Chapter 2517: Life-Bound Voidforce Puppet
Xu Xiangyin fell silent after hearing Lu Yin's question. This youth was greatly superior to Xu Ji in every aspect. "It’s about the same. Don't tell others about what happened, or you might be targeted."
Lu Yin nodded. "This junior understands."
"Mmm. For now, stay here and continue to absorb more voidforce energy. The greater your own reserves, the stronger the voidforce puppet you'll be able to control. When the time is right, I will take you to find your own life-bound voidforce puppet," Xu Xiangyin explained.
Lu Yin was curious about this. "My own life-bound voidforce puppet?"
"This is something that’s not recorded in the jade slips given to the students here. Only students who enter the Central School are given this information, but life-bound voidforce puppets can be considered the fourth step of our cultivation method. At this moment, not a single student in the entire Sixverse Academy not from the Voidforce Universe has reached this fourth step. Not even Shao Qingfeng from the Cyclic Universe had done so. Most people need to cultivate for several years before attempting to find their life-bound voidforce puppet. But you-" Xu Xiangyin paused for a moment. "You’ll be able to try rather soon. You might even go with Shao Qingfeng and the others to determine your life-bound voidforce puppet."
"I’m truly excited to acquire my life-bound voidforce puppet," Lu Yin said eagerly.
Xu Xiangyin smiled. "You seem to be rather curious about these, so let me show you."
He held out a hand, and voidforce energy surged over his palm. After a moment, a fingernail-sized bug slowly crawled out.
Lu Yin's pupils constricted when he saw the insect. A carrion bug?
"This is called a carrion bug. Don't underestimate it. Even without any voidforce energy at all, it is already a very powerful weapon. Can you see how much voidforce energy it holds?" Xu Xiangyin asked.
Lu Yin quickly composed his expression in order to prevent Xu Xiangyin from noticing the recognition of a carrion bug. "It's very powerful."
The moment the carrion bug appeared, Lu Yin had already seen majestic waves of voidforce energy radiate from it. The energy destroyed the nearby stones and shook the entire Voidforce School. Even the voidforce puppets in the sky above trembled.
It was power equal to a Semi-Progenitor’s.
While the bug itself had not reached the Semi-Progenitor level, the boost that it received from the voidforce energy had pushed it to that level.
Lu Yin had never considered that Xu Xiangyin would possess a carrion bug. "Senior, is this bug really that powerful?"
Xu Xiangyin proudly stated, "Back when I was choosing my life-bound voidforce puppet, everyone else went off searching for whatever they believed to be powerful. I, on the other hand, had no family background, no master to teach me, and no exceptional talent. With no one to help me, all I could find was this insignificant bug.
"When I returned, everyone ridiculed my choice. The first person to recognize the potential of this bug was Senior Xu Wuwei." Xu Xiangyin's voice took on a more sincere tone at this point. "It was Senior Xu Wuwei who guided me and taught me how formidable this creature called a carrion bug can truly be. He also gave me countless pointers to guide me in my cultivation. That was the opportunity that led me to becoming who I am today. Although Senior Wuwei did not accept me as his disciple, he is the only senior that I will acknowledge for my entire life."
The old man then looked back at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, I have already sent a report to Senior Xu Wuwei about you. You must seize this opportunity. If you can become his disciple, it will be a bit of luck that will change your entire life."
Lu Yin earnestly replied, "I understand."
Someone who was able to make Xu Xiangyin acknowledge him as a senior and guide the old man’s cultivation had to be someone comparable to a Progenitor. However, the name “Xu Wuwei”[1] sounded quite strange.
"By the way, Senior, when I was choosing which of the Sixverse Academy’s schools I wanted to study in, I saw a video of a battle that the Voidforce Universe participated in. Is that Wu Tian Stone Disk another voidforce puppet?" Lu Yin asked. This was a matter that he was most concerned about.
Xu Xiangyin replied, "That’s right. The Wu Tian Stone Disk is a voidforce puppet. It comes from the Voidchaos territory."
"Voidchaos territory?"
"There are many places where one can obtain a voidforce puppet in the Voidforce Universe, and of them, the Voidchaos territory is managed by Lord Xu himself. Only geniuses who are specially acknowledged are allowed to seek their voidforce puppets there. I didn't get that chance myself, but you should be able to visit the Voidchaos territory," Xu Xiangyin said enviously.
Lu Yin expressed a bit of curiosity. "Wu Tian Stone Disk? What a strange name."
Xu Xiangyin explained, "There's nothing strange about it. The stone disk came from a powerful individual whose name was Wu Tian, which is why it's called the Wu Tian Stone Disk."
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "Wu Tian? That’s also an odd name. Was he a powerful ancestor of the Voidforce Universe?"
Xu Xiangyin shook his head. "He wasn’t from my Voidforce Universe at all. From what I've heard, Wu Tian and Lord Xu were both alive during the same era. Of course, that’s nothing but a rumor, so no one really knows for sure."
Lu Yin nodded.
"If you want to know more, you can ask Senior Xu Wuwei after you become his disciple. He’ll certainly know about this. It’s said that Senior Wu Tian is connected to the mythical Origin Universe, but who knows about that. It’s been ages since anyone has appeared from the Origin Universe," Xu Xiangyin commented.
A short while later, Xu Xiangyin returned to the Voidforce Universe to personally convey a report about “Xuan Qi” to Xu Wuwei.
Before leaving, the old man also assigned a task to Lu Yin: to attract the village.
The village was enveloped with the most voidforce energy out of any of the voidforce puppets in the sky above the school, and Xu Xiangyin ordered Lu Yin to draw it down within six months.
Lu Yin estimated that he would not need even that long to succeed.
He spent his time diligently cultivating voidforce energy by absorbing more energy in order to improve his own internal reserves.
It was a time-consuming process. Cultivating with voidforce energy was no easier than cultivating with stellular energy. However, the ability to control voidforce puppets made fighting more convenient and safer for people who cultivated voidforce energy.
Xie Wu and the others did not bother Lu Yin again.
They had hoped that “Xuan Qi” would leave for another school so that they could stir up trouble for him there, but Xu Xiangyin's attitude towards the young genius had made the students abandon the idea. If “Xuan Qi” met any sort of trouble that was later traced back to them, the students knew that the consequences would be more than what they could bear.
Soon, another month passed, and one day, Luo Lao'er went to find Lu Yin for some help.
"Luo Zang?" Lu Yin looked at Luo Lao'er. "Is he causing trouble for you?"
Luo Lao'er answered bitterly, "He's not trying to make trouble—he already has. As soon as I’m not right beside you, someone immediately comes after me. Brother-in-law, look at this! Look!" He moved his clothes aside to reveal wounds that covered his arms. Then, he started to remove his pants.
Lu Yin kicked him away. "Cut it out! No one gave you those injuries. You must have given them to yourself."
Luo Lao'er crawled back over, feeling wronged. "Brother-in-law, why don't you believe me? It really was Luo Zang's people who did this to me! There's one guy here in the Voidforce School named Luo Shan. He's Monarch Luo's fifteenth son, as well as Luo Zang's lackey. He's the one who's been coming after me."
Lu Yin stared at Luo Lao'er. "I'll only say this once, so listen carefully” I- do not- like being used."
Luo Lao'er opened his mouth to protest, but seeing as how Lu Yin's expression was growing colder by the second, Luo Lao'er ended up flopping onto the ground in exasperation. "Brother-in-law, you're too smart! I can't hide anything from you."
Lu Yin casually said, "Luo Lao'er, we haven't known each other for very long, and aside from the slight connection that we made on the battlefield in the Cloudflow Universe, there’s nothing at all between us. If you want me to help you, then you need to offer me enough in return."
Luo Lao'er fell silent.
Lu Yin continued speaking. "You aren't weak. At the very least, you’re better than Zuo Yu and the others. Even if you can't measure up to Shi Hong, you aren’t very far behind. Even so, you’ve maintained a specific facade the whole time and have never revealed your true self. I have no interest in playing mind games with you."
Luo Lao'er sighed and brushed some dirt off of his pants. "I knew that I couldn't hide anything from you, Brother-in-law. Actually, I never meant to hide anything from you guys. I just wanted to protect myself, nothing more."
Lu Yin slowly absorbed voidforce energy. He expressed absolutely no interest in continuing the conversation with Luo Lao'er.
Suddenly, Luo Lao'er asked, "Brother-in-law, you and Zi Jing don't have that kind of relationship, do you?"
Lu Yin's expression flickered as he glanced over at Luo Lao'er. "What do you mean?"
Luo Lao'er smiled. "There are all kinds of rumors flying about that claim that Zi Jing became obedient all because of you, Brother-in-law, and that you risked your life to follow her. However, I think that it’s all just a show you’re putting on. Whenever Zi Jing’s mentioned, there’s never any emotion in your eyes."
"You can tell what I'm feeling?"
"I can," Luo Lao'er boasted, "That's one of my few skills! I can verify that you two don't have that kind of relationship."
Lu Yin's lips curved up. "Whether we do or don't, what does it matter to you? Are you trying to threaten me?"
Luo Lao'er instantly replied, "Of course not! I'm just trying to show you my worth, Brother-in-law."
"There's no need for that." Lu Yin never stopped absorbing voidforce energy.
Luo Lao'er leaned closer. "What if I were to teach you how to cultivate monarch essence?"
Lu Yin was surprised. "Monarch essence?"
"That’s right, the monarch essence from my Three Monarch Dimension," Luo Lao'er confirmed.
"I'm not all that interested. Is monarch essence able to suppress voidforce energy?"
"They’re different kinds of power. Any weapon or tool will become much more powerful when Monarch Essence is applied to it. How else do you think the Three Monarchs Universe managed to join the Sixverse Association? The fact that we’re a member means that we’ve already proven ourselves worthy of that position," Luo Lao'er explained.
Lu Yin pondered for a moment. Luo Lao’er certainly was not wrong, and the young man might prove to be an asset, given time.
"I can always learn from the Three Monarchs School," Lu Yin said.
Luo Lao'er sneered. "How can anything you learn from that place compare to what I can teach you? Brother-in-law, don't tell me that you actually think they'll teach you the true way to cultivate monarch essence here."
Lu Yin was instantly reminded of how he had received a different method of absorbing voidforce energy from Xu Xiangyin. After meeting Luo Lao'er’s eyes for a moment, Lu Yin asked, "What are your conditions?"
The young man took a deep breath. "After we return to the Transcendent Universe, I want to meet Zi Jing and receive her protection."
Lu Yin arched a brow. "You really think that Zi Jing can protect you?"
Luo Lao'er explained, "While I might not know anything about the cultivation technology that Zi Jing has been researching, I do understand the Transcendent Universe. Zi Jing betrayed her own universe, and that caused the Energy Research Group that she was part of to fall apart. All progress in the research even stalled out for years. What she did is considered a terrible crime that even powerhouses who can use black energy converters wouldn’t be able to get away with. Even so, Zi Jing was pardoned."
A trace of disbelief could be seen in his eyes. "After going through the history of the Transcendent Universe, I found that only two people have ever been pardoned for similar crimes, and both of them were researchers who made significant contributions to the universe’s cultivation technologies. One of them developed the Bestowal Art and was eventually regarded as the father of the Bestowal Art, Yu Cheng. The Yu family is still one of the most influential families in the Transcendent Universe even now.
"Since Zi Jing has been pardoned for such a terrible crime, there’s no denying that she has an exceptionally bright future ahead."
Lu Yin stared at Luo Lao'er for a moment. "The fact that you were able to gather so much information suggests that your own future should be rather bright."
Luo Lao'er answered with a bitter smile. "Brother-in-law, if I didn't have at least some skills, I would have died like the rest of my brothers. Do you know how many of my brothers were directly or indirectly killed by Luo Zang? At least five."
"Your father doesn’t punish him?"
"Punishment means nothing to him, or maybe it’s just that my father doesn't care. Luo Zang is Monarch Mu's son. The reason why our Three Monarchs Universe can be a member of the Sixverse Association is because we can stop one of the Seven Skygods, and the most vital reason why our Monarchs can do that is the Three Monarchs Formation, which requires all three of them. That’s why, as long as Monarch Mu doesn't go too far, my father won't say anything. Besides, Luo Zang is his most precious son," Luo Lao'er stated calmly. Despite his stoic demeanor, Lu Yin could detect deep sorrow and hurt in his undertones.
1. Wuwei means five flavors. ☜
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