Chapter 1957: Unattainable

Lu Yin placed the Withered Bark that contained the power of time onto the upper light screen and then started throwing out countless star essence.

Although Lu Yin had no idea how powerful the Withered Bark that Progenitor Ku had left behind for his descendants might be, it did not change Lu Yin’s desire to improve the power vessel. Progenitor Ku had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and he had also been courageous enough to fight against the full strength of the Aeternals on his own.

The quieter the person was, the more determined they tended to be.

The Withered Bark could indeed be Enhanced, but it cost an obscene amount to do so. Just the first upgrade alone cost Lu Yin 6 billion star essence.

This was understandable, as the Ku family had told Lu Yin that this was one of the most powerful Withered Barks in their possession that had supposedly been left behind by Progenitor Ku himself. Apparently, it was able to defend its user against attacks with power levels of over a million.

It only made sense for something so powerful to be so expensive to Enhance.

Still, Lu Yin did not hesitate at all to upgrade the Withered Bark again, and the second Enhance cost him over 10 billion star essence.

The second improvement slightly changed the look of the Withered Bark, and Lu Yin could see that the space around the power vessel was now blurring and warping. He had no idea how strong an attack the power vessel could resist at this time, or whether it had developed any additional effects.

He wanted to Enhance the Withered Bark a third time, but after considering it, Lu Yin ultimately decided not to. After all, if he improved it a third time, he would not be able to Enhance anything else.

Next was the Netherworld River.

Lu Yin needed something offensive the most, as he already had both the pill skin and the Withered Bark to protect himself with. Still, the Netherworld River could be used to escape, and that was a very useful ability.

Lu Yin stared at the Netherworld River. It looked like a little stream just a few meters long, but it was actually a power vessel. The universe was vast, and it held all kinds of bizarre treasures.

The Netherworld River allowed its user to instantly travel a vast distance. This meant that it could not only be used for escape, but also for traveling. However, the problem with the second option was that there was no way to determine the destination. If the Netherworld River dropped a person off somewhere where they were surrounded by enemies, they would be doomed.

The Netherworld River was Enhanced three times for a total cost of 26 billion star essence. It was a price that pained Lu Yin greatly.

Still, he needed to move on. He had less than 20 billion star essence remaining in his cosmic ring, and he was burning through his funds too quickly. Despite the heartache, he had managed to upgrade two of his new treasures.

Lu Yin was not in a rush to Enhance any of his other treasures since he had less than 20 billion star essence remaining; instead, he wanted to improve the teardust. This was something that did not cost too much to Enhance, though that was only when compared to things like the Withered Bark that held the power of time.

When he previously Enhanced the teardust that he had obtained from First Edition City eleven times, it had cost him two billion star essence. Hui Kong had given Lu Yin twice as much teardust as before, which meant that it should take four billion star essence to Enhance it into heart of teardust.

When had Lu Yin started thinking of four billion star essence as not too expensive? He realized that he really did burn through star essence far too quickly. No one would believe him if he shared how quickly he could use up his funds.

Since he did not have enough star essence to improve anything else, it was time to train.

Lu Yin began to recite the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra as he started practicing the Cosmic Art.

…

In the Innerverse, not very far from Blazing Mist Flowzone, there was Northline Flowzone. At this moment, there was less than a month to go before the next competition to determine the flowzone’s leader would be held on the Northline Platform.

The competition on the Northline Platform was held every fifteen years. However, the separation of the Innerverse and the Outerverse, the Sixth Mainland’s invasion, and the Great Eastern Alliance’s push into the Innerverse had all caused the competition to be delayed.

The Northgate, Lily, and Barthe Jacques families were all in a sensitive meeting at this particular moment.

"We’ve always invited various powerhouses to attend each of the Northgate Platform competitions. Patriarch Northgate, who do you intend to invite this time?" the patriarch of the Barthe Jacques family, Henry, asked. Their previous patriarch, Harold, had died during the Sixth Mainland’s invasion, as well as half of the Scarlet Mercenaries that the family employed.

The Lily family’s matriarch, Lily Liana, was also curious, and she turned to look at Northgate Kong. Lily Anne and Lily Shu'er stood behind the matriarch.

Northgate Kong answered in a low voice, "The Great Eastern Alliance’s Ku Wei."

Lily Liana and Henry were both caught off guard, and even Northgate Lie, who was standing behind Northgate Kong, was surprised.

"Ku Wei? That lacky?" Lily Liana asked in surprise.

Northgate Kong nodded. "Don't underestimate him. While he might indeed be a lackey, he’s still someone from the Seven Courts, and he’s very powerful despite his young age. I don't understand how, but he commands the army of giants. Also, he’s Lu Yin’s lockbreaking disciple, which makes him a perfect guest for our competition."

Henry commented, "I know that he’s incredibly arrogant, but he has the strength to back it up. Even during ZENITH, he was able to perform well even if he didn’t enter the top ten. He was defeated in the first layer, but that was only because of Wang Yi. Even if he completely fawns over Lu Yin, he’s beyond arrogant around everyone else."

"How did you manage to invite him, Patriarch Northgate?"

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Northgate Kong replied, "He likes to show off, and by making him the top VIP guest, it wasn’t difficult to get him to agree. More importantly, the Ten Arbiters’ Council’s representative for our last competition was Lu Yin, and since his master was our guest once, as Lu Yin’s apprentice, Ku Wei naturally wants to attend our competition as well."

"It would be wonderful if we could invite Lu Yin to watch the competition." Lily Liana said with a sigh.

Henry just laughed. Lu Yin? What sort of status did that youth have at the moment? How could they possibly get him to show up in their tiny Northline Flowzone to attend their competition? Forget their competition at Northgate Platform—even the power struggles within the forces that ruled over the eight great flowzones probably did not interest Lu Yin any longer.

"Where is Ah Fan?" Northgate Kong suddenly asked.

Lily Liana answered, "He’s leading the training session for some students from Shangwu Academy."

Ah Fan had originally been an average student from Shangwu Academy who had not warranted the attention of any of the patriarchs, but Ah Fan had managed to get close to Lu Yin, which had eventually given him a unique status in Northline Flowzone.

"We’ll have him be the official for the Northgate Platform competition," Northgate Kong stated.

Neither of the other two patriarchs objected.

After the meeting, Lily Liana met with Lily Anne alone. "Mother, were you looking for me?"

Lily Liana looked at Lily Anne in an apologetic manner. "Do you still remember the gift that I promised you before?"

Lily Anne felt rather confused and took a bit to try to remember. "Fatesand?"

Lily Liana nodded and pulled a box out of her cosmic ring that she solemnly opened. It contained a single piece of fatesand.

Lily Anne was thrilled by the sight. "Mother, how did you find this?"

This was a true treasure, something that even the powers that controlled the eight great flowzones would struggle to find, let alone their tiny Lily family.

Lily Liana replied, "I didn't. Xiao Yi did."

"Xiao Yi? Isn't she dead?" Lily Anne felt confused.

Lily Liana's eyes flickered. "Xiao Yi brought this out of Burial Garden, but she died shortly after her return to the family."

Lily Anne'er stared blankly at the fatesand in the box. The face of a stubborn girl appeared in her mind. That girl’s name was Xiao Yi, and she had been one of the many foster children that Lily Liana had adopted. However, Xiao Yi had died unexpectedly. "I remember when she finally returned to our family after half a month. Even though she had been seriously injured, she refused to die."

Lily Liana said, "You don't need to worry about that. Anyway, after all the hard work to get this from Burial Garden, you can give this fatesand to Lu Yin."

Lily Anne was again confused.

Lily Liana tried to avoid her daughter’s eyes as she softly asked, "Do you remember?"

Lily Anne stared at Lily Liana and then looked down at the fatesand. Something finally occurred to her, and she turned pale. "Mother, Xiao Yi-"

"There is no such person! The moment she died, no such person ever existed in our Lily family. You brought the fatesand out of Burial Garden after facing untold hardships and struggles. The Great Eastern Alliance has been searching for fatesand, so when Lu Yin returns, you will personally give this to him. This is the best opportunity for my Lily family to rise higher and get closer to him. Make sure you remember this!" Lily Liana said in a very harsh voice.

Lily Anne nodded silently. "Your daughter understands."

Lily Liana’s eyes were filled with bitterness as she watched Lily Anne walk away. The matriarch was willing to sacrifice everything for her family and her daughter. The fatesand had originally intended to be a gift for An'er, and it had not been Lily Liana who had wanted that, but Xiao Yi herself. The girl had had a very good relationship with Lily Anne, and Xiao Yi had been forced to flee from the western region of the Innerverse and escape from the flowzone she had found herself upon exiting Burial Garden, all in order to personally give An’er her gift.

But how could such comradery compare to the affairs of the entire family? Xiao Yi, don't blame me.

Lily Anne was despondent when she arrived at a certain courtyard. This had once been the home of a stubborn girl. Despite clearly not having any talent, she had insisted on cultivating. She and Xiao Yi had grown up together, but they had eventually been forced to separate. The fatesand felt hot in Lily Anne’s hands, and she could not hold it any longer.

If not for the fact that the Great Eastern Alliance had started collecting fatesand, Xiao Yi would not have died! She would have given her gift to Lily Anne herself, along with a beautiful smile.

Lily Anne stared up at the sky with eyes filled with complex emotions. A young man whom she had met by mere chance had ascended to the clouds and reached an unattainable height. Countless people were willing to sacrifice treasures and things that they held dear just for the chance to see him. This was real power!

One day, Lily Anne would reach those same heights, and then everyone would stare up at her. She would do it for herself as well as for Xiao Yi!

Beep beep beep!

Her gadget beeped, and Lily Anne’s expression changed dramatically after she glanced down at it. She then raced back where she had come from.

Lily Liana was in a study at the moment, and she was solemnly staring at a display in front of her.

Lily Anne rushed into the office and stared at the video as well.

It showed a spacecraft being attacked. The vessel belonged to Shangwu Academy, and there were several corpse kings attacking the academy instructors. Numerous people fell, already dead.

The video kept moving around and shifting. Panting could be heard, and it was clear that whoever had recorded the video had been trying to escape, as they were moving further and further away from the spaceship.

There was a bang as the vessel finally exploded. There were still many Shangwu Academy students inside it, but they were all immediately incinerated, dying miserable deaths alongside their instructors. Only one person managed to rush out from the burning wreckage, and he lifted a hand and knocked back a corpse king back with a palm strike. The attack used Overlaying Stacks as well as battle force. Countless people had begun to copy Lu Yin’s fighting style as he rose to ever greater fame.

The man’s multiple desperate attacks forced the corpse king back as he continued trying to make his own escape. Before fleeing, the man stared at the remnants of the spaceship. "I'm sorry that I wasn’t able to teach you any battle techniques. I'm so sorry."

The man then took off.

The end of the video showed slitted pupils in scarlet eyes growing larger and larger as they approached the person who had been recording the video. It was clear that the person behind the camera had not been able to survive.

This was just a short video clip and was nothing special. Such events were simply too common in the universe, and this particular video only managed to attract a certain amount of attention because the vessel had been attacked by corpse kings.

"Only Ah Fan managed to escape," Lily Liana reported in a soft voice.

Lily Anne let out a sigh of relief. "It's good that he survived. When did this happen?"

Lily Liana turned to look at Lily Anne. "Just a little while ago. Honestly, this video isn’t terribly important. Over a thousand students from Shangwu Academy die every year. There’s no such thing as perfect safety for cultivators, but this video has gone viral on the network, and countless people are arguing about it. You can see why for yourself."

Lily Anne was a bit surprised. Why would this particular video generate any real commotion?