Chapter 2248: The Hidden Redback

There were some cultivation requirements for Lockbreakers, though they were merely minimum requirements. For example, a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker had to at least be a Melder, while a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker had to at least be an Explorer. This was simply the minimum level of strength needed for each Lockbreaker level, rather than the cultivation limit that a Lockbreaker of a specific level could achieve.

One needed to be an Enlighter and also master a sourcebox array in order to become an Array Master. While it was also possible to become a Senior Array Master as an Enlighter, a Realm Array Master had to be an Envoy. Array Grandmasters also needed to be Envoys, though Lu Yin was not very clear about how many tribulations one needed to pass for one to become an Array Grandmaster. All he knew was that all the Array Grandmasters that he had encountered were either Semi-Progenitors or peak Envoys, like Grandmaster Xiu Ming.

As for Grandmaster Qiu Ling, whom Lu Yin was Possessing, she was a seven-tribulation Envoy, which was very close to Grandmaster Xiu Ming’s cultivation level, but just slightly lacking. She was just weak enough that Lu Yin was able to Possess her. If she were a Semi-Progenitor like many other Array Grandmasters, Lu Yin would not have been able to forcibly Possess her no matter what.

Possessing an Array Grandmaster was far more useful to Lu Yin than Possessing any peak Envoy. Just the woman’s lockbreaking experience alone was a priceless treasure for Lu Yin. In the past, the most accomplished Lockbreaker that Lu Yin had ever Possessed had only been a Realm Array Master.

As the memories flooded in, Lu Yin remained ecstatic. He wanted to see what kind of sourcebox arrays Grandmaster Qiu Ling had mastered.

The requirements to become an Array Grandmaster was to master at least five sourcebox arrays, as well as create an original sourcebox array. This meant that Lu Yin could potentially learn five sourcebox arrays as well as Qiu Ling’s self-created sourcebox array from this Possession.

However, before he even saw the memories of the woman’s sourcebox arrays, Lu Yin found a memory that left him both furious and terrified; Grandmaster Qiu Ling was actually a Redback.

There were many Redbacks throughout the Perennial World, so Lu Yin knew that he should not be surprised to learn that anyone was a Redback. And yet, he could not help but be surprised to learn that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was one. The betrayal felt as heavy as if he had just learned that a specific Semi-Progenitor was a Redback.

Array Grandmasters were held in exceptionally high regard in both the Fifth Mainland and the Perennial World. Also, the Sixth Mainland did not have even a single Array Grandmaster at all.

As a general rule, as long as an Array Grandmaster did not do anything particularly offensive, no one would be willing to get on their bad side. For example, even though Grandmaster Gu Yan had a very odd personality and even hated the four ruling powers, blatantly refusing to give them any show of respect, the four ruling powers did not dare to offend the man. In fact, they were even eager to find a way to recruit him.

While Grandmaster Qiu Ling could not compare to Grandmaster Gu Yan’s reputation, she was not far behind the old man. The four ruling powers had also tried their best to recruit Qiu Ling, and it was possible for such a person to acquire everything that they could ever want. It was unexpected that such a person would be a Redback.

Lu Yin quickly started searching through Grandmaster Qiu Ling’s memories for the one of when she had first become a Redback. After seeing that memory, Lu Yin would understand why.

Grandmaster Qiu Ling had done nothing to betray humanity after becoming an Array Grandmaster. Instead, she had been recruited as a Redback shortly after she had first become a Lockbreaker.

It was all because of someone named Shang Yi.

Both Qiu Ling and Shang Yi had been exceptionally talented when they had first become Lockbreakers. They had been considered the representatives of their generation, just like Wu Dan in the Fifth Mainland. Their talent had been recognized by all Lockbreakers, and they had been acknowledged as geniuses who were guaranteed to eventually become Array Masters.

Countless people had high hopes for Qiu Ling and Shang Yi, and countless eyes had been focused on her. However, Qiu Ling's talent had always been just a tiniest bit behind Shang Yi’s, and so, she had been constantly overshadowed by him. When Shang Yi had become a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, Qiu Ling had still been a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. When he had become a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, she had become a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. She had always remained one step behind, and this had lasted for almost ten years. Eventually, Qiu Ling’s mind had been shaken by her feelings of inferiority, and the gap between her and Shang Yi grew even larger.

Qiu Ling had always been arrogant, and she could not accept such an outcome, and yet she was completely unable to surpass her rival. Anger and resentment had accumulated in her heart, growing heavier and heavier with time. This was what had given the Aeternals an opportunity. Shaman God had approached Qiu Ling and recruited her as a Redback. The old monster was quite skilled at scheming, and they had used a specific sourcebox array to convince Qiu Ling to willingly become a Redback. Of course, she had also demanded that Shang Yi be killed.

Shang Yi had indeed been assassinated, but not by the Aeternals. Instead, he had been killed by Realmless, though the client paying for the assassination had been a Redback.

With Shang Yi’s death, Qiu Ling had instantly become the most talented genius of her generation in everyone's eyes. However, her talent remained inferior to Shang Yi’s. It was only after she became an Array Master that she was able to take advantage of the sourcebox array that she had received from Shaman God. Then, her progress became startlingly fast. She continued to improve step by step until she became an Array Grandmaster.

It was impossible for Lu Yin to sift through all of Qiu Ling's memories, but there were specific memories that had had a great impression on the woman, as they formed the basis for her entire existence.

She was a selfish, narrow-minded woman who was extremely talented at Lockbreaking.

While reviewing the woman’s memories, Lu Yin finally resolved the mystery of Grandmaster Qiu Ling’s attitude towards him on Dragon Mountain.

He had been known as Long Qi at that time, and the White Dragon Clan had asked Grandmaster Qiu Ling to test Long Qi and see if he would be an acceptable apprentice. Qiu Ling had initially greatly admired Long Qi, and she had even made it a point to provide him with a great deal of instruction in a game of Stable Zone, teaching him how to play the game and greatly improving his lockbreaking experience in the process. At the time, Lu Yin thought the woman had been paid to do so by the White Dragon Clan.

However, after the Celestial Frost Sect had started verbally attacking Long Qi and Wang Yun had recognized him as being Lu Yin, Qiu Ling's attitude had completely changed. She had immediately become extremely suspicious of Lu Yin and had also found his lockbreaking talent to be lacking. Such contradictory attitudes had puzzled Lu Yin, though he had thought nothing of the change at the time.

However, Qiu Ling had used a sourcebox array to capture Lu Yin right before he reached the Cloud Shuttle to return to the Middle Realm from the Higher Realm, only to deliberately let him go again. The woman had demonstrated yet another change in attitude then, and Lu Yin had certainly noticed the confusing change at that time. He had thought that there had to be a reason for it, but his curiosity had been suppressed after he left the Perennial World. While reviewing Qiu Ling's memories, Lu Yin understood that everything that she had done regarding Long Qi had been at Shaman God’s orders.

She had helped teach him and demonstrated his impressive lockbreaking talent before the four ruling powers just to give them a greater incentive for hunting Lu Yin down after he was exposed. She had also let him escape so that the four ruling powers would continue to pursue him and chase him into the Fifth Mainland, as creating discord and internal conflict within humanity was all part of Shaman God's plan.

Shaman God had admitted its plan to Lu Yin, saying that its entire goal was to use Lu Yin’s existence to weaken both the Perennial World and the Fifth Mainland so that Aeternus would be able to reap the benefits.

The Aeternals needed to make sure that Lu Yin was hunted and pursued, but not killed. For them, he was bait that they were leaving out.

Lu Yin’s mind started to lose focus, and he grew dizzy. Qiu Ling was an Array Grandmaster, and she was powerful enough that Lu Yin could not Possess her for a long period of time. The fact that he could force the Possession to even occur was already quite impressive.

He quickly scanned through the woman’s memories for anything regarding Star Alliance. The world started to spin, and Lu Yin’s consciousness passed through the dark space to return to his own body.

He just breathed and rubbed his head for a long time. This Possession had granted him incredible gains, as how else could he have ever learned that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a Redback? On top of that, he had also learned the information that he needed about Star Alliance.

Just as he had guessed, the members of Star Alliance were being gathered back together by the four ruling powers, and the location was being deliberately leaked as bait for Aeternus.

The four ruling powers were setting a trap for the Aeternals. Not to mention one of the Seven Skygods’ Semi-Progenitor avatars, even if one of them appeared with their true body, they might not be able to escape unscathed. More importantly, if Aeternus did not take the bait, the four ruling powers lost nothing at all.

As far as the four ruling powers were concerned, things were proceeding perfectly.

However, their trap was also Lu Yin's opportunity. With so many Envoys being gathered together, he just needed to roll Possession on his die and Possess the right person. Odds were that he would be able to Possess someone in Star Alliance, and as soon as that happened, he would be able to remove the restrictions on everyone. That way, there would not even be any need for Lu Yin himself to appear.

This was something that the four ruling powers could never imagine or prepare for, and all Lu Yin needed was a bit of luck.

The other information that Lu Yin had made a point to search Qiu Ling’s memories for was the sourcebox array that she had received from Shaman God. It was known as Void Brand, and it was the reason why her improvement in lockbreaking had accelerated after she had become an Array Master. The fact that her progress had accelerated at that point had startled many people, and many had commented on how her lockbreaking talent was specifically geared towards sourcebox arrays.

However, all of Qiu Ling’s improvements had been because of the Void Brand sourcebox array. In essence, it added extra time to her lockbreaking sessions, and she was able to freely manipulate things within that additional time.

This actually had nothing to do with the power of time, but rather with the power of space.

Using Void Brand meant that, when Qiu Ling was lockbreaking, while she was not able to go back in time and undo any mistakes that she made, the sourcebox array allowed her to review and examine the mistake in clear detail. This allowed her to get twice the results with half the effort.

When others were lockbreaking, mistakes would place them in grave danger, and it was even possible to die without knowing why. However, Qiu Ling was able to clearly see her mistakes and study them. It was an incredible difference.

The use of Void Brand had also caused Qiu Ling to develop a certain habit; when she was cultivating, lockbreaking, or even simply resting, she would always use Void Brand.

Lu Yin suddenly shot to his feet, an ugly expression on his face. Had Qiu Ling set up the Void Brand sourcebox array before Lu Yin had Possessed her?

His eyes flickered, and he reviewed everything that had happened during the Possession, but he simply did not know. He had never seen that particular memory, but if Void Brand had been used, then as long as Qiu Ling had even the slightest doubts as to what had happened, she would be able to see what had happened with the sourcebox array and would learn that someone had taken control of her.

If that happened, what would she do?

At this moment, Lu Yin’s fears were playing out on the rear battlefield.

As an Array Grandmaster, being cunning and scheming had become something intrinsic to Qiu Ling’s personality. She had never been exposed as a Redback, but that had never lowered her sense of caution.

She had developed the habit, regardless of whether she was training or even resting, to reflexively review everything that had recently occurred. This habit was entirely dependent on the Void Brand sourcebox array, and it had essentially developed into a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

After Lu Yin ended the Possession, Qiu Ling’s consciousness had returned, and she had immediately reviewed the recent events. Shockingly, she realized that she could not remember anything that had happened, so she instantly accessed the sourcebox array. Recent events replayed before her, and she saw something that left her absolutely horrified. Despite having no memory of it, she had opened her eyes and stared out at the rear battlefield. When had that happened?

If this scene was not from Qiu Ling’s own memory, then it was from someone else’s. Had someone taken control of her body? Who? Who could possibly seize control of her without her awareness?

Her first thought was of Shaman God. Who else aside from the Aeternals would target her? She had met almost all the Perennial World’s top powerhouses, and none of them could seize control of her. The only possibility was the Aeternals. Qiu Ling was a Redback, and Aeternus had always been watching her.

Why would the Aeternals seize control of her body? Was it a warning? It was true that, ever since Qiu Ling had become an Array Grandmaster and her status had improved, she had started to disregard Aeternus. She had nothing at all to do with them, not unless she received direct orders from Shaman God itself, as with the situation related to Long Qi. In those situations, Qiu Ling would do her best, but she had not been proactive in a long time. It seemed that Aeternus was giving her a warning.

Qiu Ling's expression was dark, and her eyes flitted about. She had no idea what to think of her situation.