Chapter 2273: Winning

"As for the Outer Realm, you’ll learn more after you become a Semi-Progenitor. By the way, you just mentioned that you’re from Virtue Archives. How is the academy now? I heard that it’s about to be divided up between the four ruling powers, right?" Bai Sheng asked.

Lu Yin had not expected such bluntness from Bai Sheng. The four ruling powers did indeed intend to split Virtue Archives between themselves, and they had been steadily working towards accomplishing that. "They are sharing it, but they haven't succeeded in taking it over quite yet. They are hoping to send people over to inherit the Mountain and Sea."

"The Mountain and Sea? What a waste. Do they really think that it's that simple to inherit one of the Mountains and Seas? There were masters for all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas only during a single era. It never happened before that, and it will never happen again after that. They know nothing at all about the Mountains and Seas. It’s best if someone can receive the inheritance, but it’s fine if it doesn’t happen. Only very rarely have any Semi-Progenitors successfully inherited one of the Mountains and Seas, so most people wait to try after they become Progenitors. Just so you know, the earliest that anyone’s ever managed to inherit a Mountain and Sea was when they were an Envoy, though that’s just a legend. The earliest that’s been confirmed was Progenitor Chen, who inherited a Mountain and Sea while he was a Semi-Progenitor…" Bai Sheng spoke for a while, though it seemed that he barely had any interest in the Mountain and Sea hidden within Virtue Archives.

Lu Yin smiled wryly. "They're clearly not as open-minded as you are, Progenitor Sheng. They’re fighting each other over the opportunity."

"Don't blame them, young man. Are you interested in joining the Celestial Frost Sect?" Bai Sheng stared at Lu Yin with sudden interest as he asked.

Lu Yin had no idea if he should let out a sigh of relief, or to worry even more than ever. Did this question mean that Bai Sheng could not see through the Mask of Death, or that he could, but simply did not recognize Lu Xiaoxuan? Or was he just baiting Lu Yin?

If Bai Sheng had seen through Lu Yin’s true identity, then he should already know that it was impossible for Lu Yin to join the Celestial Frost Sect, so he would not have asked the question.

Lu Yin could not grasp what the Progenitor was thinking.

"What's with that expression? Do you have some grievances with the Celestial Frost Sect? It doesn't matter. A Progenitor can help you with anything!" Bai Shenghao stated angrily.

Lu Yin pursed his lips. He really had no confidence in how he should handle this situation. "I won’t hide things from you, Senior. This junior’s wife is Shenwu Sky’s Xia Zhitong."

Bai Sheng was surprised. "Are you one of Shenwu’s Sky’s son-in-laws?"

Lu Yin nodded.

Bai Sheng could say nothing about the matter. "Then I guess that there’s nothing more to say than that Shenwu's Sky is truly lucky to have found such a son-in-law."

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered, and he briefly shared the grievances between the Yu family and Shenwu's Sky.

Everyone who heard the story for the first time reacted in the same manner. It was such a strange and bizarre story, and yet it fit what people know about the parties involved.

Bai Sheng stayed completely silent for a long time, not speaking a word. Finally, he sighed. "The Xia family is beyond ruthless, and they were even willing to use their own family members to ruin your Yu family's reputation at the cost of their own. Progenitor Bai really did say it right—after the incident with Progenitor Chen, the Xia family has already been stained with the dust of the shameless road. They really don’t care at all about their reputation any longer."

The man then stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "So, will you return to Shenwu's Sky? Given the fact that you’ve passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, Xia Zhitong’s death is already guaranteed. The Xia family will give her to you. Stated bluntly, as far as the Xia family is concerned, as long as someone is not a member of their direct line, anyone can be sacrificed. Offering up a member of a branch family means nothing if it buys them the favor of an immortal.”

Lu Yin frowned. "This junior would really prefer not to join such a family, but they have my grandfather held captive."

Bai Sheng considered the matter.

"The Xia family's ceremony to worship their ancestors is fast approaching, and that is the deadline that this junior was given to deliver a decision. Honestly, this junior has recently gotten along quite well with Bai Weiwei, and if possible, this junior would much prefer to join the Celestial Frost Sect," Lu Yin said.

Bai Sheng rubbed his head. "That’s a bit difficult. If the sect had agreed to the matter before now, Progenitor Bai might have been able to free your grandfather, but Xia Shenji will never let him go now that you’ve completed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial."

Lu Yin stood up and bowed. "If possible, I ask Progenitor Sheng to please help rescue my grandfather. I, Yu Hao, can promise to join the Celestial Frost Sect and will swear to protect the interests of the sect till death."

Bai Sheng stretched again before standing up and looking around. "The Sky Beyond the Sky, an immortal above immortals… Do you want to take a walk with me?"

Looking around, all that either man could see were the clouds that covered the Celestial Frost Sect. They could not see beyond the sect, and everything within sight was the Celestial Frost Sect’s territory.

Walking on the clouds was figuratively stepping on everyone within the Celestial Frost Sect.

A Progenitor was qualified to do so, but so was Lu Yin, despite him only being an Envoy.

"Does walking across these clouds also cause one to experience things like when climbing up here?" Lu Yin asked.

A smile spread across Bai Sheng's face, and he pointed down. "One cloud, one step to become an immortal. The Sky Beyond the Sky is for the immortals. Only the nine of us qualify."

"Every cloud needs to be climbed?" Lu Yin was surprised.

Bai Sheng nodded. "Yes and no. There’s no need to climb up from the bottom again, but stepping onto another cloud is basically the same as climbing up here. This is why it’s called ‘one step to become an immortal,’ as these clouds are what allow the nine of us to compare ourselves to each other. Which of us is able to climb higher and who remains stuck further down all depends on how many steps you are able to take."

As he spoke, he raised a foot and instantly stepped onto another cloud. He continued to walk across the clouds, reaching another one with each step. "One step each time. Young man, will you take a walk with me?"

The corner of Lu Yin's mouth twitched. One step to reach another cloud? One step to become an immortal? If he had the time, he would absolutely want to try this, but he was out of time. The people on the ground were still waiting for him. The Xia family would not be willing to sit still. He needed to hurry!

Also, the more time that passed, the fewer opportunities that he would have to roll his die.

"So that’s how it is. In that case, this junior can only decline your kind offer this time, Senior," Lu Yin politely refused.

Bai Sheng smiled. "I'm also leaving."

He suddenly looked up. "How many Progenitors have had their bones buried in the Outer Realm? It’s possible that you may head there as well one day."

The man then took another step from the cloud where he stood, and he briefly blurred before vanishing.

Lu Yin looked upwards. Had the man gone to the Outer World? If Progenitors had been buried there, then was that where the unknown Progenitors had all gone?

Down below, people were still staring up, as they had been doing for a long, long time. They were determined to watch for as long as “Yu Hao” remained atop the clouds.

"Prof. Hao Yu’s coming down!" a student exclaimed.

Nong Siniang was extremely excited. Bai Weiwei and others from the Celestial Frost Sect stepped forward while staring into the sky.

Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and many others had complicated emotions flickering through their eyes. Once a person passed the Sky Beyond the Sky, their status would be forever changed. No one would dare to look down on such a person.

"Co- con- congratulations, Professor!" the fat little man shouted excitedly.

"Congratulations, Prof. Hao Yu." Qing Feng showed similar excitement.

"Congratulations, Prof. Hao Yu!" All of the students started shouting.

All the while, the members of the Celestial Frost Sect watched with rising jealousy.

When Lu Yin finally landed back on the ground, Wu Yao was the first person to step forward. He smiled and expressed a never-before-seen enthusiasm, "Congratulations, Prof. Hao Yu, on passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial and becoming an immortal!"

Lu Yin offered a few polite words in reply.

To the side, the students from Virtue Archives surged forward and surrounded their instructor, all of them asking about what had happened.

Only the people who had successfully passed the Sky Beyond the Sky would retain their memories of the trial, while everyone else would forget everything.

However, Lu Yin shared none of his experiences. Before attempting the trial, the Celestial Frost Sect had made everyone swear to not disclose any information after finishing their attempt.

"Congratulations, Prof. Hao Yu," Mr. Tang said, also quite clearly excited about what had happened.

Lu Yin felt exhausted by all the praise. "It was just a fluke, nothing more."

"Completing the entire trial on your first try is definitely not a fluke," Prof. Wei retorted with a smile.

The God of Food spoke up. "When we visited the Wang family, you demonstrated a peerless lockbreaking talent. At the White Dragon clan, you revealed a Creation level of stellular energy control when you observed their blood pool, which forced them to lower their heads. Today, you’ve passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. It seems that this exchange program isn’t for our students, but for you, haha!”

Lu Yin was speechless. "This junior doesn't know why this has happened."

While watching “Yu Hao” chat with the people from Virtue Archives, Bai Su approached Wu Yao from behind. The acting sect master looked furious. "The story’s already been leaked. Many people already know that Yu Hao’s passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial."

Wu Yao was unsurprised. "That’s to be expected. Don’t allow them to leave. This is for the Progenitors to deal with now."

Bai Su nodded as he stared at “Yu Hao.” The man could not determine his own emotions at the moment.

He had simply wanted to make a gesture of kindness, nothing more, to try to win over a talented Lockbreaker. Bai Su had never imagined that his innocent offer would create a new immortal. It was likely that it would not be that long before Yu Hao became a Progenitor, catching up to Bai Xian’er. On top of that, he was favored to become the youngest Array Grandmaster in human history.

Just thinking about the young man’s potential was terrifying.

No one would be willing to walk away from someone who had at least a 90% chance of becoming a Progenitor, even if they had not yet opened their three meridian points.

Compared to passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, opening the three meridian points was not nearly as important. After all, it was possible to open those meridian points in the future. It was not absolutely necessary to do so in the Enlighter realm. On the other hand, the Sky Beyond the Sky trial was something that ignored cultivation realms. Possessing a powerful cultivation did not provide any advantage when challenging the trial.

The plan had been for the people from Virtue Archives to leave the Celestial Frost Sect as soon as everyone was done challenging the trial and then make their way to their final destination: Shenwu's Sky. However, the Celestial Frost Sect employed every excuse and every means possible to delay the academy’s departure, and even the God of Food was unable to leave. They had no choice but to delay their departure.

Everyone understood that the Celestial Frost Sect was targeting Yu Hao.

The God of Food made a point to speak with Yu Hao. "Don't bother being polite to these people. Given your new status, you need to act as though you are already a Semi-Progenitor. Understand that everyone will do their best to try to win you over."

While Lu Yin had initially believed himself qualified to negotiate with the Celestial Frost Sect after passing the Sky Beyond the Sky, meeting with Bai Sheng had left Lu Yin eager to leave as quickly as possible. After all, a Progenitor could certainly see through the Mask of Death, so it was just a matter of time before Bai Sheng realized Lu Yin’s true identity.

However, Lu Yin’s desires meant nothing, as the Celestial Frost Sect refused to let anyone go. There was nothing that Lu Yin could do.

"Prof. Hao Yu, as long as you join my Celestial Frost Sect, we will do our best to release your grandfather, Yu Chuan. Shenwu's Sky will not risk offending a future Progenitor, so what would they dare to do to your grandfather? We can provide you with whatever resources you need, not to mention other things. We can ensure that you will open your three meridian points, and we will also give you everything that you need to reach your fourth stellular tribulation and beyond, until you become a Semi-Progenitor. My Celestial Frost Sect will promise you... " Wu Yao pulled Lu Yin aside and made endless promises.

The entire ordeal left Lu Yin with a headache, and he quickly stopped the man. "I know what you are saying, Senior Wu Yao, but as long as my grandfather remains captive within Shenwu's Sky, I can't join your Celestial Frost Sect, no matter how much I may prefer to join your sect."

Wu Yao was also struggling. He was a cruel and ruthless person, and not to mention his grandfather, he would have happily sold his own parents away if offered such a choice. Unfortunately, it was clear that Yu Hao did not want to abandon his family, which made things far more complicated.

"A cultivator needs to know how to make tough choices sometimes," Wu Yao said.

"This junior doesn’t understand what you mean by that, Senior."

"You know why Yu Chuan was arrested and forced into Star Alliance. Your father made a decision, as did Yu Chuan himself. Now, it's your turn to decide."