Chapter 2277: First Meeting

The paper ship steadily continued on towards Shenwu's Sky. Lu Yin watched the ship leave from the ground down below while his eyes swept through the valley. He needed to hurry up and roll his die.

Given the current situation, he would not be given any freedom or peace once the ship arrived at Shenwu's Sky. It would just be a continuation of the last few days within the Celestial Frost Sect. The only opportunity for Lu Yin to have any freedom was during the journey from the Celestial Frost Sect to Shenwu’s Sky.

Of course, Lu Yin had left someone on board the paper ship disguised as him. Progenitor Smoke’s wei had been used to disguise Liu Shaoge so that the God of Food and Xia Ziheng would not notice anything wrong.

Lu Yin had no choice, as he was in a position where he was forced to take risks.

Given the speed at which Lu Yin could travel with Progenitor Smoke's assistance, it would not be a problem to return to the paper ship as it approached Shenwu’s Sky.

The paper ship needed at least half a month to travel between the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu’s Sky, which meant that Lu Yin could roll his die just eight more times. That was it, just eight more chances to try to Possess someone from Star Alliance.

As the paper ship moved out of sight, Lu Yin stopped thinking about such things. He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and brought out his die. He would not be able to continue hiding himself as Yu Hao for much longer, so he could only hope to be lucky.

He stared as the die slowly came to a stop: three pips. The two screens of light of Enhance appeared.

Lu Yin’s first roll was Enhance, his second was Gift Copy, his third was Timestop, and his fourth was Pilfer.

He sighed and shrugged. He was completely out of luck this time. He had not been able to roll Possession even a single time, which meant that he had to wait ten days to try again.

Elsewhere in the Higher Realm, the paper ship was still flying towards Shenwu's Sky. It had been a very peaceful journey so far. Even if the ship had encountered powerful creatures, they had been quickly frightened away by the presence of Semi-Progenitors. But one day, a person emerged from the void, blocking the ship’s path in full view. Everyone on board the ship warily eyed the figure.

Bai Weiwei exclaimed, "Grandmaster Mu?"

The crowd was startled, as “Grandmaster” was a title used exclusively for Array Grandmasters. There were only four such experts in the entire Perennial World, and everyone knew their names. Only one had the Mu surname: Mu Shang,1 the youngest Array Grandmaster in history.

Whenever people spoke of Mu Shang, they also automatically remembered the Seven Heroes of the past, as well as Bai Xian’er of the present. This was because all of them were considered legends of the current era.

Ever since Mu Shang had first been discovered to the time he had become an Array Grandmaster, his lockbreaking talent had been observed with both amazement and disbelief. No matter if the person was a peer or a senior, they always had the same impression of Mu Shang: a truly peerless lockbreaking talent.

As time passed, even Grandmaster Gu Yan had commented that Mu Shang was a genius who would eventually surpass the senior Lockbreaker, and he also had the greatest chance of eventually catching up to Progenitor Hui's unprecedented level of mastery.

Of the three older Array Grandmasters, Gu Yan and Grandmaster Li were both Semi-Progenitors, while Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a bit younger and had only reached the peak Envoy level. As for Mu Shang, he was only a six-tribulation Envoy, and he was much, much younger than any of the other Array Grandmasters. In fact, Mu Shang was only a few dozen years older than the Seven Heroes, which meant that he could be considered to be from the same generation as the Seven Heroes. In fact, Bai Xian'er referred to the man as Brother Mu.

Grandmaster Mu was one of the most talented individuals ever recorded in the history of the Perennial World. Even Semi-Progenitors like the God of Food and Xia Ziheng had to treat the much younger man as a peer.

He had countless zealous admirers of all ages.

Mu Shang had long hair with a bluish tint to it, a handsome face that revealed a firm determination, and a smile that filled his eyes as he slowly approached the paper ship.

Xia Ziheng was very wary of the approaching man. Mu Shang was a member of the Celestial Frost Sect, and when trying to recruit the man, the Lu family and other top powers had nearly torn away the veneer of civility. In the end, Mu Shang had been snatched away by the Celestial Frost Sect. No one knew why the young Array Grandmaster had chosen the Celestial Frost Sect when the Lu family had still ruled the Perennial World, but at this moment, it was undeniable that Mu Shang represented the Celestial Frost Sect.

The God of Food was not at all familiar with Mu Shang. To start, the young man was a Lockbreaker, which meant that most of his time was spent on the rear battlefield, and he had never visited Virtue Archives or the Island of Hope. Still, while the God of Food had only seen Mu Shang once before when he visited the rear battlefield, he had heard countless legends.

Mu Shang approached the paper ship, but he stopped about 1,000 meters away. There, he bowed to the God of Food and Xia Ziheng. "Junior Mu Shang greets Senior God of Food and Senior Xia Ziheng."

The God of Food gazed at the young man with open admiration. "I may have only met you once before, but I am very familiar with your name and reputation."

Mu Shang answered modestly, "My small bit of fame is not worthy of Senior’s notice."

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Grandmaster Mu, why are you blocking our way?" Xia Ziheng demanded. There was no hint of politeness in the man’s tone of voice.

Mu Shang was a peerlessly talented Lockbreaker who had risen to the Array Grandmaster level, but that did not mean that he would necessarily become a Progenitor. For example, Grandmaster Gu Yan was the number one Array Grandmaster in the Perennial World, but despite his expertise and experience, he had a negligible chance of ever becoming a Progenitor.

People respected Mu Shang, but Yu Hao was different. After all, as long as Yu Hao did not die young, the fact that he had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial practically guaranteed that he would eventually become a Progenitor. On top of that, he was also an amazingly talented Lockbreaker who was even regarded as more talented than the freakish Mu Shang. Naturally, Yu Hao was viewed with much greater importance.

Furthermore, Mu Shang represented the Celestial Frost Sect, and that changed everything. If Mu Shang were unaffiliated and an independent cultivator, Xia Ziheng would not show him anywhere near the same attitude.

Mu Shang smiled at Xia Ziheng. "This junior has heard of a genius Lockbreaker from the Middle Realm. Since I was passing by, it was convenient to come here to see him for myself."

Xia Ziheng frowned. "This is not really a good time. Prof. Hao Yu was injured from challenging the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, so he is currently in seclusion to recover."

Mu Shang looked back at the God of Food, who said, "It's truly unfortunate. If Prof. Hao Yu were not in seclusion and were able to speak with you, Grandmaster Mu, it would certainly be of great help to him. I believe that he would be happy to receive guidance from you, Grandmaster Mu."

Mu Shang looked past the two Semi-Progenitors and focused on the paper ship. He saw the students gazing at him in adoration, as well as the place where Yu Hao had retreated into seclusion. "If Prof. Hao Yu was injured, then this junior has a top-quality medicinal fruit from a parallel universe. I wonder, would a moon orchid flower be of any help?"

"A moon orchid flower? The strange fruit that can even quickly heal a Semi-Progenitor’s injured inner world?" Xia Ziheng was genuinely surprised.

Mu Shang smiled. "That’s the one. After spending so many years on the rear battlefield, this junior has managed to achieve some reasonable accomplishments, and I traded a few merit points for a moon orchid flower. However, I don’t need it at the moment, but it might be of great use for Prof. Hao Yu. The fact that the professor has passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial proves that he is truly amazingly gifted, and we should value such abilities. We cannot afford to risk anything happening to such a talented junior."

The God of Food and Xia Ziheng glanced at each other. Grandmaster Mu was even offering a moon orchid flower, which was a rare treasure that Semi-Progenitors desired. They could not find any reason to stop Grandmaster Mu from seeing Yu Hao.

Mu Shang smiled and approached the paper ship, passing by both the God of Food and Xia Ziheng. He walked until he was in front of the room where Yu Hao had isolated himself.

The handsome man had walked very slowly, a smile on his face and his long, blue hair fluttering in the breeze. He appeared both young and carefree, which was incredibly appealing to many of the watching students.

If it came to pure looks, Mu Shang absolutely could not compare to Yu Hao, but when it came to demeanor, Mu Shang revealed a decisiveness to kill that had been honed over many years on the rear battlefield. In addition, he had a carefree attitude that Yu Hao could not match at all.

"Prof. Hao Yu, might I be able to speak with you?" Mu Shang asked after approaching the room.

The God of Food and everyone else watched with odd expressions. Logically, Yu Hao should have already shown himself. After all, he was being approached by one of the Perennial World’s four Array Grandmasters, and Mu Shang had even arrived with a priceless gift. No matter if it was out of politeness or simply respect, Yu Hao should have met Mu Shang with an open door instead of remaining hidden.

There was no sign of any movement within the room.

Mu Shang's eye twitched, though his expression remained unchanged. He spoke up again. "I heard that Prof. Hao Yu is currently injured. I have brought a piece of moon orchid flower as a gift to a fellow Lockbreaker. Might I meet with you?"

Everyone silently focused on the closed door.

Some people became upset with Yu Hao’s behavior. "Prof. Hao Yu is too arrogant! Grandmaster Mu is the youngest Array Grandmaster in history! He stands far above the professor in status, cultivation, and lockbreaking ability, and yet the professor still won’t meet him!"

"Could the professor really have been badly injured by the trial before?"

"That’s possible. The Sky Beyond the Sky is really strange, and seven of us who challenged it can no longer cultivate, and some don’t even act like humans anymore. It’s possible that Prof. Hao Yu might have also encountered a problem."

…

Just as Mu Shang was about to speak up again, a voice was heard from inside the room. "Hao Yu greets Grandmaster Mu."

Everyone was caught off guard. It might be understandable for someone to not leave seclusion if they were injured, but Yu Hao sounded perfectly fine. Avoiding Grandmaster Mu without a justifiable excuse was just too rude.

However, Mu Shang did not become angry. "How serious are your injuries, Professor?"

"They aren’t serious at all, as I was not wounded."

"Could you step out so I can see you?"

"Why did you come to see me, Grandmaster Mu?"

Mu Shang gave a slight smile. "Naturally, I want to see the rising lockbreaking genius who’s become so famous. I’ve heard that Prof. Hao Yu even helped cultivators who are not Lockbreakers set up a sourcebox array. This is a truly strange technique, and when I spoke to Grandmaster Qiu Ling and Grandmaster Li, both of them told me that they might not be able to duplicate such a feat."

Mu Shang's words startled everyone listening. Prof. Hao Yu had accomplished something that was beyond the abilities of at least two Array Grandmasters? Was it possible that he was already qualified to become an Array Grandmaster?

Bai Weiwei was absolutely horrified when she heard this. She had already repeatedly raised her estimations of Prof. Hao Yu, only to learn that she had still placed the bar too low. How would someone like Grandmaster Mu ever approach someone average and offer a priceless treasure that Semi-Progenitors would go crazy for?

If his lockbreaking skills were already at the level of an Array Grandmaster, then just how important had Prof. Hao Yu become after passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial? How had he reached such heights given his age?

Xia Ziheng's breathing started to become ragged, and his eyes blazed brighter and brighter. This young man absolutely had to stay in Shenwu's Sky, no matter how high a price they needed to pay.

"Thank you for your kind words, Grandmaster Mu, but my teacher has told me that I am young and that I still have a long ways to go. What I have experienced, seen, and achieved are all just passing moments."

"Grandmaster Gu Yan has a truly humble apprentice. I hope to be able to see Grandmaster Gu Yan’s abilities and techniques through you, Prof. Hao Yu. After I return to the rear battlefield, I will make it a point to find an opportunity to exchange pointers with Grandmaster Gu Yan."

"Why don't you exchange pointers with me?"

Mu Shang’s eyebrows climbed high. Everyone who heard the question was startled, including even the God of Food.

Hao Yu had always acted politely with reserve whenever he spoke with anyone, which had given people a specific impression of his personality. Aside from when he spoke to or about the Xia family, Hao Yu had never revealed any hint of arrogance, but he was clearly antagonizing Mu Shang. This did not match the man that everyone knew.

"Grandmaster Mu, I can speak with you, but not see you. There is a wall between us so that this will not be my first time seeing you. This is because of something that my teacher told me, which is that when I see you for the first time, I should challenge you. This is why I do not wish to see you at this time."

Everyone turned to stare at Mu Shang. This was an open challenge, and not just any challenge at that—this was a Realm Array Master publicly challenging an Array Grandmaster!

[1] The "Mu" in "Mu Shang" (穆 = solemn) is NOT the same "Mu" in "Mister Mu" (木 = wood). ☜