Chapter 1542: Stable Zone

Ripples soon appeared in the void as a figure slowly emerged. It was as though a painting was being made, and there was not even the slightest effect on the surroundings. Even the ripples in the void seemed more like water ripples: gentle and relaxing.

Everyone bowed as one. "We greet Humility Gate’s Commander."

"We greet Humility Gate’s Commander."

…

No matter who they were, whether they were a part of Humility’s Gate or not, at this moment, everyone bowed to this person with the utmost respect.

Lu Yin looked up to finally get a clear look at Mu Xie. The commander was a very gentle-looking middle-aged man, but he was not Mister Mu. Lu Yin felt disappointed.

Out of everybody present, Lu Yin alone had the courage to lift his head and look. Everyone else bowed low, even Grand Elder Ni Huang.

Even if the grand elder held an impressive status and level of seniority in the Perennial World, he was still not a Progenitor. Thus, he was unqualified to act any differently.

Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin and saw Lu Yin peeking. The older man smiled gently at the youth.

Lu Yin felt his heart skip a beat, and he quickly bowed deeper than ever.

"It’s alright. There’s no need to be so polite," Mu Xie said in a very soothing tone.

Everyone bowed once more before rising up.

At this moment, everyone who was able to see Mu Xie grew excited. After all, not everyone would ever see an actual Progenitor! Doing so was something they could brag about for the rest of their lives.

Down in the Middle Realm and everywhere that was not Dragon Mountain, no one could see the image of Mu Xie, as the reflected light did not contain his image at all.

"Long Qi, I've been watching you for a long time," Mu Xie said as he looked at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin started to get nervous. "Thank you, Commander Mu, for your care."

"Would you like to become the disciple of me, Mu Xie?" Mu Xie asked in a very blunt manner.

Everyone was taken aback, as they had not expected such a direct question.

Lu Yin became nervous; what should he do? Could he refuse? No, that was absolutely not an option. However, how could he possibly explain himself to Mister Mu if he said yes? This was a terrible dilemma.

Everyone stared at Lu Yin with envy as they waited to hear his reply.

At this time, a woman in the crown around the Ancestral Dragon Altar stepped forward and offered a respectful bow. “Lord Commander, could you allow Junior Qiu Ling to say a few words first?"

Everyone looked over at Qiu Ling; she was an Array Grandmaster.

Qiu Ling was a woman, and it was very rare for anyone to reach the Array Grandmaster level. She did not look old, only as though she was in her thirties, but she had a very refined demeanor.

Mu Xie looked at Qiu Ling. "Of course. What does Grandmaster Qiu Ling wish to say?"

Progenitors held exalted statuses, but an Array Grandmaster was not a nobody either. This was the unique advantage enjoyed by Lockbreakers. Sourcebox arrays and Array Masters were useful in many places, and their field of expertise was something that not even Progenitors could necessarily intrude upon.

Grandmaster Qiu Ling respectfully said, "This junior has heard that Long Qi is a lockbreaking prodigy, and I came here to observe him with the idea of accepting him as an apprentice if he does well. However, I know that he would never dare to accept becoming my apprentice after being accepted as the commander’s disciple, as that would be rude. I wonder, would Commander Mu be willing to allow this junior to evaluate Long Qi?"

Mu Xie smiled casually. "Of course. This is also a blessing for Long Qi if he is able to accept Qiu Ling as a teacher."

After he spoke, Mu Xie disappeared, and no one could sense where he had gone.

"Thank you, Commander." Grandmaster Qiu Ling was thrilled.

Everyone stared at Lu Yin as even more jealousy filled their eyes, though they also felt somewhat numb. Not only had this person’s status within the White Dragon Clan transformed, but he had also been given the opportunity to accept a Progenitor as his master. And on top of all that, an Array Grandmaster had even stepped forward to ask Long Qi to become her apprentice. This youth was simply too lucky. No, his life was too good.

Xia Taili gritted her teeth; this bastard had dog-shit luck.

Behind Xia Taili, Luo Zhong felt shocked, and he gazed at Lu Yin with an odd glint in his eyes. I wonder, if you let all these people know that your surname is actually Lu, how many would rush forward to accept you as an apprentice or disciple then? This is quite interesting.

In the Celestial Frost Sect, in Jade Valley, Liu Shaoge was gazing in the direction of Dragon Mountain. He could not see Mu Xie, but he was able to see Grandmaster Qiu Ling, and he knew what had been happening.This is interesting.

Grandmaster Qiu Ling grew solemn as she turned to face Lu Yin. "Long Qi, will you accept me as your teacher to guide you as a Lockbreaker?"

Lu Yin took a deep breath before stepping forward and bowing low. "This junior would be honored."

Grandmaster Qiu Ling nodded. "I heard that you repaired the second array base’s defensive sourcebox array and that you were also able to control the spherical red sourcebox array down in the New World. This shows you have an exceptional talent for lockbreaking, but seeing is believing. So, I want to test you myself. If you pass, I will accept you as an apprentice."

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I will follow the Array Grandmaster’s guidance," Lu Yin replied respectfully. His attitude satisfied Grandmaster Qiu Ling, though that was only normal. Anyone approached by an Array Grandmaster and asked to become their apprentice would show a completely respectful attitude.

Grandmaster Qiu Ling raised her hand, causing a sourcebox to fall to the ground right below the ancestral dragon altar, directly beneath Lu Yin.

This sourcebox was shaped like a bottle. After it struck the ground, the nearby flowers and plants erupted in blooms, and their fragrance filled the area. Rainbows appeared in the sky, and rivers burst out of the ground to create a beautiful but bizarre spectacle within a hundred miles of the sourcebox.

"This is a Boundless Advance level sourcebox. Give it a try," Grandmaster Qiu Ling said, stating her test for Lu Yin.

Lu Yin looked up at Grand Elder Ni Huang, who nodded.

He then approached the sourcebox.

Many of the nearby people started talking amongst themselves, as some of them had recognized the sourcebox. One such person was Master Deng Guo. He had also come to Dragon Mountain with the intention of accepting Lu Yin as an apprentice, but unfortunately, with Grandmaster Qiu Ling’s presence, the man could do nothing.

"This old man has seen that sourcebox before. It is one of the sourceboxes used by the Lockbreaker Headquarters to test Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers. Even though this sourcebox’s danger field is not lethal, it makes anyone who attempts to approach the sourcebox grow sluggish and even hallucinate. It is very common for a Lockbreaker to fail their lockbreaking attempt once they are disturbed, and almost everyone who wishes to become an Advanced Lockbreaker will fail if they encounter this particular sourcebox." Master Deng Guo sighed.

It was only then that the people nearby understood that even though this particular sourcebox was not dangerous, it was still incredibly difficult to unlock.

Grandmaster Qiu Ling was testing Lu Yin's will and speed.

Lu Yin also heard Master Deng Guo’s explanation. This was going to be quite tricky. He was not worried about a dangerous sourcebox, but a sourcebox that caused hallucinations and affected the lockbreaker’s judgment was the most difficult sort of sourcebox to unlock, as it was impossible to know when one was hallucinating. This was the source of this Lockbreaker test’s difficulty. A Lockbreaker needed to be fast, as being too slow would naturally leave one unqualified.

Given the situation, Lu Yin immediately started mentally reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. Regardless of what happened, it would never hurt to recite the scriptures.

The facts ended up proving Lu Yin’s decision to be correct. While he mentally recited the Stonewall Scriptures, he never felt any sort of sluggishness or saw any hallucinations. As he drew closer and closer to the bottle-shaped sourcebox, he started studying it to see how to best unlock it.

This part of the process was not something that most people could follow or understand, but admiration filled Grandmaster Qiu Ling's eyes. She saw that Lu Yin was completely unaffected, and it was as if the sourcebox was completely inert. The child was a natural-born Lockbreaker.

The difficulty of unlocking this particular sourcebox lay in the unseen interference that would affect the Lockbreaker trying to unlock it. Once this was dealt with, unlocking the sourcebox was a foregone conclusion.

When Lu Yin had taken his Boundless Advanced Locker exam, he had unlocked a bridge dozens of times larger than this small, bottle-shaped sourcebox. At that time, Lu Yin had used several days to successfully unlock the bridge. This current sourcebox took him quite a bit of time, but he succeeded within a day.

There was a soft click, and everyone stared at the bottle.

Lockbreaking was essentially a fight against a sourcebox. Each sourcebox had its own unique danger zone, and these fields could then be used by Array Masters to make arrays that were very effective against humanity’s enemy. However, unlocking a sourcebox had a very high chance of revealing nothing in the end. Despite the odds and the utility of sourcebox arrays, many people still grew excited about lockbreaking as they wanted to see treasures from ancient times.

No matter what a person preferred sourceboxes be used for, an unlocked sourcebox would always draw a great deal of attention, not to mention an advanced sourcebox that was able to induce hallucinations.

The bottle shook slightly before transforming into powder.

Lu Yin was disappointed, as he had gained nothing.

Some of the nearby people said, "Sure enough, it should not have been unlocked. It would have been very powerful if used in a sourcebox array, especially since it was able to produce hallucinations."

"Lockbreaking leads to both gains and losses. It’s impossible to know the results. However, not all sourceboxes can be unlocked."

"I support lockbreaking."

"I feel that it's better to not unlock sourceboxes. There must be a reason why these sealed objects were concealed from the universe, and it’s best to not go against the will of nature."

"Then why are you even cultivating? Just accept your natural death."

"You…"

…

Grandmaster Qiu Ling was not disappointed, and she looked at Lu Yin with admiration. "Long Qi, that was well done."

Lu Yin respectfully bowed. "Thank you, Grandmaster, for your praise."

"Do you know of the game that many Array Masters play? It’s called Stable Zone," Qiu Ling asked.

Lu Yin felt rather lost, as he had never heard of this before.

A few people exclaimed, "Does such a game really exist? Legend claims that only Array Masters can participate, but recently promoted Array Masters will find it to be nearly impossible to play a full game."

"It’s basically a game of chess that revolves around one’s lockbreaking ability and sourcebox array comprehension. Does Grandmaster Qiu Ling intend to use this game to test Long Qi? This is too much for him."

"Long Qi has already mastered two sourcebox arrays, which is enough for him to be referred to as a Senior Array Master. He is naturally qualified to play."

"That’s true."

Grandmaster Qiu Ling revealed a slight smile. "Stable Zone is a game played by many Array Masters, and it has existed for a long time. It was even played back during the era of the Daosource Sect, but since only Array Masters can play, the game has never become widespread.

"Star energy and a sourcebox’s danger zone form the pieces and board of this game," she said as she waved her hand, causing two sourceboxes to appear. One looked like a single long strip floating in the air. It started quickly rotating about itself, and its danger field could be seen with the naked eye, as it was radiated layers of sharpness that produced square cuts that even caused the void to twist and break. This sourcebox was so powerful that even an Envoy would be harmed, and it released a crimson, unusual kind of energy.

With the overlapping danger fields from two sourceboxes, an unpredictable danger zone appeared that spread out in all directions, causing many people to retreat in fear.

Lu Yin observed the sourceboxes’ danger fields as they overlapped and interacted to create an odd and unpredictable danger zone. He was only able to understand it a little bit.

"Stable Zone is actually very simple: whoever destroys their opponent's star energy by utilisingthe sourceboxes’ danger fields wins." Star energy appeared beneath Grandmaster Qiu Ling's feet, and it spread out to cover the area between the sourceboxes. Her star energy was then sliced into pieces until there were only a small fraction of it left drifting in the air.

Grandmaster Qiu Ling waved her hand again, and the star energy that had not been sliced apart by the sourceboxes’ danger fields changed color; half of it turned black while the other half turned white. It was exactly half and half, just like the pieces of a traditional chess game. The danger field created by the two sourceboxes interfering with each other formed the game board.

"You may choose your color." Grandmaster Qiu Ling smiled at Lu Yin.