandmaster.
Things became quite clear once Mu Shang boldly entered the sourcebox array after declaring the array was dead. Headmaster Wen was an Array Master himself, and he was able to control the academy’s defensive sourcebox array, but Mu Shang did not even acknowledge the man.
As far as Mu Shang was concerned, only other Array Grandmasters warranted his notice. He was facing Progenitor Wen alone, as there was no one else who could make a difference.
"If that's the case, then allow me to experience the abilities of the youngest Array Grandmaster in history." Headmaster Wen also stepped into the sourcebox array, and he started attacking Mu Shang with the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird.
Mu Shang's expression remained calm, though he did smile. "It's an honor."
Mr. Tang, Prof. Zheng, Prof. Xiao Wen, Prof. Wei, and Prof. Huai all watched from inside Virtue Archives. The moment the sourcebox array could no longer hold back the four ruling powers, their academy would be gone forever.
There was absolutely no chance of the God of Food successfully becoming a Progenitor. The four ruling powers knew it, and so did the academy.
Deep inside the academy, the God of Food’s eyes opened briefly before he closed them again and isolated himself from all outside interference. If he wanted to break through and become a Progenitor, he needed a calm mind. He had until the sourcebox array was broken to calm himself before attempting his final breakthrough.
As soon as he triggered his stellular tribulation, no one would be able to interfere. Everything would then depend on whether his years of preparation would prove sufficient to the task.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
…
Ten days passed, and everyone was still watching the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird. As time had passed, the two birds had grown much dimmer and were even somewhat transparent now.
Just a thousand meters away from the two birds, Mu Shang's smile was brighter than ever. Across from him, Headmaster Wen was looking pale. He had already lost, and he could no longer control the sourcebox array any longer. It was also impossible for a Semi-Progenitor like Headmaster Wen to attack Mu Shang within the sourcebox array. The Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird would soon disappear, and the danger posed by the sourcebox array would be erased. At that moment, they would have to directly face the five Semi-Progenitors who stood outside of Virtue Archives.
Headmaster Wen looked at Mu Shang's proud and confident smile. The headmaster briefly wished that he could simply undo the sourcebox array and kill the other man with his superior strength as Semi-Progenitor. Unfortunately, that was too difficult, and Mu Shang also would not be unprepared for such an attack.
"Wen Lai, come back. There’s no need to keep resisting. You can’t stop them," Ce Donglai said.
Headmaster Wen was helpless, and he could do nothing but leave the sourcebox array. It was better to preserve his strength to face the five Semi-Progenitors waiting for the sourcebox array to be taken down than to continue to resist Mu Shang’s efforts. Giving up on the sourcebox array would buy the God of Food more time.
Without Headmaster Wen's interference, Mu Shang proceeded even faster.
Many people from across the Perennial World were watching the developments happening at Virtue Archives. The academy had flourished in the years after its founding, and even members of the Lu family had gone to study at the academy. The four ruling powers, the Nong family, and the Liu family had all sent descendants to study at Virtue Archives. There were many talented cultivators throughout the Perennial World who had graduated from Virtue Archives.
These people did not want to see the academy destroyed, but it was impossible for Virtue Archives to continue given the tyrannical fist of the four ruling powers.
Outside the sourcebox array, Xia Ziheng let out a sigh of relief. He would no longer have to deal with Wen Lai’s nonsense, or any of the other stubborn old men from the academy. Xia Ziheng was even hoping that Virtue Archives would try to fight back, so that all the remaining faculty members would either be killed or sent to the rear battlefield. No, it was better to cast them down to the New World and have them die in a final blaze of glory, sacrificing themselves for humanity’s sake.
In the Higher Realm, Xia Taili, Wang Su, and the others who had just returned from the Fifth Mainland watched the developments at Virtue Archives take place with conflicted feelings.
Liu Hao, Nong Sanniang, and many others had even asked their families to interfere, as they wanted to help the academy. Unfortunately, there was no one willing or able to help Virtue Archives at this moment. The Progenitors of the various powerful families knew that the four ruling powers had suffered a harsh loss in the Forsaken Land, so how could they risk helping Virtue Archives at this moment? Doing so would bring the wrath of the four ruling powers down upon whoever interfered.
Not everyone was able to face the four ruling powers.
The other families were able to restrain the four ruling powers, to some extent, but there were limitations as to how far they could push things.
There was no avoiding the fact that Virtue Archives was about to be destroyed before countless witnesses. This would be a historical event in the Perennial World.
However, no one expected an even bigger event to suddenly occur in the Higher Realm in the Wang family’s territory.
Xia Shenji and the others were not paying any attention to Virtue Archives, as they were all staring at a specific valley beneath the Wang family’s mainland. That valley held the entrance to the New Corridor that connected the Perennial World to the Fifth Mainland.
Ten days had passed, which meant that today was the last day for Lu Yin to appear and fulfill his side of the deal and take over the defense of the four array base on the rear battlefield.
The entire Dominion Realm was staring at the valley. No one knew exactly when Lu Yin and the others would appear.
However, it had to be this day.
As people were thinking about this, someone exited from the New Corridor and appeared in the valley.
The valley in the mountains had been completely emptied long before, so there was no one present from the Perennial World. Even the Wang family’s people had all returned to the family’s floating mainland.
The moment the person appeared, they drew the full attention of the Dominion Realm and the Wang family’s mainland. Countless eyes focused on the valley.
The person who had arrived looked calm. He raised his head to look at the Wang family’s floating mainland, and irritation flashed through his eyes. The man then raised a hand, and the void began to be peeled back in layers. The effect instantly spread across the entire mountain valley.
Up on top of the Wang family’s mainland, Wang Zheng solemnly commented, "A domain that’s reached the void god level."
Hen Xin was standing in the valley. He was one of four Semi-Progenitors who had been sent over to protect the fourth array base, and he was the first of the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitor to arrive in the Perennial World.
Xia Shenji's eyes grew cold. "So the first person is a Semi-Progenitor. I wonder just how many Semi-Progenitors the Fifth Mainland will send."
At that moment, another person appeared: Jiu Yao. He was quickly followed by Yao Di.
"An astral beast?" Wang Fan was surprised.
Even Progenitor Smoke was surprised. "It looks like that kid conquered the Astral Beast Domain, which means that he’s united the entire Fifth Mainland. That's amazing."
After Yao Di, Arch-Elder Zen stepped out.
The arrival of Arch-Elder Zen caused Bai Wangyuan to frown. Why does he look so familiar? I can’t help but feel like I’ve seen him before, but I simply can’t remember.
"Four Semi-Progenitors. It looks like Lu Xiaoxuan wants to compete with the other array bases," Progenitor Long said.
Wang Fan commented, "I wish he would take over defending the entire rear battlefield."
"He first needs the strength to do so," Progenitor Long replied.
Progenitor Smoke butted it, "And not without it."
Progenitor Long was surprised by Progenitor Smoke’s agreement. "Senior, what was that?"
Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "Don't be so stiff. You keep talking like I’m so much older than you, but you’re older than all of us."
Progenitor Long blushed.
Xia Shenji looked sullen, as he was currently remembering the gathering of countless cultivators that he had seen in the Fifth Mainland. There had been more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors alone, and several of them had given the Progenitor an unusual impression. Given the numbers that Xia Shenji had seen, it might not be impossible for Lu Yin to take over the defense of the entire rear battlefield.
The Fifth Mainland did actually have the requisite strength.
The Dominion Realm was surprised, as were Wang Zheng and the rest of the Wang family who were observing the valley. The returning army had informed people of the strength of the Fifth Mainland, as well as the knowledge that a considerable number of their powerhouses were from the Heavens Sect era. Still, it was surprising to see four Semi-Progenitors appear at once.
After all, it was impossible for any one of the four ruling powers to bring out four Semi-Progenitors without pulling people from the rear battlefield.
In some sense, Lu Xiaoxuan's forces had already surpassed the power of the four ruling powers. Naturally, this was only when ignoring the existence of Progenitors.
"Bring Wang Shang here," Wang Zheng ordered.
Wang Shang and the rest of the members of the Perennial World’s army that had been sent to the Fifth Mainland had been brought bacl by Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Shang had been returned to the Wang family.
Wang Shang had assumed that returning would mean an end to all of his hardships. From the moment Wang Si had been killed, he had lived in fear. However, returning to his family had only meant facing an interrogation. Wang Shang had been exposed as an assassin of Realmless.
Wang Shang had initially wanted to argue, but the Xia family had destroyed Realmless’s known headquarters, and the evidence against Wang Shang was indisputable. The family did not tolerate his sophistry. Wang Shang had become a prisoner, and he was treated even worse than when he had been in the Fifth Mainland.
Behind Arch-Elder Zen came the Redemption Army, though they were nothing impressive. The Redemption Army consisted mostly of members of the Daynight clan and the sylvan dragon clan. The strength of this army was not enough to receive any acknowledgement from the Wang family. However, the Lu Elite Troops arrived next, and they caused everyone to do a double take.
The Lu Elite Troops consisted of more than 10,000 Explorers and more powerful cultivators, as well as nearly 10,000 Explorer-level androids that the Great Yu Empire had built.
Androids had been in production the moment Lu Yin had established the Lu Elite Troops. Even if production had stopped a few times due to various reasons, Lu Yin had resumed production as soon as he had returned, and he had even cooperated with the Technocracy to speed up production.
This was why the Lu Elite Troops were bolstered by the presence of nearly 10,000 androids at the Explorer level. This was not an insignificant force, and even the Wang family was shocked.
Given the fact that the army also had Cruisers, Hunters, and even a number of Enlighters, the Fifth Mainland had already sent a force strong enough to defend an array base.
"Hey, what are those people wearing?" a Wang family elder asked.
Wang Shang was brought out, his face haggard. The man appeared to have aged a great deal.
Wang Zheng pointed down at the valley. "What do you know about those people from the Forsaken Land?"
Wang Shang looked down. After thinking for a few moments, he nodded. "Those people are the Lu Elite Troops. That army was created by Lu Xiaoxuan himself to face off against the threat of Aeternus before we were sent to the Forsaken Land. The individuals are not too strong, but their equipment is truly impressive. If not for Lu Buzheng and other Semi-Progenitors keeping an eye on this army, the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate would have stolen them away."
During the twenty years that Lu Yin had gone missing, many things had taken place that he knew nothing about. For example, Hen Xin had wanted to take the Lu Elite Troops, or more precisely, their equipment. He had also eyed the Tower of the Fifth.
Many matters had simply disappeared as soon as Lu Yin had returned, and the people answering to Lu Yin had not seen the need to report every incident that had occurred. This was why Lu Yin had never known that his Lu Elite Troops had almost disappeared.
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