Chapter 1398: The Battlefield Behind The Mother Tree

Lu Yin's domain had long since surpassed the level that Unseen Light’s battle spirit had used in the space with the golden ocean. The reason why Lu Yin was still unable to predict his opponents’ attacks was because he had not trained for it.

"What people refer to as predicting attacks with a domain is not nearly as mysterious as divination, and it’s not even as difficult as most people believe it to be. Of course, I’m saying this assuming that someone has a powerful enough domain and a sufficient level of star energy control…" Guo Shan began a full lecture on how to cultivate domains.

Predicting an opponent’s movements with a domain was similar to trying to see past a veil; it was only difficult until the veil was removed, at which point it became simple.

Based on what Guo Shan said, Lu Yin needed to let his domain spread across every inch of his surroundings and encompass every single detail within his range rather than unleash it as far as possible, which was what he had done previously.

Previously, he had used his domain to gain control over his surroundings, while this new method was more like treating his domain as a part of his body.

"This is the way, yes. Spread out your domain so that you can completely sense all the changes within its scope and have an image of everything around you within your mind. You need this to start guessing and making some speculations. There is an order to these things, yes…" Guo Shan spoke and guided Lu Yin through his training.

Lu Yin spent several days training under Guo Shan in this manner. It was impossible to cultivate a domain to the degree where he could predict attacks in one session. Still, Lu Yin had a very powerful domain, and by condensing it as he had been told, he was able to start making some rough predictions, such as which direction the insects on the ground would crawl, or which leg would move next. He was also able to clearly read several books at the same time now.

Lu Yin had already mastered several secret techniques, such as the Yu Secret Art. Because of this, he was not very excited about the prospect of training his domain to the point where he could predict his opponents’ attacks. His goal was much further away: a domain at the void realm. Being able to use something with the power of a secret technique, but without those limitations was just too appealing.

Guo Shan stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "Show me where that bird’s going to fly."

Lu Yin raised his hand and drew a line in the sky with his star energy.

Guo Shan blinked. "You barely pass the test."

Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you."

Guo Shan was completely speechless; just who was this kid? Even if an incredibly talented person with a powerful domain tried to properly master the method that he had been teaching to Long Qi, they would need to train for years before they could reach a level of mastery where they could make predictions. For an average person, they would need decades or even centuries to achieve such mastery, and some would never succeed at all. Despite all of that, this kid had accomplished it in just a few days. Damn…

"You’ve mastered the basic technique behind predicting attacks, so let’s move on to training your domain to the spirit manifestation realm," Guo Shan said.

Lu Yin was eager. "How far must we cultivate in the spirit manifestation realm before entering the void realm?"

Guo Shan rolled his eyes. "Don't get ahead of yourself, kid. I’ve never reached the void realm. Even if you search through the entire Perennial World, the number of domain masters who have reached that level can be counted on one hand, and each and every single one of them is far more powerful than an Envoy. Kid, don’t worry about it until you become an Envoy yourself."

Lu Yin snorted.

Guo Shan kept going, as though he had not already made himself clear enough, “Listen, cultivating your domain to the void realm is just one aspect of that level, and the other is one’s physical strength. Do you really think that just reaching the void realm will let you freely strip away the void? While that’s true in theory, that action places a tremendous amount of stress on a person’s body, so there are very steep physical requirements for one to strip the void away. I’ll be honest, my body hasn’t reached that level."

Lu Yin nodded. He was completely confident when it came to any sort of physical strength requirements.

"Are we going to train here?" Lu Yin asked. Even though he was not in any particular rush, he could not stay in this city indefinitely. He expected the trip to the Dominion Realm to be fast approaching.

Guo Shan replied, "The mission’s already finished, so we’re on break for now."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "It's done? Since when?"

Guo Shan explained, "Our mission is to draw the Flying Armor Troops’ attention, and you did a wonderful job of that."

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "So I completed the mission the moment I entered Flying Armor Pass. You did that just by taking me around the city."

Guo Shan nodded. "It’s good to see that you understand, so there’s no need for an explanation."

Lu Yin looked over at Flying Armor Pass. "It looks like there aren’t any Redbacks or traitors here. Otherwise, this mission wouldn’t have been so peaceful."

"This is for the best. As long as there are no traitors among humans, there is no need for us to get dragged into any messes. Many members of Humility’s Gate dream of visiting the battlefield behind the Mother Tree," Guo Shan became emotional as he waxed on.

Lu Yin asked, "Is the battlefield behind the Mother Tree really that brutal?"

Guo Shan began to recount some details. "It wasn’t at first, and many people even treated it as a training ground, but all of that completely changed about a year or two ago. The experienced fighters all died, and Humility’s Gate had to scramble to reorganize. Due to that, the number of Redbacks and traitors has spiked ridiculously, and no matter how many we catch, we can never get them all.”

About a year or two ago? Lu Yin felt his heart skip a beat. Doesn’t that coincide right with when the competition for the Cosmic Five finished? Yeah, that was when I was captured by the Neohuman Alliance and when the Neoverse changed due to that blackhole barrier popping up to block those monsters. The timing lines up.

The barrier made by the blackhole had spread from the Neoverse to the Starfall Sea, and it had even touched the Sixth Mainland. It was all a part of Progenitor Hui’s plan, but what was its connection to the Perennial World?

Lu Yin’s mind raced as he tried to find some connection, and he finally remembered the Upper Three Gates.

The barrier formed by the blackhole had cut through the Starfall Sea, which meant that those monsters were also attacking the Starfall Sea, which was where the Upper Three Gates were located. The Sea King had managed to break through the Upper Three Gates, which changed the Fifth Mainland’s sky. Since he had managed to break through those gates, the monsters were naturally able to do the same, not to mention how they were the enemies of all of humanity.

Upon thinking this far, Lu Yin felt that his assumption was correct and that this really was the place that lay beyond the Upper Three Gates. Furthermore, the monsters had started pouring into this universe through the Upper Three Gates after the changes that had rocked the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands. The monsters had gained access to the back of the Mother Tree.

Lu Yin also felt that there might be a deeper purpose to the presence of the Upper Three Gates. They might not just be a path between the Perennial World and the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands, as they might also be connected to those monsters, seeing as the Upper Three Gates had opened to the back of the Mother Tree. With those gates open, the monsters would be able to freely strike at the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands through that passage.

This also made the connection between the Perennial World and the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands a bit unclear. The two mainlands were regarded as the Forsaken Land, but the Upper Three Gates seemed to have been protecting them.

Lu Yin became so preoccupied with this new revelation that he even stopped listening to Guo Shan’s words. The older man had been reminiscing about something, and he seemed to miss his former comrades.

Many soldiers who fought on the battlefield would have these feelings, and they were admirable emotions to have towards one’s brothers and sisters in arms.

"The battlefield behind the Mother Tree is getting worse and worse. Honestly, it’s better if you don’t go there, as you’ll just die quickly." Guo Shan’s tone of voice suddenly changed.

Lu Yin blurted out, "If the Redbacks and traitors disappear, then Humility’s Gate will no longer have a purpose."

"That’s the best outcome," Guo Shan replied seriously.

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. That seemed almost correct. While it was best for there to be no Redbacks and for all the traitors to be wiped out, Lu Yin still felt that it was better for Humility's Gate to exist.

The Middle Realm was massive. Some places were illuminated by suns while others had special means of lighting up the sky. Flying Armor Pass was a normal place, and the stars in the dark night sky shone down upon the city. It was also possible to see the glow of several planets far above.

When Lu Yin looked down, he saw that he had six shadows. He looked up, and he saw six stars lighting up the sky. This meant that tribulation crystals could be mined regardless of if it was day or night.

Lu Yin’s domain stretched out like a stream of water. It formed what looked like countless tentacles that stretched into the sky from the ground, the trees, and even the stones. Suddenly, a black shadow flashed by. Lu Yin’s eyes snapped open, and he charged out at where the black shadow had appeared. Every step that Lu Yin took was exactly the same as the black figure, and even his posture was identical. This was due to Lu Yin’s newfound ability to predict the future with his domain, and he took the same path as the black figure and used the exact same movements.

The eyes hidden behind a mask flashed with surprise, but then they turned ruthless as purple and red lines covered the figure. This was nine lined battle force.

Lu Yin frowned, and Guo Shan appeared next to him. The older man did not say a word as he blasted his star energy into the sky. They were in Flying Armor Pass, and the Flying Armor Troops would instantly respond to any battle that broke out.

However, the star energy dissipated while it was still rising through the air.

Guo Shan was surprised. "We’re trapped?"

Suddenly, several more figures appeared in the distance and attacked the older man. He quickly warned Lu Yin, "Take care of yourself."

Lu Yin had no time to speak as the black figure had already arrived in front of him, wielding a long knife that they had pulled from their sleeves. The blade fell down, reinforced by nine lined battle force.

The dark figure felt that the knife would be able to injure Lu Yin, but then they recalled that Lu Yin had defeated Liu Lu during his time at the Sword Monument. Thus, they had added battle force to the attack just to be sure.

The assassin had made the right decision, as Lu Yin instantly released a Vacuum Palm that struck the dark figure. Even though Lu Yin had not used a full force Vacuum Palm, this attack was still more than what a Hunter could withstand. Lu Yin’s Vacuum Palm had even been able to injure Wang Yi during ZENITH while this assassin was only an average Hunter in comparison.

This palm attack not only shattered the nine lined battle force, but it also bent the knife. The assassin’s pupils shrank, and the knife flickered in a different direction to dissolve the force of the Vacuum Palm.

Lu Yin sneered and used the same attack again. "How many palms can you take?"

The dark figure stood in front of Lu Yin with the knife held in front of their body. There was a bang as a palm imprint appeared on the knife before the assassin was blasted hundreds of meters back. The figure was not able to stop themselves from coughing up a mouthful of blood. How could some common clansman possess such strength?

On the other side of the small battlefield, Guo Shan was still paying attention to everything. He was just as shocked as the assassin when he saw Long Qi overpower a Hunter with nine lined battle force. It was no wonder why this kid had been sent to the Fourteenth Gate. Guo Shan then remembered what had happened during the first assassination attempt when he had tried to push Long Qi away from the mill and Long Qi had almost counterattacked him. It seemed that that had not been a mere coincidence.

This kid had hidden a tremendous amount of strength very deeply.

The assassin’s knife had shattered, and they stood up from where they had landed and stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin’s eyes had turned sharp. "You're not an assassin from Realmless. Your skills don’t match up."

The black figure stared at him for a moment longer before pulling out a spear from their cosmic ring. The weapon was quickly covered with nine lined battle force, and the assassin rushed forward. The person was clearly charging straight ahead, but their body was moving in a strange manner, much like a roving dragon.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA