Chapter 2540: Sudden Contest

Seeing Lu Yin close his eyes again left Xu Ji speechless. "You're trying again?"

"It's not like I have anything to lose," Lu Yin replied as he thought about Big Face Tree.

Just thinking of that tree gave him a headache. His mind was filled with the booming voice as it recounted the story of the Third Mainland's glorious war. After hearing it so many times, Lu Yin could recite the entire thing. After a moment, he opened his eyes and took a step forward. He then grabbed… a tetra-chromatic fruit.

The entire Arboreal School fell silent.

Xu Ji was utterly dumbfounded. Was this even possible?

This was the day that the students of the Arboreal School finally understood who the students in the Voidforce and Lost Clan Schools had felt before.

When Lu Yin triggered the Voidforce Tide and pulled down the village, the students of the Voidforce School had been left in a collective state of shock.

When he had successfully finished tapping all three cards in less than half an hour, and then found the Hidden Mountain card, the people of the Lost Clan School had been stunned.

At this moment, he had successfully sensed and grabbed different wood fruits three times in a row, one of which was a tetra-chromatic fruit. At this moment, the people of the Arboreal School were struck speechless.

Even Mu Sanye was visibly taken aback. Was this actually possible? He had not seen such a thing in many years.

Xu Xiangyin actually recovered the quickest. He moved to stand in front of Mu Sanye and showed a friendly smile. "Trustworthiness is the most important quality in a person."

Seeing Xu Xiangyin's smile, Mu Sanye felt irritated and somewhat resentful. Given Xuan Qi’s Yin's talent, he could easily be accepted as a member of the Arboreal Realm, but because the Voidforce Universe had made a move first, Mu San had missed such a talented individual. Why had Xuan Qi not gone to the Arboreal School first?

"Talent is the driving force behind a civilization’s development," Mu Sanye somberly replied.

The comment struck a nerve in Xu Xiangyin. "Mu San, you promised you wouldn’t try to steal him away from me."

"I regret that," Mu Sanye replied.

Xu Xiangyin's eyes grew large. "You-"

Before Xu Xiangyin could even get started, Mu Sanye raised a hand to cut the man off. Rubbing his forehead, Mu San said, "I regret it, but I did indeed tell you that I wouldn’t try to fight you for him, and I will keep my word."

Xu Xiangyin sighed in relief and a smile resurfaced on his face.

"However, Xu Xiangyin, you need to compensate me," Mu Sanye continued in a low voice.

Xu Xiangyin wanted to argue, but after considering the situation for a moment, he decided that it would be best to offer some sort of compensation to avoid any further complications. After all, the youth was simply stood out too much.

"Don't hesitate. That child just obtained the tetra-chromatic fruit, which means that he is eligible to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary. You know what that means. If he can acquire an incredible innate gift, it can change his future. Compared to that, the compensation you give to me means nothing," Mu Sanye said gloomily.

Naturally, Xu Xiangyin understood this as well. "Your Arboreal Realm’s Mu Mu has similarly been given the opportunity to search for a powerful voidforce puppet in my Voidforce Universe, which is our universe’s equivalent to the opportunity Xuan Qi has just obtained. Nobody loses out."

"Mu Mu can’t compare to Xuan Qi's talent," Mu Sanye snorted.

Xu Xiangyin quickly changed the topic.

A green bubble floated up next to Lu Yin. He reached out a hand to gently touch it. A slight bit of energy entered his body from his fingertips, similar to when he absorbed energy from a star crystal. It was almost indiscernible, but this was the power that the people from the Arboreal Realm cultivated. It was another energy that was a type of power that had been created by immensely powerful individuals who could induce changes to the universe.

He wanted to guide the energy to the system of energy in his chest, but it was not the time. He wanted to try one more time to choose a fruit.

While Lu Yin was familiar with Big Face Tree, that was not the tree he was the most familiar with. That could only be Sapling!

"Xuan Qi-" Xu Ji started speaking, but stopped after uttering just two words. He stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. What is he doing? He just closed his eyes again? Is he trying again?

The crowd remained rooted in place in absolute silence. Their expressions ranged from shock to confusion. Lu Yin had shocked them too much in too short a time. They all watched as Lu Yin closed his eyes once more, and a ridiculous premonition arose in people’s minds: would he actually pick a penta-chromatic fruit?

Despite their disbelief, the inexplicable premonition steadily intensified within the people watching.

Outside of the Arboreal School, Mu Sanye, Xu Xiangyin, and You Teng all stared at “Xuan Qi.” When they saw him close his eyes again, the same thought struck them: He isn’t trying again, is he?

Mu Sanye and the other two had never imagined they would see the day that their understanding of reality would be completely shattered.

Picking a Wood Fruit was not nearly as simple as it seemed. In the Arboreal Realm, there were numerous families and sects who longed to pick the best Wood Fruits, but had no success. These families and sects would go to great lengths as they sought out the strangest trees in the entire universe, and would even search parallel universes, just to allow their descendants contact with them. Even so, it was considered rather impressive if those descendants could pick a tri-chromatic fruit.

Most of the Arboreal Realm’s cultivators were quite satisfied with picking a di-chromatic fruit.

He Shu, Shao Qingfeng, and the others in the Sixverse Academy were regarded as the greatest geniuses of their own universes, which had led to many of them successfully obtaining tri-chromatic fruits when in the academy. Even so, overall, there was a very low rate of people from the academy obtaining such fruits, and that was not even mentions the tetra-chromatic fruit that Xu Ji had picked.

The fact that Lu Yin had already picked a tri-chromatic fruit indicated that he had seen some incredible trees, which could only be expected. If he could pick a tetra-chromatic fruit, it meant that the trees he had seen were extraordinary, even within the Arboreal Realm. There was no other way to immediately pick a tetra-chromatic fruit. Despite that, he was already making another attempt, which meant that there were even more powerful trees that he was intimately close to.

How many extraordinary things could an ordinary person see throughout their entire lifetime? Just what had this child witnessed? What had he come into contact with?

Regardless of whether Xuan Qi would succeed or fail, the fact that he was willing to try again demonstrated a measure of confidence.

Lu Yin’s time spent with Sapling entered his mind. Those delightful green leaves, the way that Lu Yin had gently stroked the twigs and branches, the way the little tree had always depended on him and trusted him, all such thoughts left Lu Yin feeling as though Sapling was right beside him.

At this same time, within the void in the Fifth Mainland’s Heavens Sect, Sapling’s green leaves suddenly lifted up from its branches, and its trunk shifted. Limbs slowly stretched out, as though stroking something. There was a sense of dependence that could be felt.

It was a dependence that transcended the barriers between parallel universes.

Lu Yin reached out a hand, a warm smile touching his lips. As far as he was concerned, Sapling was like his own child.

Suddenly, he felt something soft in his hand.

What’s this? Lu Yin opened his eyes to find a Wood Fruit had appeared in his hand at some point in time. He stared at the five shining colors. Is this… a penta-chromatic fruit?

There was a whoosh, and Mu Sanye instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin, his eyes wide as he placed a hand on Lu Yin's shoulder, already preparing to whisk him away.

Suddenly, Xu Xiangyin also appeared. "Mu San, what are you doing?"

Lu Yin had sensed the two men long before they had appeared, but he made no efforts to resist and simply allowed them to grab hold of him.

"Old Xu, just take this as the Arboreal Realm owing you a debt. Please give him to us," Mu Sanye spoke with a soft voice, yet it carried an unprecedented weight. A rarely seen seriousness could be seen on his face.

Xu Xiangyin angrily retorted, "Impossible! Xuan Qi is already part of my Voidforce Universe! No one is allowed to take him away. Mu San, you promised you wouldn't try to steal him!"

Mu Sanye’s brow furrowed tightly. "This isn't the time for such discussions. Do you understand the significance of a penta-chromatic fruit proactively entering his hand?"

Xu Xiangyin replied, "In that case, do you understand what it means to trigger a Voidforce Tide while cultivating?"

"Old Xu, stop making trouble! Xuan Qi belongs to my Arboreal Realm."

"Xuan Qi must return with me to the Voidforce Universe. Don't even dream of taking him away."

The nearby crowd watched with complicated expressions, disbelief filling their eyes. Not only had Xuan Wi succeeded, the penta-chromatic fruit he had obtained had practically jumped into his hand. This was a myth in the Arboreal Realm, as there was not a single record of such a thing actually happening. How could it have occurred?

Xu Ji turned and left, eagerness filling his eyes. With such opponent, he would not be lonely. The future Voidforce Universe would belong to them.

The argument between Mu Sanye and Xu Xiangyin did not stop even after the students had all dispersed. Instead, it grew even more heated.

Lu Yin had a headache. "Seniors, what is happening?"

Xu Xiangyin rolled his eyes. What's happening? The man was on the verge of yelling at Xuan Qi to stop standing out so much. His performance in the Arboreal School had been no less impressive than his performance in the Voidforce School. This was no longer a merely being a genius, but an absolute monster. If not for the Lost Clan’s closed nature, there would definitely be another competitor fighting for the youth, considering his performance in the Lost Clan School.

“You'll become a Arborean."

Arborean was the cultivation rank that was equivalent to a Progenitor in the Fifth Mainland.

Xu Xiangyin cursed, "Mu San, you're shameless! How dare you promise him that he will become a Arborean when you aren’t even one yourself?"

"That doesn't matter. In the past, I was only able to pick a tri-chromatic fruit, but Xuan Qi actually compelled a penta-chromatic fruit to offer itself to him! His talent surpasses that of anyone in the entire Arboreal Realm! Becoming a Arborean is simply a matter of time."

"Nonsense! The road to becoming a peak powerhouse will be influenced by countless factors. It's absurd for anyone to claim that they will reach that level with absolute certainty."

"Then how do you explain the Cyclic Universe?"

Xu Xiangyin choked. The Cyclic Universe was an abnormal universe. Despite the passing of countless years, there had always been three Sovereigns and nine Saints. This was not a question of whether or not it was possible for one to reach that level on their own, but rather whether or not they could be bestowed such a position by the Great Sovereign.

"And how do you explain the Transcendent Universe?" Mu Sanye continued.

As long as anyone from the Transcendent Universe was capable of physically enduring the power, they could control a black energy converter, which would instantly grant them the power of a peak powerhouse.

Xu Xiangyin gritted his teeth. "Your Arboreal Realm can't do the same."

"That's simply because you are ignorant," Mu Sanye retorted.

"Everything out of your mouth is just a load of crap!"

"You're the one spouting a load of crap! Why haven’t you promised Xuan Qi that he can become a peak powerhouse? Because you can't!"

"You!"

...

Lu Yin remained calm throughout everything. Even this argument was within his expectations. Given the talent he had demonstrated, it would be more strange if people were not fighting over him. He felt like he was impersonating Yu Hao once again. In order to gain a better understanding of the Sixverse Association, it was necessary that he display such talent, and he had already proven himself proficient with such acts.

In the end, You Teng appeared and intervened to end the argument.

No matter what, Lu Yin was still a part of the Transcendent Universe. If there were no contenders, he would eventually be acknowledged as a member of the Voidforce Universe, but with competition appearing from the Arboreal Realm, Xuan Qi’s eventual destination had become uncertain.

This was precisely Xu Xiangyin's greatest fear. Xuan Qi’s fate did not only depend on his own choices, but also on the opinion of the Transcendent Universe. For this reason, both men were quite polite to You Teng.

"No matter what, we shouldn't be disrupting his cultivation. No matter which universe Xuan Qi ultimately belongs to, it will still be a blessing to humanity. I would like to invite you both to the Transcendent Universe for a discussion," You Teng stated.

Mu Sanye and Xu Xiangyin exchanged glances before nodding in unison. "That’s not a problem."

"Xuan Qi, there's no need for you to concern yourself with such thoughts. I know that you hope to join our Voidforce Universe, so rest assured, I will definitely get you there," Xu Xiangyin smiled as he spoke to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin bowed. "Thank you, Senior."

Mu Sanye leaned close and laughed. "Xuan Qi, stay here and relax. Learn more about my Arboreal Realm, and you will soon discover that it is even more formidable than that Void-whatever Universe. We offer humanity’s true orthodox cultivation method."

" Mu San, don't be so shameless!" Xu Xiangyin grumbled.

"Enough, both of you. It's time to go," You Teng said. He then offered a smile to Lu Yin before leaving.