Star Odyssey

Chapter 3015: Divine Selection

The Seven-Star Mantis continuously circled around Kong Ji, unleashing various attacks. The man was unable to keep up with the beast’s speed, and his wounds kept accumulating. In addition to the Cyclops King’s occasional burst of pressure, the man instantly fell to a disadvantage.

Lu Yin also found an opportunity to attack himself, moving in at the speed of time with Inverse Step as he pulled out the slipper and slapped at Kong Ji.

Kong Ji clenched his fists as he counter-attacked. At that moment, the universe itself twisted, and the distortion spread out, warping the entire universe.

The Cyclops King, the Seven-Star Mantis, and Lu Yin all froze in place, as if the space around them had frozen in place.

Was this the Law of Gravity?

Lu Yin was startled. While it was already clear that Kong Ji had mastered a law that could increase the power of his palm strikes and Overlaying Stacks Path that formed his Vacuum Palm, it was shocking to learn that it was gravity. The man’s power left Lu Yin breathless.

Kong Ji had been waiting for Lu Yin to attack. The Seven-Star Mantis’s speed had locked the man in place, preventing him from approaching Lu Yin. He had only been able to wait for Lu Yin to approach him.

Finally, an opportunity had opened up.

Kong Ji spun around and attacked with another palm strike. At this moment, Lu Yin had no way to dodge or evade. Sequence particles filled the area, and gravity suppressed the entire universe.

As the hand moved closer, Kong Ji was able to see his own reflection in Lu Yin’s eyes, while Lu Yin could clearly make out the other man’s expression. This palm strike did not appear to be particularly fast.

Suddenly, Kong Ji hastily slipped to the side. When he saw his reflection in Lu Yin’s eyes, Kong Ji had also seen another figure appear behind himself, and the sight had been accompanied by an overpowering sense of danger.

While Kong Ji had dodged quickly, he had still been a tiny bit too late. The summoned Lu Tianyi that Arch-Elder Zen had brought out with his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique managed to attack Kong Ji’s shoulder, and it shattered. Blood splattered across outer space.

In an instant, Kong Ji suffered severe injuries, and the wounds destabilized his sequence particles. Lu Yin automatically raised the slipper and brought it slamming back down.

It slapped onto Kong Ji’s back, and he spat out blood as his entire body cracked, and he was sent hurtling into the distance.

The Seven-Star Mantis disappeared, and when it reappeared, it was dragging Kong Ji’s body back to Lu Yin.

The Champions’ Stage vanished, as did the Cyclops King and the Seven-Star Mantis. Kong Ji was dropped down, and he drifted through outer space as he violently coughed up blood. He was on the brink of death.

Lu Yin stood in front of Kong Ji, watching as the man’s life faded away. “Tell me, do you still think it was worth it to betray humanity?”

When most people were at death’s door, they would speak the truth. Kong Ji was an impressively powerful peak powerhouse, and without using a sneak attack, Lu Yin would not have been able to defeat the man without paying a price. Even if Kong Ji failed to defeat Lu Yin, his sequence particles would normally guarantee that he could escape safely.

This was not an impressive victory.

However, Lu Yin encouraged himself. After all, he was only a Semi-Progenitor, and there was no denying that what he had accomplished was quite impressive.

Kong Ji gasped for breath, still bleeding all over. His entire body was completely drenched in blood.

He stared at Lu Yin, blood staining his vision. “I- I have no regrets.”

Lu Yin silently stared at the man.

“Humanity might see me as a traitor, but I was always true to myself, and I pursued my greatest desires, cough, cough.

“I stood near the peak, and from there, I could see what I wanted. I am content, cough cough.” Kong Ji could not stop coughing, nor could he stop spitting out more blood. He stared at Lu Yin. “I may have betrayed humanity, but I never- I never left the Fourth Scourge. I never harmed the Fifth Mainland.

“I have achieved my goals, so use my power well. Please, use it with the Lu family’s Champions’ Stage so that I can finally have a place where I belong. Let this be my atonement to humanity.

“Lastly, I must beg you for one thing; when you return to the Fifth Mainland, go to the place where I left my palm prints, and lay me to rest in my hometown.”

With that, Kong Ji collapsed. He was dead.

Lu Yin stared at the man, wondering if he had actually intended to attack him with his final palm strike.

Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. “Too stubborn.”

The Champions’ Stage appeared, and Lu Yin anointed Kong Ji.

“He had no divine energy,” Lu Yin commented.

Only then did Arch-Elder Zen realize that it was true. “You right, he had no divine energy. He never cultivated that power.”

Despite his many years as a part of Aeternus, Kong Ji had not cultivated divine energy. Was it because he had been incapable of doing so, or because he had chosen not to?

If Kong Ji had moved a bit faster with his final attack, would it have struck Lu Yin?

Lu Yin had seen the hesitation in the man’s eyes.

Kong Ji might not have wanted to kill Lu Yin, despite their differing positions.

While the man had indeed betrayed the Fifth Mainland, he had never done anything to harm it, and he had always stayed in the Fourth Scourge. He had wanted to see things from a higher perspective. However, if everyone shared the same desires and goals, it would be impossible for humans to ever defeat Aeternus. Kong Ji had simply been too stubborn and extreme in his actions.

The jiao arrived, and Jiang Qingyue and the others saw that Kong Ji was dead, which allowed them to breathe sighs of relief.

The battle had been nothing short of spectacular. It had shaken the entire universe, and not even Dragonturtle had dared to approach.

“You finally killed someone worthwhile on this journey to see some outside universes,” Ghost Monkey praised. “Congratulations, Seventh Bro, for defeating a sequence powerhouse head-on.”

Dragonturtle snorted. “Didn’t you see that Arch-Elder Zen also attacked?”

Ghost Monkey bared his teeth. “I didn’t see anything. You’re cross-eyed.”

“Look at him! Arch-Elder Zen looks like a dying ghost! It’s clear that he summoned Lu Tianyi!” Dragonturtle shouted.

Arch-Elder Zen was speechless. What did the turtle mean when he said that he looked like a dying ghost? Did he really look that bad?

“You’re the dying ghost! Show some respect!”

Arch-Elder Zen’s expression improved slightly. Ghost Monkey clearly know how to speak a bit better.

“That was Ancestor Lu Tianyi! Seventh Bro’s ancestor!” Ghost Monkey growled through bared teeth.

Arch-Elder Zen’s expression grew worse than ever. He could not stay silent any longer. “Be quiet!

“Dao Monarch, how were things in the Fourth Scourge?”

Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin, as all of them were curious about the Fourth Scourge.

Lu Yin briefly shared some of the details he had seen, and Arch-Elder Zen and others sighed in relief.

Jiang Qingyue asked, “So, the Fourth Scourge isn’t as strong as the one that we’ve been fighting against?”

Lu Yin shook his head. “We’ve been dealing with the First Scourge, which is far, far stronger than this Fourth Scourge. On top of that, Blackless God is both one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies and one of the First Scourge’s Seven Skygods. Because he’s been so focused on the Sixverse Association, and especially the Origin Universe, he rarely has time to pay attention to the Fourth Scourge. If he were there, I might not have been able to return after I was discovered.”

Arch-Elder Zen spoke up, “Even so, what you did was extremely risky. If the master of the Fourth Scourge was not Blackless God or one of the other Skygods, you might have been in grave danger, Dao Monarch.”

Ghost Monkey joined in, “Since this guy chased after you, Aeternus might send some other powerhouses as well. Should we head back now, Seventh Bro?”

Lu Yin stared at Kong Ji’s body. “Let’s go back for now.”

As Lu Yin delivered Arch-Elder Zen and the others to the Heavens Sect, he informed them that he intended to return to the Fourth Scourge.

Arch-Elder Zen was startled. “Are you really going back? That’s too dangerous!”

Lu Yin comforted the old man, “Don’t worry, it’s safe right now. No one will expect me to return to the Fourth Scourge so quickly, and they also won’t think that anyone could kill Kong Ji so quickly.”

Lu Yin then pulled out a cosmic door and passed through it to return to the Fourth Scourge.

He was very concerned about the Divine Selection that Wei Shu had mentioned. Was it some kind of campaign against humanity, or did it involve other races from other parallel universes?

Just as Lu Yin had assumed, upon entering the Fourth Scourge, he saw Progenitor-level corpse kings filling the sky, all of them awaiting Kong Ji’s return. Down below, the Fourth Scourge looked perfectly normal.

Since Lu Yin had used a cosmic door to enter the Fourth Scourge, he appeared on the ground itself, which meant that he did not draw any attention to himself.

He returned to Wei Shu’s tower, which should have been mere ruins, yet had somehow already been repaired. The Aeternals seemed to have an unusual obsession with their towers.

Lu Yin easily entered the tower without anyone noticing him.

At the moment, Wei Shu was standing by one of the tower’s windows, staring off into the distance. “That was incredibly gutsy. I wonder who had the courage to sneak into a Scourge? There really are people who don’t fear death. I’m lucky I was so wary, or else I would have been the first to die.”

“It’s not too late for you,” someone commented.

Wei Shu was irritated to hear such an insult. “Who’s cursing me?”

He spun around to attack, but a hand fell upon his head with a heavy weight. “Do you want to live or die?”

Wei Shu did not dare to move a muscle, as sweat dripped from his forehead.

Lu Yin laughed. Just how badly did this man fear death to have such a strong reaction so quickly?

“Senior- no, Grandfather! Please spare me! It wasn’t easy for me to cultivate to this level. Please, Grandfather, let me go!” Wei Shu pleaded quietly.

Lu Yin was stunned. This was the first time anyone had ever referred to him as grandfather. This man clearly feared death, which was the complete opposite of Kong Ji or Da Hui.

This was most likely the more normal reaction of Aeternus’s human peak powerhouses. Without fearing death, how could anyone betray humanity?

“I’m not your grandfather! I don’t associate with shameless traitors who betray their own ancestors,” Lu Yin spat in a cold voice.

Wei Shu instantly agreed, “Yes, you’re right. You’re not my grandfather. I’m not worthy of being your grandson. In that case, Ancestor! Ancestor, please spare my life!”

Lu Yin arched a brow. “Give me the map.”

There was absolutely no hesitation as Wei Shu took out a memory chip from his cosmic ring. He never once had the courage to even look back.

Lu Yin grabbed the memory chip. It was rather advanced technology.

“Is that all of it?”

“I swear it is! If I’m lying, may I die a horrible death.”

“Do you really fear death so much?”

“And also pain! Please, Ancestor, spare me!”

Lu Yin stared at Wei Shu’s back. “Tell me about the Divine Selection then.”

Wei Shu blurted, “The six Scourges each select their finest elites and send them to a testing ground to undergo an assessment. Passing that assessment qualifies one to become one of the Three Supports and Six Heavens, receive True God’s own guidance, and also gain endless cultivation resources. They will replace any of the Three Pillars and Six Skies who fall. There’s even a legend that they can receive one of True God’s ultimate techniques from him without needing to search beneath the divine energy rivers. The Divine Selection has been held many times over the years, but very few have ever passed the assessment. Doing so always requires going to the First Scourge.”

Lu Yin instantly thought of Undying God and the other dead Skygods. They had not been amongst the Three Pillars and Six Skies and had only been part of the Seven Skygods, who were second only to True God. Did this mean that they had passed the Divine Selection’s assessment in the past and were qualified to take the place of the Three Pillars and Six Skies if any of them fell?

However, Undying God had not learned any of True God’s ultimate techniques, and neither had Shaman God. On the other hand, Blackless God was already one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies, not a backup.

If there were no open positions among the Three Pillars and Six Skies, did it mean that none of the dead Skygods had been part of the Three Pillars and Six Skies, or did it mean that the Seven Skygods were separate, but equal to the Three Pillars and Six Skies? Could there be a slight discrepancy between the two? Lu Yin was rather confused.

“What do you know about the people who’ve passed the Divine Selection?” Lu Yin demanded.

Wei Shu was stunned. “Know about them?”

“Such as their titles or anything else.”

“That, I’ve never heard about like that.”

“Do you know who have passed the assessment?”

Wei Shu grimaced. “Ancestor, I really don’t know anything. Almost no one has ever passed the Divine Selection before, as the challenge is simply too difficult. Honestly, while it’s said that some of the current Three Pillars and Six Skies received their positions through the Divine Selection, no one really knows for sure. It’s rumored that the master of the Third Scourge did that, but no one actually knows.”

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