Chapter 2523: Eternal Presence

Mu Mu took a step forward, furious at the comment, but suddenly, she felt uneasy. She looked down and found that, out of nowhere, a card had appeared beneath her feet. Her heart dropped. This was not good, as it was the Lost Clan's technique.

Before Mu Mu could even react, a strange vortex appeared, and her body was sucked into the card.

The sight astonished Lu Yin. "So that's a card of the Lost Clan?"

Luo Lao'er replied, "Yes. Members of the Lost Clan possess the ability to create and use these cards. Each one is a deadly trap that’s been specifically made by its owner. Each cardholder will study and then seal their preferred battlefield within the card, which will become their opponents’ worst nightmare. This is true even for Aeternus.”

"I once saw a battlefield where the Lost Clan was fighting. They used their cards as traps, and it was extremely difficult for any of Aeternus’s monsters to escape after they were pulled into one. It's safe to say that, for every ten who enter, only one will be able to reemerge. Also, out of ten members of the Lost Clan, at worst, only one will die. Out of all the Sixverse Association’s members, the Lost Clan has the lowest casualty rate in the war against Aeternus. Not even the seemingly safest Voidforce Universe can compare to them."

Jiang Xiaodao laughed maniacally as Mu Mu was dragged into the card. As he laughed, he also entered the card. Then, both people and the card simply disappeared.

Lu Yin instinctively released his domain to search for Jiang Xiaodao. It was possible to sense that the card was still where Lu Yin had last seen it, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t see it. It was as though the card had vanished into thin air.

His domain had reached the void god level, which allowed him to eavesdrop on conversations between Semi-Progenitors, intercept conversations through communication crystals, and more. Despite all of that, he still was unable to pinpoint the card, which was truly bizarre.

At that instant, he found himself captivated by the Lost Clan’s strange cards. It reminded him of when he had first discovered the existence of runes.

The people who had been sent flying by the battle’s shockwaves slowly regained their senses.

"Mu Mu’s been sucked into the card. She’s in trouble now," someone commented in the distance.

Someone standing next to the first speaker replied, "Not necessarily. Jiang Xiaodao only recently reached the threshold to mastering the Lost Clan's power, which means that he hasn't had enough time to set up a truly powerful trap. Mu Mu might still be able to fight back. Besides, we can't underestimate the power of the Arboreal Realm.”

"Every cultivator from the Arboreal Realm possesses an innate gift, but Mu Mu hasn't used hers yet. Supposedly, she has an innate gift that allows her to nurture some kind of bird called a Golden Crow."

"I've heard about that too. She apparently got it from a species of tree in the Arboreal Realm that’s famous for its exceptional heat resistance."

…

The crowd swelled as more people poured in from every direction to watch the rest of the battle.

The various newcomers were quickly filled in on the situation, and they eagerly watched on to see how things would be resolved. Many people coveted the power of the Lost Clan, but their methods were incredibly difficult to learn. Many students had been driven out of the Sixverse Academy because they failed to reach the threshold for studying in the Lost Clan School. It was a power that not many could master.

After a short while, the crowd watched carefully as the card materialized once again. It now had a vibrant shade of red, and it soon spontaneously burst into flames.

At the same time, two people appeared.

Mu Mu was engulfed in a blazing inferno, and a palm-sized bird was gracefully perched on her shoulder. The raging flames were coming from the bird's body, and they spread across the sky to instantly envelop Cliff Town in an intense, searing heat.

Jiang Xiaodao stood across from Mu Mu. His outer robe were now charred, and most of his eyebrows had been singed off. "Mu Mu, you're really devious. You publicly stated that you weren’t able to use your Golden Crow for a while, but you’ve actually been able to use it for quite some time."

Mu Mu sneered. "Who's the fool now? I think that it's you."

Jiang Xiaodao snorted. "As if you're any better off than me! My arrows must have hurt quite a bit."

The dazzling flames had prevented the crowd from noticing that Mu Mu had also been injured, and they only noticed her wounds when Jiang Xiaodao commented on it. There were several red patches on the woman’s body that were clearly bloodstains.

No one knew what had happened within the card, but it was clear that neither of the combatants were in good condition right now.

Mu Mu’s eyes snapped back to Jiang Xiaodao. "If I don't burn your transformation today, my name won’t be Mu Mu!"

The blazing bird then melted into a red substance that looked like lava. It flowed down to cover Mu Mu's body, and she looked like she had just donned a battle robe made of fire.

Across from her, Jiang Xiaodao stretched out his hands. "Just try it!"

With that, rivers surged from both of his hands. He lifted his hands and thrust them forward, causing the rivers to surround both him and Mu Mu, trapping them within.

Mu Mu charged forward and threw a palm strike at Jiang Xiaodao, once again using the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate. This time, with the boost from the flames, Jiang Xiaodao was extremely wary of the attack. "Foolish woman, look behind you."

Mu Mu whipped around, only to see that an arrow had appeared out of nowhere. Its was dangerously close to her and had actually almost reached her. She quickly dodged aside, and the arrow passed through her illusory form, heading for Jiang Xiaodao. However, the arrow simply skimmed past Jiang Xiaodao and was absorbed into the rivers that surrounded the two. As soon as the arrow disappeared, another one shot out from the river on the opposite side.

The arrows appeared weak, but Mu Mu was very cautious of them.

The people watching the battle were unable to determine the strength of the techniques being used, but Lu Yin's expression grew serious. This was a secret technique. Jiang Xiaodao was using a secret technique. While the arrows that shot out from the rivers appeared to be weak, as they approached Mu Mu, they suppressed the flames that covered her body. Although it was not obvious, the fact that the arrows were able to suppress those flames indicated that they had the potential to harm her. Mu Mu remained extremely alert, as she was able to sense the threat of the arrows, and she managed to quickly evade the various attacks.

It would be bad for her if she was struck by a secret technique. She was right to avoid all of the arrows.

Unexpectedly, the Progenitor-level powerhouses from the Cyclic Universe had also developed secret techniques, which was eerily similar to the Fifth Mainland.

Relentless arrows darted back and forth between the surrounding rivers, their speed growing with each moment that passed. At first, Mu Mu was able to skillfully evade the attacks and even launch her own counterattacks. However, as the arrows accelerated, even just evading became a struggle.

When one of the arrow from the rivers managed to graze her shoulder, a fresh wound opened up, and Mu Mu's expression changed. She raised both of her hands and revealed the third change of her battle technique.

Jiang Xiaodao exclaimed, "The Third Hand? You are truly a treacherous woman."

The various attacks of the third change merged into a single palm strike. As that happened, Mu Mu infused her attack with monarch essence and even wrapped it in a layer of molten lava. Multiple techniques were combined as she reached out and grabbed an arrow that was aimed at her.

She easily caught the arrow. Even though the arrow still managed to tear the skin of her hand open, this was a manageable injury.

Upon seeing that Mu Mu had managed to deal with his secret technique, Jiang Xiaodao did not hesitate to flee.

The raging rivers swept back and transformed into four heavenly rivers that shot towards Mu Mu.

Without Jiang Xiaodao’s direct control, the rivers posed no threat to Mu Mu. She incinerated the waters and took off after Jiang Xiaodao. "Stop right there, Jiang Xiaodao!"

Jiang Xiaodao yelled, "Stupid woman! I'll show the Arboreal Realm some face by letting you off!"

"How shameless! I'll burn your eyebrows off completely!" Mu Mu shouted as the two disappeared into the distance.

The watching crowd still wanted to see more.

Even Lu Yin felt a bit unsatisfied with the outcome. While the fight had been exciting to watch and had allowed him to observe the battle styles of various universes, the two combatants were simply too weak.

It would be much better if he could watch two people at the Semi-Progenitor level fighting.

The crowd slowly dispersed.

Zuo Yu felt a surge of envy. "Sister Hong, will I be able to do that one day?"

Shi Hong replied, "Of course. Eventually, you’ll be able to do everything that you just saw."

Zuo Yu clenched her fists. "One day, I’ll have a match against those two."

Shi Hong was taken aback. That was not what she had meant at all. The two people that they had seen were indeed stronger than Shi Hong and Zuo Yu, but the two would eventually reach that level. However, when that happened, Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu would both be even stronger. Shi Hong was not confident that she could ever catch up to them herself, so where was Zuo Yu’s confidence coming from?

"It's good to have confidence. Keep working hard." Shi Hong did not try to discourage Zuo Yu and simply led her away.

Lu Yin approached the place where Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao had fought. He carefully observed the cracked ground and unstable void before turning to examine the location where the card had been placed.

"Seventh Bro, are you interested in the Lost Clan's power?" Luo Lao'er asked.

Lu Yin nodded. "It's a very interesting power."

Luo Lao'er quickly said, "You should give up on it. Countless people have tried to learn the Lost Clan’s power, only to fail. Of the first batch of students, twelve people joined the Lost Clan School. Of them, only three managed to reach the threshold. On top of that, I doubt that Senior Xu Xiangyin will allow you to study in the Lost Clan School."

Lu Yin stayed silent. While he was quite curious about the Lost Clan's power, there were too many different civilizations throughout the megaverse. The Sixverse Association might not even be the strongest alliance of parallel universes. There was no doubt that there were other universes with no connection to the Sixverse Association that had never encountered Aeternus. Who knew what kinds of civilizations might have developed in those universes?

Lu Yin knew that it was impossible to learn the powers of every single universe that he encountered.

"To qualify to enter the Great Academy, it’s necessary to pass the thresholds of four different schools. I’ve already reached mastered Voidforce Energy, and monarch essence isn't difficult either. I just need to learn at least two more universes’ powers. While I’m not really familiar with the Transcendent Universe, I can't visit the Transcendent School, but as long as I wear an energy converter, shouldn’t that be the same as reaching the threshold?" Lu Yin asked.

Luo Lao'er replied, "Of course not. Actually, passing the requirements for the Transcendent School isn’t much easier than the Lost Clan School. The Transcendent Universe doesn’t need cultivation talent—they need brains.”

"Reaching the Transcendent School’s threshold means providing research results for cultivation technology."

Lu Yin had already guessed as much. Otherwise, anyone would be able to reach the Transcendent School’s requirements.

Luo Lao'er noticed that Lu Yin's gaze was focused on the ground, and a thought sparked in his eyes. It would be very good if Lu Yin was able to enter the Central School. After all, if Xuan Qi left the Sixverse Academy for the Voidforce Universe, then how would Luo Lao’er get to know Zi Jing through Xuan Qi? As far as Luo Lao’er was concerned, the longer Xuan Qi stayed in the academy, the better.

"Seventh Bro, you still need to reach the requirements for two more schools. Which are you going to visit next? The Cyclic School, the Transcendent School, the Arboreal School, or the Lost Clan School? There’s four options, so just pick two. I’d suggest that you give up on the Lost Clan School, as going there is too dangerous. The Cyclic School suits you best, since you are originally from a universe that focuses on cultivation. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to meet the Cyclic School’s requirements. As for the last school, it seems that only the Arboreal School remains."

Lu Yin considered the recent battle Mu Mu had fought. "I’ve heard that every cultivator from the Arboreal Realm has an innate gift. How exactly do they get one?"

Luo Lao'er cleared his throat. "This is connected to the Arboreal Realm’s cultivation method. There are rumors that the Arboreal Realm has some sort of fruit that allows people to gain an affinity with trees. Then, they can experience a wood transformation to obtain an innate gift. Anyone who gets one of those fruits and eats it can then obtain an innate gift from one of the Arboreal Realm’s various trees.”

"Few outsiders know much about the Arboreal Realm. I only managed to learn this much from my father…"

Lu Yin quietly listened as Luo Lao'er shared everything that he knew about the Arboreal Realm. It was clear that the young man was not holding back at this time.

The two left the battlefield and continued to wander about Cliff Town as Lu Yin gradually gained a better understanding of the Arboreal Realm.

After hearing Luo Lao'er's explanation, the first thing that Lu Yin thought of was the Mother Tree. If he cultivated the Arboreal Realm’s power, then would it be possible to obtain an innate gift from the Mother Tree? If so, then why did people from the Arboreal Realm not try to visit the Perennial World?

The massive and powerful Mother Tree was just sitting there, and Lu Yin could not believe that the people from the Arboreal Realm were not at least a little tempted.

"What about the Cyclic Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

Luo Lao'er cleared his throat a second time. "The Cyclic Universe is rather straightforward, as it’s quite similar to other cultivation civilizations. However, they do have one distinct aspect that sets them apart, which is also the reason why they’ve always maintained their position as the leader of the Sixverse Association. That is the eternal presence of their Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. The Cyclic Universe has always maintained Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. Also," the young man’s expression grew solemn, and a touch of reverence entered his voice as he continued speaking, "They have their Great Sovereign."