Star Odyssey

Chapter 2192: Everything Returns To The Origin

Lu Yin rubbed his head as he returned to his own pillar, only to find a man waiting at the base of it. Lu Yin arched a brow, as this young man was quite powerful.

The man was standing quietly at the base of the pillar. He was about two meters tall, and he gave off an oppressive aura that even caused the grass beneath him to bend over, clearly pressed down by some invisible force. When Lu Yin arrived, the man's eyes instantly locked onto Lu Yin, and those eyes carried a great deal of pressure.

"Prof. Hao Yu?" the man asked. He was staring at Lu Yin with exceptionally cold eyes, and everything about his posture and attitude indicated aggression.

Lu Yin continued to walk closer. "That’s me. And you are?"

"Xia Shenguang." The man spoke his name slowly.

Lu Yin was caught off guard, but he quickly recovered and smiled at the young man. "I’ve heard that you’re one of the most outstanding youths from the Shen generation of Shenwu’s Sky’s Xia family."

Xia Shenguang remained calm as he stared at “Hao Yu.” "I can't see through your cultivation, but don’t think that I can’t fight you just because you’re an Envoy. Your cultivation may have reached the Envoy level, but that doesn't prevent me from challenging you."

Lu Yin blinked. This was confusing. "Fight me? Why would you do that?"

"Wen Zhao.1" Xia Shenguang’s voice turned even colder.

Lu Yin shrugged. "There’s nothing between Prof. Xiao Wen and me."

"Then make a public statement. Clarify the matter for all of Virtue Archives students and faculty, and also apologize to Wen Zhao. Do that, and I can forget about this matter." Xia Shenguang spoke in an extremely condescending manner, sounding as though this was the only reasonable way to handle the matter.

Lu Yin found this quite funny. "So I should be the one to clean up this mess? I’ve only ever spoken with Prof. Xiao Wen once, so why should I apologize for anything? I am not the one smearing her reputation."

Xia Shenguang indifferently answered, "Apologize or fight me. Those are your choices."

Lu Yin stared at Xia Shenguang. This person was also from the Xia family’s Shen generation, but his personality was completely different from Xia Shenfei’s. Xia Shenfei loved to drink, and he usually appeared drunk and carefree towards everything, though he was sharp and perceptive when it mattered. On the other hand, Xia Shenguang came off as someone with a superiority complex, and he was unbearably arrogant.

However, both men had one thing in common: they were overbearing. They were completely unreasonable, as neither man would ever allow anyone to gainsay them, and anytime someone crossed them, they would become aggressive and attack.

"Student, I want to point out one particular detail to you: you should not be referring to an instructor with their full name as Wen Zhao, but properly: Prof. Xiao Wen." The smile on Lu Yin's face began to slowly disappear.

Xia Shenguang continued to stare at “Hao Yu.” "Apologize, or fight me. Those are your choices."

"Did you not understand what I said, student? This entire rumor has nothing to do with me," Lu Yin repeated.

Xia Shenguang clearly did not care. "Do you not understand me? Apologize or fight me. Those are your choices."

Lu Yin shook his head and stepped forward. "I choose neither."

He then gave Xia Shenguang another smile. "I'm not very good at fighting."

He then simply climbed up the stone pillar.

Xia Shenguang did nothing to stop Lu Yin. They were in Virtue Archives, and even the heirs of the four ruling powers could not act willfully. While students were certainly allowed to challenge the instructors, the faculty members also had to agree to the challenge. There was no denying that Virtue Archives’ students were far from ordinary students.

If someone like Xia Shenguang wanted to challenge an instructor, a full half of the academy’s fourteen instructors would not be a challenge for the young man.

Xia Shenguang looked up at Lu Yin on the top of the stone pillar, contempt dripping from his voice as he spat, "I told you that you can either apologize or fight me. There’s no escape."

The young man then turned and made his way towards Prof. Xiao Wen’s residence. While Xia Shenguang did not want to hear an explanation from Lu Yin, he did want to hear one from Wen Zhao. After all, she was the woman that Xia Shenguang was pursuing.

After returning to his home, Lu Yin could not stop himself from glancing over towards Prof. Xiao Wen's pillar. He had a feeling that he might have underestimated the trouble that this commotion would create. He had assumed that they were nothing more than baseless rumors, but those rumors had caused someone like Xia Shenguang to become antagonistic towards him.

Xia Shenguang had tried to make trouble for Lu Yin because of the rumors involved Wen Zhao, and Wen Zhao was the great-granddaughter of Headmaster Wen. Lu Yin refused to believe there was no connection between the two. Xia Shenguang was far too concerned about Wen Zhao, which suggested that he was either obsessed with her or had ulterior motives.

Lu Yin had no idea if Xia Shenguang really was obsessed with Wen Zhao, but it seemed highly unlikely. Still, the Xia family had previously given birth to someone with a powerful infatuation—Progenitor Chen—so it was not entirely impossible. Still, that had nothing to do with Lu Yin. All together, he was facing a mess.

That night, Mr. Tang stepped out into his garden, and he looked over and saw Lu Yin. "Are you having a difficult time, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin rose to his feet. "Not exactly. I’m just frustrated by the rumors that have been spreading."

"Hehe, that’s just how the academy is. Without such things, there wouldn’t be much entertainment, would there?" Mr. Tang laughed.

Lu Yin pursed his lips. All of the old people that he met seemed to enjoy watching such drama unfold.

Lu Yin suddenly looked at the base of Mr. Tang’s pillar. Qing Feng was approaching.

The young man leaped up from beneath Mr. Tang's stone pillar, and the instructor responded with a small smile as his domain dropped down like a mountain onto the ascending student. Qing Feng also released his domain, and it fought to resist Mr. Tang’s as the student struggled to reach the top of the pillar.

After a lengthy climb, Qing Feng arrived at the top of the pillar, and he gave Mr. Tang a respectful bow. "Professor, this student is disturbing you once again."

Mr. Tang laughed. "Your domain is becoming more and more stable. The only thing left to do now is to break through to the next level: the void god level. However, that breakthrough is extremely difficult. As I told you before, you simply need to take your time and not grow impatient."

Qing Feng bowed again. "This student would ask to be allowed to feel the power of a void god domain a few more times. I’ve heard rumors that that level of mastery allows a person to toy with the void and manipulate it, and this student simply cannot understand such a thing."

Mr. Tang replied, "It’s the power of space. If everyone could comprehend that power, then more than a few would have reached the void god level of a domain in the Perennial World. You felt my domain last time. Go back. There’s no need for you to return within the next two months."

Qing Feng did not want to accept this, and he wanted to say something further, but Mr. Tang had already moved on, and he refocused onto Lu Yin. "I saw what happened between you and Xia Shenguang. You handled that well."

Lu Yin responded with a wry smile. "He’s just an impulsive student, so how could I actually fight him? Also, I’m not very good at combat."

"Right…" Mr. Tang stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. "As far as I’m concerned, you backed down to a student, but the duty of us instructors is to guide the students, not force them. You are well suited for this job, Prof. Hao Yu."

Lu Yin answered, "Honestly, I’m living on this particular pillar because I was hoping to get closer to you, Mr. Tang. I want to learn more about how to develop my domain. I didn’t expect this to create such a misunderstanding. It’s possible that even more students will approach me in the future, which means more disturbances for you."

Mr. Tang laughed. "Think nothing of it. So, Prof. Hao Yu, you also cultivate a domain?"

Lu Yin immediately grew serious. "The whole reason the headmaster arranged for me to live here was so that I would have a better opportunity to learn from you."

"It's important for us to learn from each other, and in Virtue Archives, both students and faculty can learn from each other and offer guidance. There’s no need to be so serious. If you want to learn more about your domain, I can allow you to sense mine in order to learn more. What level has your mastery of your domain reached?" Mr. Tang asked.

Qing Feng was still standing to the side, and he felt extremely curious about this. Many rumors concerning Prof. Hao Yu had been floating around the academy in recent days. He was a stunningly handsome man whom many of the female students had become obsessed with. Furthermore, no one knew his actual cultivation level, and some of the rumors claimed that he even had the courage to antagonize Bai Nan. And on top of all that, he was teaching a class on the subject of exploration, and he had revealed himself to be a Senior Array Master.

There were too many rumors and stories about Prof. Hao Yu, and there were many mysteries surrounding him.

Lu Yin glanced to the side towards Qing Feng. "My domain’s about at the same level as that student. We’ve both reached the spirit manifestation level. If you don’t mind, Mr. Tang, I’d like to experience your void god level domain with the student."

Qing Feng's eyes lit up with hope, and he turned to stare at Mr. Tang.

Mr. Tang was caught off guard, but he let out a laugh. "In that case, since Prof. Hao Yu is asking, you two can try to learn together."

"Thank you, Mr. Tang," Lu Yin said with a smile.

Qing Feng quickly offered another bow. "Thank you, Mr. Tang."

He then also made a point to shoot a thankful look towards Lu Yin.

Every opportunity to experience a domain at the void god level of mastery was truly a rare opportunity. It did not matter that Qing Feng was already an Enlighter who stood at the peak of his generation in the Perennial World. In fact, he felt even greater pressure to improve than most people, simply because of the level of his peers. Each and every one of them were arrogant and gifted, and anyone who experienced the slightest setback would immediately fall behind.

Qing Feng was placed on the same level as the heirs of powerful families and sects, so he was naturally unwilling to waste any time. Mr. Tang had asked Qing Feng to wait two months before returning, but to Qing Feng, that was two months of wasted time. Time was the most valuable resource to him.

A domain that had reached the void god level allowed a person to manipulate the power of space. Lu Yin had already seen this ability several times before, including during Hen Xin’s battles, and he had actually been jealous of Hen Xin’s ability to manipulate space. While Lu Yin did not believe that Mr. Tang had a greater mastery of space than Hen Xin, he still managed to make it happen, which was considered an entry level in spatial control.

There had to be a higher level of a domain than the void god realm, and that higher level must be what Hen Xin had achieved.

Mr. Tang unleashed his domain, and it swept out to envelop the two stone pillars, as well as Qing Feng and Lu Yin. From a distance, it looked as though the area had been covered with a transparent gas that could be stripped away at any moment.

Within Mr. Tang's domain, space felt different from what Lu Yin was accustomed to. How could he explain it? It was as though space had gone from being solid, to being fluid. The void god domain that enveloped Lu Yin felt as though a key had unlocked the space in the area.

Qing Feng once again sensed a void god level domain, but confusion filled his eyes. Even though he felt like his entire being was being twisted and stripped away by space that surrounded him, it was a foreign feeling. He had no idea where to even begin comprehending such a thing.

Envoys were capable of tearing through the void to travel through space, but space remained fixed. Even the space within a cosmic ring was fixed, but the space within the range of a void god domain was not fixed. It almost felt fluid… Fluid! Qing Feng's eyes lit up, as he had just comprehended something.

Mr. Tang was surprised, as he had not expected Qing Feng to be capable of comprehending anything in the near future. The young man’s talent exceeded Mr. Tang’s expectations. It was understandable that the young man had been accepted as Senior Qing Chen’s disciple.

While thinking about this, Mr. Tang turned his attention to Lu Yin, and the man’s expression completely changed. Lu Yin was actually manipulating space.

Mr. Tang was shocked. Were all geniuses at this level? One of the two had managed to comprehend something the second time he experienced a void god level domain, while the other was already fiddling around with space! Did this mean that they would both be able to comprehend the void god level of a domain, given enough time?

Mr. Tang continued to stare at Lu Yin in a daze. This man appeared to be hiding something.

Lu Yin had not comprehended the idea of fluid space like Qing Feng. Instead, he saw space as numerous points. He remembered when the innumerable runes had appeared in his vision as red dots, as well as when he had comprehended the Ce Secret Art’s Board Manipulation ability, which involved the power of space. At this moment, Lu Yin was just a step away from reaching the void god realm of mastery of his domain, or even half a step. However, it was a step that could happen immediately or take a while.

Lu Yin wondered if reaching the void god level of a domain would cause any changes in his Inverse Step or the Ce Secret Art.

All battle techniques in existence had evolved from a single form of energy: stellular energy. This meant that all techniques would eventually return to the same origin, which was also the inspiration for the unique power that was forming within Lu Yin’s heart.

[1] No explanation given, but even the students call Wen Zhao Xiao Wen. Just know that this is the full name of the Headmaster's granddaughter.. ☜