Chapter 1242: Mentor’s Help

In the Upper Realm, Autumnfrost Qing stared blankly at the information on the network, utterly focused on the word above the eastern pass. How had that person had actually managed to become a gatekeeper? Truly, how? Could he really compare to the Daosource Three Skies? Or was it that the Fifth Mainland had lost all of their younger powerhouses?

In the Upper Realm, outside a place where lava flowed up into the starry sky, a group of people were grilling food.

A savory aroma filled the air as it drifted out from the meat of a giant beast that was in the process of being roasted, the scent making the nearby people drool.

Sixteenth was quite clever, and he attentively offered the roasted meat over to Xu San, leaving the young man quite content. "Sixteen, I'm guessing that your mind alone will be enough to get you into the top ten of ZENITH. It’s almost guaranteed."

Sixteenth offered a flattering smile. "I must ask Master San to speak well of me before the elders and ask the elders to teach and instruct me so that I can work hard towards entering the top ten."

"Hahaha! That’s easy enough, plenty easy. We’re old friends." Xu San laughed, sounding very happy. The truth was that only he was aware of his inner turmoil.

I thought that by clinging to Ancestor Lingtong, I’d have nothing that I’d ever need to worry about ever again. Who could have known that some group of monsters would suddenly invade the Sixth Mainland?! If not for my luck, I would have died there! Xu San trembled as he remembered that incident. I wonder, what happened to that guy? Did I save him, or did he save himself? Xu San felt a bit confused about some things, but there was one thing that he was very clear on: that person was someone from the Fifth Mainland, and they were also incredibly strong.

"Xu- Xu- Xu San, look!" Sixteen suddenly shouted while pointing at a page on the network.

Xu San glanced at the screen, and he promptly dropped the leg that he had been eating.

What had shocked him so much? It was precisely the two golden characters written on Zenith Mountain: Lu Yin. Boss! Boss!

Sixteen stared blankly at the screen as a storm tore through his mind. That kid from before had become a gatekeeper? What a joke! How could he compare to any of the Daosource Three Skies?

Meanwhile, Xu San held a fervent gaze. Boss is getting better and better. Xu San decided that he could not go back to the Sixth Mainland and had instead decided to return to the Fifth Mainland. Regardless, Boss was in the Fifth Mainland, and with him around, no one would dare to bully Xu San. As for Ancestor Lingtong, Xu San just sighed. The old man was too good to Xu San, but if possible, perhaps Boss would be able to take care of the old man too.

He still did not understand just how terrifying a Cosmic Imprinter was.

In another part of the Upper Realm, someplace that was not too far away from Xu San, Nong Zaitian stared at his screen and sighed. His home was gone, along with so many treasures. Also, he did not have the other hoe; just where had it gone? Nong Zaitian had searched all over the ruins of the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect, but he had been unable to find that bastard anywhere. He couldn’t be dead! He still had Nong Zaitian’s hoe.

At this moment, the person from the Sixth Mainland who was the most concerned about Lu Yin was actually Tong Zhan. After all, he knew who had attacked him from behind and taken him out in an instant: Lu Yin. As a result, Tong Zhan had lost his impressive cultivation talent and been abandoned by his Tong family afterwards.

Looking at the name written on the side of the Zenith Mountain, Tong Zhan's eyes radiated a deep hatred. In ZENITH, he had to do his best to destroy Lu Yin.

Zhi Yi had the same idea as Tong Zhan. She had never expected Lu Yin to become a gatekeeper, but it was both hilarious and lucky to her. "Is there no one better than you in the Fifth Mainland? If that’s the case, then just forget about it. You’ll be taken out during ZENITH."

The Sixth Mainland shook from the news concerning the gatekeepers, but the same reactions occurred in the Neoverse.

Although they had been brilliant in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Yuhua Mavis, Xia Jiuyou, and the others had not qualified to become gatekeepers, but Lu Yin had. This was no different than all of them being told that Lu Yin had surpassed them, and it immediately caught their attention.

Yuhua Mavis was on the back of the massive turtle as she stared at the bright characters that made up Lu Yin’s name that was etched onto the side of Zenith Mountain. "I look forward to comparing strength with you again. I don't know how many punches you can match up to, but the Hall of Honor has to have confirmed your strength in order for you to become a gatekeeper. I hope that I won’t be disappointed by your power."

The revelation that Lu Yin had become a gatekeeper created quite a stir, but that was not the only piece of sensational news. Zhi Yi, Bu Kong, and Yao Xuan had all been confirmed as gatekeepers, which also created quite a stir. Many people throughout the Human Domain criticized this announcement and hoped that the three outsiders would all be badly beaten .

As for Shang Qing, he had been given the position of the most important gatekeeper. The reputation of the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique had even spread to the Sixth Mainland, and they were well aware that the Tri-Yang Technique could transform the three strands of qi into clones of a Progenitor with the same realm of strength as the user. It was also known that two of Shang Qing’s qi strands had taken on the form of Progenitor Chen’s nine clones, but there was a great deal of speculation concerning the third strand.

No matter which Progenitor was cloned by the final strand, Progenitor Chen alone was already a challenge to deal with.

Who could be confident of defeating Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation level? Was there anyone from the Fifth Mainland? No one. The Sixth Mainland? They did not even dare to record Progenitor Chen down in their history.

After the Sixth Mainland learned that Shang Qing could borrow the power of two of Progenitor Chen’s clones, the youth became the number one enemy of everyone from his generation in the Sixth Mainland.

The five golden names that had appeared on Zenith Mountain shook the entire universe.

Lu Yin disconnected from the network soon after. No matter how the rest of the universe shook at the news, it had nothing to do with him. He even considered trying to roll Timestop in order to enter that space and cultivate for several years, perhaps even a decade or more.

However, even the thought of attempting such a thing gave him a headache. If he trained in seclusion for more than a decade, he believed that he would change, and he would likely mentally age tremendously.

His gadget sounded with an alert, and he simply glanced down to check. He had received a tremendous number of calls recently.

Huh? Someone was actually calling through the Astral Combat Academy’s internal network?

Lu Yin connected, and he instantly heard an old voice. "Little guy, do you still want to graduate?"

This voice sounded both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and it sent Lu Yin back ten years into the past. When he had last heard this voice, he had still been a student at Astral-10. "Student Lu Yin greets the Trialmaster."

"How flattering, this little guy still remembers me." The Trialmaster gave a slight smile.

Lu Yin respectfully replied, "A student would never dare to forget what they are taught at the academy."

When Lu Yin had been in the academy, he had not understood just how powerful Astral-10’s mentors actually were. But the further he had progressed, the more clearly he had come to understand the Astral Combat Academy’s hidden depths, as each one of the academies had been able to fight against the universe’s superpowers. Lu Yin would never forget how Astral-9 had managed to block Ancestor Autumnfrost’s attack during the attack on the border, nor had he forgotten that Astral-10 had actually intimidated the Sixth Mainland. The Astral Combat Academy was incredibly strong, but Astral-10 stood out amongst them all.

"I don't have the time to just chat with you. Your fellow cohorts have already all graduated. When do you plan to graduate?" the Trialmaster asked.

Lu Yin helplessly replied, "Teacher, this student is really short on time at the moment, as I need to prepare for ZENITH."

The Trialmaster said, "Well, I saw that you’re going to be one of the five gatekeepers. Are you confident?"

Lu Yin wanted to reply confidently. Facing his alma mater, he wanted to show off a bit. It would be even more perfect if he returned to the academy and was able to show off to those junior students, but suddenly, Lu Yin felt something was wrong. Those words—just what did the old man mean by them?

Lu Yin thought of a possibility, and he bitterly replied, "The Hall of Honor is placing too much on this student, and I have actually been dealing with a great deal of pressure."

The Trialmaster replied, "The Hall of Honor really does put too much on you. How long have you been cultivating? The time you’ve spent cultivating probably can’t compare to even a quarter of the participants in ZENITH. Still, it’s better to train and practice. Will you soon become a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker?"

Lu Yin answered quickly, "Yes, this junior has already achieved that."

"Have you tried to comprehend a sourcebox array?"

"It's rather difficult."

"Since you haven't graduated yet, then it means that you still belong to my Astral-10. The academy will give you some support. Although this old man has no real skills, I still have some achievements when it comes to lockbreaking. I’ll give you a sourcebox array so that you don't humiliate yourself in ZENITH. As long as you comprehend a little of this array, you should have a much easier time as a gatekeeper," the Trialmaster said.

Lu Yin was overjoyed. "Thank you, Mentor."

"You’ll receive the sourcebox array in no more than three days, so do your best to comprehend it. I don’t expect you to fully comprehend it, but do your best to achieve at least some bit of success. Also, hurry up and come back to graduate." The Trialmaster hung up as soon as he finished speaking.

Lu Yin continued staring at the screen, the ecstasy in his eyes unable to dissipate.

What was this? Had fortune flown straight into his lap?

He had never expected his alma mater to deliver such a big surprise to him. They were giving him a sourcebox array, not some battle technique.

All sourcebox arrays were extremely precious, as there was no other way that Saul would have schemed and plotted so desperately to get his hands for even a single page of True Insight. Lu Yin had several sourcebox arrays in his possession, and now, he was actually being given another one! Mentor!

Ever since Lu Yin had escaped from the Neohuman Alliance, he had found that his luck had become nothing less than absolutely amazing.

As for the matter of graduating, that was impossible. He would never graduate in his entire lifetime.

Before graduating, he was still considered a part of Astral-10, and Astral-10 would not forget their own. If Lu Yin ever encountered something in the future, they would be one more source of support.

Lu Yin had always felt that Astral-10 was a bit unpredictable, but the one who had cared the most for Lu Yin had always been the crazy director.

Previously, Lu Yin had been unable to understand just how powerful the director was, but as Lu Yin had grown stronger, he had gradually gained a bit of understanding.

The mad director had actually been able to deduce the Cosmic Art! The Cosmic Art was something that had been created by Progenitor Chen, but the director had managed to deduce it. Although he had only managed to deduce the first layer of the cultivation art, it was still an accomplishment that ordinary people could not fathom.

The madman was clearly very powerful.

News of ZENITH shook the universe, and many people sped up their plans to explore, compete for resources, and other similar activities. At the same time, many organizations dedicated all of their resources to raising up their most talented disciples, even if they were aware that none of their youths could reach the top ten. As long as their name could remain written on the mountain for even just a little bit longer, that was already enough.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

That was Zenith Mountain. It was the location of the first youth competition that was open to the entire universe, even the Sixth Mainland. If a youth’s name was able to remain on the side of the mountain for even a bit longer than average, then it would be enough to raise waves in their home territory.

The most simplistic way of explaining this was that it was advertising. Zenith Mountain was basically a giant billboard that the entire universe was focused upon, and each contestant’s name was an advertising slogan. The longer a name remained on the mountain for, the more effective it would be, and the greater the benefits that the power behind the youth would receive.

In this situation, countless people signed up for ZENITH, even in the Outerverse, which was widely regarded as the weakest territory. People wanted to see their name appear on Zenith Mountain, even if only for a moment. That alone would be worthy of bragging about to future generations. Of course, there were also people who signed up with no intention of ever participating in the competition.

Numerous names appeared on the side of Zenith Mountain at any given moment, and there were all kinds of bizarre names. There were some that were just a series of numbers while others were a simple paw print or some other strange mark. Many people were stunned.

However, after a few days, there were a number of names that distinctly stood out on the mountain, as all the participants had been compiled into a list of those favored to enter the top one hundred, as well as those expected to enter the top ten. Of course, that second list included the names of all five gatekeepers. Additionally, the Neoverse’s Yuhua Mavis and Xia Jiuyou, the Astral Beast Domain’s Star Devourer, and the last of the Daosource Three Skies, Wu Taibai, had been placed as the favored candidates for the final ten contestants.

Of course, everything was based off of who had signed up so far, and many people had not done so yet. Additionally, there was not only one such list, but rather many, many lists made by different people, and their lists were all different.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA