Chapter 1005: Mandate of Heaven

Lu Yin’s mere existence was enough to excite an entire planet, but only the leaders at the highest level knew about him, and the commoners were completely clueless.

Lu Yin was still using Arcane Art, Fatal Revival. Thus, to any outside observer, his body was no different from a corpse.

He was taken to the surface of the planet, and over the course of a few days, the brightest scientists on the planet came up with all sorts of ways to research him. However, they were unable to cause even the slightest bit of damage to his body, not even pluck a strand of his hair. Their weapons did nothing, and although they wanted to remove the cosmic ring from his finger, they found that they could not do that either.

In the end, the only thing that they were able to do was take off his bloodstained clothes and run experiments on that. However, before they could even begin, Lu Yin’s body vanished. The entire planet’s military was mobilized in an uproar, and the leading research team was infuriated. Lu Yin’s body was deemed more important than any weapon that the planet possessed, as it was possible that they might discover an entirely new direction for the human race’s development. Nothing could be allowed to interfere.

Every soldier was mobilized, and the government rooted through every organization, desperately searching for Lu Yin.

At this time, Lu Yin was silently lying within a manor on the outskirts of a city. This place was very quiet, and occasionally, the sounds of chirping birds or insects drifted in through a nearby window. Outside, one could see fruit trees in the manor’s garden, and a man and a woman were standing beneath one of the trees as they softly discussed something.

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

…

A month passed, but Lu Yin continued to lie on the bed, devoid of any sign of life.

The man and woman were quietly talking. “Could he really be dead?”

“Probably not. There’s still star energy circulating through his body. Although it’s impossible to detect it through technology, any cultivator who gets close to him can sense it.”

“I never thought that he would appear here of all places, let alone in this state.”

“I never thought that we would bump into him again.”

…

Lu Yin lay on the bed like a corpse. Two months had passed since the events in the Innerverse, and the various great powers had gradually returned to their territories. Conflicts between the various powers would not simply disappear, and one day, many years after the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, the Ten Arbiters Council convened. This meeting had been called by Nightking Zhenwu, and his objective was to nominate a leader for the Ten Arbiters.

The Ten Arbiters represented ten independent powers, and each one of them had the authority to supervise and judge the entire universe’s younger generation. In addition, they could oversee and even punish the various academies. The Arbiters’ authority extended to overseeing the education of the universe’s youths, examining prisons and secret regions, and even directly enforcing their authority. To that end, they even had the ability to establish their own troops that were under their direct command.

Although they appeared to be mere members of the younger generation, the benefits that they enjoyed were exceptional. This was especially so after the Sixth Mainland’s invasion, as the Ten Arbiters had been given the duty of ensuring the Fifth Mainland’s survival. If not for the Ten Arbiters, then even the Neoverse’s top young experts would not have been able to stop the combined might of the Realmlings and the Daosource Three Skies. After the war, the status of the Ten Arbiters had risen to yet another level.

At this crucial time, Nightking Zhenwu proposed that they nominate a leader for the Ten Arbiters, and this shocked the Innerverse so much that the news even spread into the Neoverse.

In the past, no matter how powerful the Ten Arbiters were, the Neoverse did not care. The heirs of the Neoverse’s great powers had paid no mind to such developments. However, after the invasion, not even the Neoverse dared to underestimate the Ten Arbiters any longer, as the ten youths were simply monsters.

As long as the Ten Arbiters acted independently, the Neoverse’s youth could still deal with them. However, if the ten united, then even the heirs of the Neoverse’s colossal organization would have to deal with a headache.

On the Daynight clan’s ancestral planet, Nightking Zhenwu had his hands clasped behind his back as he looked at eight screens before him. They showed the other eight Arbiters, aside from Lan Si. In a deep voice, the Nightking said, “Everyone, don’t forget that although the situation seemed like a matter of life and death, did the Neoverse really give its all? We threw out everything that we had and exposed all of our hidden strengths, but the Neoverse? Has anyone seen Aurora Enterprises’ young master? Or the Mavis family’s Treeheart Descendant? Or the Semi-Progenitor descendant of the Hall of Honor?

“Even though everyone saw the Cosmic Sect’s Qiu Shi, who is known as the All Rounder Fairy, she did nothing besides reveal her cultivation realm and her lockbreaking ability. Don’t forget—the Neoverse doesn’t just have the people that I mentioned earlier. The primary heirs of the Three Dark Hands never even showed their faces. Finally, there’s also the last one, the one that seems to be the most visible, but actually can’t be seen at all: the Hall of Honor.”

Within one screen, Serati Phoenix responded, “The Sixth Mainland’s invasion concerned the very survival of our Fifth Mainland, but those people never even came out. I really cannot understand what they were thinking.”

Unseen Light commented, “Were they just confident that we would be enough to stop the Sixth Mainland? Or were they making other preparations?”

“The Neoverse has always remained separate from the Innerverse and Outerverse. Even if we aren’t sure what the organizations of the Neoverse were thinking, there’s a certain feeling that they are playing a great game of chess. In fact, even the Sixth Mainland is just another player at this moment,” Wen Sansi added.

Ling Gong’s eyes grew sharp. “We were treated as meat shields! If we hadn’t acted, would they have moved?”

“No,” a crisp, female voice rang out from behind Nightking Zhenwu. The other eight Arbiters looked over and saw Starsibyl.

A few of the Arbiters were surprised to see her, as Starsibyl had also joined their meeting, and apparently, she was even following Nightking Zhenwu.

Nightking Zhenwu smiled faintly at her words and moved aside.

Starsibyl stepped forward and looked at the other eight Arbiters. “Everyone, your guesses are accurate, as the organizations of the Neoverse are indeed playing a truly great game of chess, and the participants include those from the ancient times as well as those from this age. This game concerns the true survival of our Fifth Mainland, and even the entire human race’s survival. The Sixth Mainland’s invasion was not enough to force them to reveal their hand.”

“What hand? Is the Starsibyl Sect a player or a part of the game?” Wen Sansi asked.

Starsibyl replied, “I’m sorry, but I can’t explain this. All I can say is that not everyone knows about the truth of this matter, and that includes the people of the Sixth Mainland as well. There are extremely few who know about this, and you could almost say none at all. Regardless, I can use my status as Starsibyl, someone who can see the future, to tell you all this very clearly: join forces and compete for the positions of the Cosmic Five. Fight for the Progenitors’ inheritances. Only then will we have a chance to live through the true disaster when it arrives in the future.”

Starsibyl’s words caused everyone to fall silent, and not a single one of them said anything further. Although they were the Ten Arbiters who controlled the younger generation, none of them were overly conceited. They were still just members of the younger generation, and they did not qualify to know certain things. Starsibyl had just told them to fight for the Progenitors’ inheritances, as that was all that they could do.

What they needed to do at this time was fight for a chance in the future.

However, they were still the Ten Arbiters, and they all had tenacious personalities. They were not easily controlled by others, so there was no way that they would simply agree to Starsibyl’s request after just a few simple words.

Electing a leader for the Ten Arbiters would bring about a great deal of resistance, as each of the Arbiters had many powerful organizations supporting them. Whoever became the leader of these ten would not only represent the ten youths, but they would also represent the entire Innerverse to some degree.

The rest of the Arbiters all looked over at Nightking Zhenwu. Was the Daynight clan hoping to take advantage of this situation to suppress the various great powers of the Innerverse? That was simply too arrogant! What could they possibly be relying upon?

Nightking Zhenwu had a peaceful expression, and there was a faint smile on his face as he exited from the meeting.

The Ten Arbiters had not approved of anything yet, but they had not opposed the proposal either. He had merely presented the idea during this meeting, and the final outcome would require the help of the woman standing beside him. She had personally guaranteed that she would make him the leader of the Ten Arbiters.

“The first step is complete. Now, you will need to seek them out one by one.” Starsibyl looked at Nightking Zhenwu as she spoke in a calm voice.

Nightking Zhenwu gave her a strange look. “Your Starsibyl Sect has always supported Wen Sansi, so why are you supporting me now? Is it because I was the one to take the Champions' Stage and am about to become one of the Cosmic Five?”

Starsibyl nodded. “That is indeed one aspect to consider, but another is that we deduced that a certain person will likely appear. Their appearance may cause a fundamental change in the Daynight clan.”

“Who?” Nightking Zhenwu was curious.

Starsibyl’s eyes trembled. “The Third Nightking.”

Nightking Zhenwu was astonished. “The Third Nightking? What do you know?”

Starsibyl shook her head. “Only a trace of anything was divined, and I have no concrete details. The Sixth Mainland invaded the Human Domain, but they also invaded the Astral Beast Domain, turning everything on its head. Their invasion might be the impetus to allow the Third Nightking to safely escape.”

Nightking Zhenwu’s breathing quickened, and he became incomparably excited. It was no wonder why the Starsibyl Sect had suddenly switched around to support the Daynight clan. Once the Third Nightking broke free, the Daynight clan would absolutely experience great changes.

Nobody could understand just how badly the Daynight clan desired the Third Nightking’s return. In the past, no matter how much Lu Yin had offended the Daynight clan, as soon as he had mentioned anything about the Third Nightking’s whereabouts, the Daynight clan had immediately shown smiling faces to him. Even a powerhouse like Nightking Yuanjing had been forced to personally chat with Lu Yin. This was enough to show just how important the Third Nightking was to the Daynight clan.

The information that Lu Yin had provided to the clan had indeed been helpful, but they had still been helpless in terms of actually breaking the Third Nightking free. Who could have known that the Sixth Mainland’s invasion would become a turning point for them?

“As long as the Third Nightking returns, nobody will be able to stop my Daynight clan. For I, Nightking Zhenwu, to become one of the Cosmic Five is simply the mandate of heaven.” Nightking Zhenwu trembled in excitement at the thought of his upcoming prospects. Everything was going almost too smoothly for him. He had successfully cultivated Skybreaker, gotten his hands on Night’s End, Daybreak, and was even receiving help from Starsibyl Sect. On top of all that, the Third Nightking might even return! Zhenwu had a feeling that the Daynight clan was about to soar to new heights.

Starsibyl looked at the emotional Nightking Zhenwu and then over at the giant stone pillar that stood in the distance. The Daynight clan might be about to soar, but that was all dependent on whether or not that divination had been accurate. Strangely enough, Lu Yin appeared in her mind at this time, as her calculations still could not factor in this person.

Nightking Zhenwu seemed like someone who had received the mandate of the heavens. With Starsibyl’s assistance, he sought out the other Arbiters one by one, slowly drawing closer to becoming the leader of the Ten Arbiters.

In a far off region of the universe, within the Technocracy, on Duolun Star, and still within the same mansion, a man and woman were still talking. “It seems like he’s really dead. Just look—there’s not even the slightest trace of any movement.”

“But there are still traces of star energy circulating.”

“That’s the purpose of this technique: the human’s dead, but the technique keeps working. It will stop after some time.”

“At that time, we’ll bury him. It’s such a pity.”

“Alright.” The man then reached out and touched Lu Yin. At that moment, a powerful strength sent the man flying back, creating a huge hole in the house as the man was thrown hundreds of meters away.

The girl was shocked, and she quickly ran after the man.

After a while, with the woman’s support, the man hobbled back to the house, but there was a look of pain on his face. “He’s not dead. Definitely not dead! It was just one touch, but I still felt such a powerful force. That force easily surpassed the Cruiser realm! It’s too terrifying, and I won’t touch him again no matter what you say. Just let him rest here.”

“How strange. A month ago, when we stole him and brought him here, there wasn’t such a violent reaction, so what changed now?” The girl was puzzled.

The man thought about it. “Perhaps he’s about to wake up.”

“Maybe. In that case, let’s wait a little bit longer.”

“It’s no use. Even if we didn’t want to wait, the two of us wouldn’t be able to move him. Since it’s impossible, then let’s just move. We’ll leave this place to be his grave.”

…

Time passed quickly by, and it was now another month later. Nightking Zhenwu appeared on the Daynight clan’s ancestral planet, and Zhuo Daynight followed behind him.

She had been imprisoned for two months, and this was her first time seeing the outside sky in a while. Her face was pale and void of any color.