Chapter 2678: Conferring Another God

In the blink of an eye, every last bit of the Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao was shattered by the slipper. The cloud constructs turned back into a formless energy that reflected the various colors of the Investiture of the Gods’ golden light. All together, the various details combined to make Lu Yin look like some sort of divinity who had descended to earth.

Everyone from the Fenglei clan immediately dropped to their knees.

A-Mei’s mouth was open wide as she stared blankly. Just who was this man who was able to fight against Lord Cloudflow?

Cloudflow's pupils shrank to pinpricks as he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. His Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao was the most powerful attack that he could use at the moment, and truthfully speaking, even if he were to face a thousand Semi-Progenitors at once, every last one of them would be eliminated by the Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao. Despite that, this child had overcome the attack entirely on his own.

Could that slipper belong to the Great Sovereign himself?

"Who are you?" Cloudflow asked in shock. As the man stared at Lu Yin, his expression was completely different from before.

Lu Yin just smiled as the image of Progenitor Nong stepped out from behind him, a hoe in the Progenitor’s hand. As the hoe fell, the Nong family’s Plowing the Land battle technique was used.

While the sight of a hoe being swung might look like a joke during such a battle, Cloudflow was instantly overcome by a sense of terrible danger. This hoe was an image of the Nong family’s ancestor, Progenitor Nong, and Plowing the Land was a very odd battle technique, as Progenitor Nong was able to essentially layer the attacks of everyone who had ever used Plowing the Land on top of his own attack. Because of this, it was as though an endless number of people were attacking Cloudflow with hoes, and the attacks all merged into a single attack that fell upon the man.

The attack struck down upon Cloudflow as his cloud constructs reappeared and rose up to meet the attack.

There was an explosion, and the void shattered, revealing an endless darkness. It was the Hollow, and it spread further and further, devouring all that fell into it.

Lu Yin seized the opening and lashed out with a palm strike that was reinforced by his Wielder - Indestructible power. Cloudflow was taken by surprise while in the middle of retreating from the Hollow, and was smashed to the ground by Lu Yin’s attack.

When Cloudflow struck the ground, he disappeared into the depths of the earth, and it was impossible to know just how deep the man had been pushed. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his shock over this youth’s abilities growing more and more. Not only did a mere child control an energy that could influence the very foundation of universes, but his own strength was also amazing. Cloudflow had been injured by a single palm strike, which was more than what most of the powerhouses from the Transcendent Universe who could use black energy converters were capable of.

The man looked up to see LuYin staring down at him from high above. "What do you think now?"

Blood trickled from the corner of Cloudflow's mouth. He gritted his teeth. "If my limbs hadn't been destroyed, a single swipe of my blade would be enough to kill you!"

"You also follow the path of the saber?" Lu Yin was caught off guard.

Cloudflow sighed in a helpless manner. "My saber skills are enough to kill even the most powerful person in the Transcendent Universe, which is why they crippled my body. My saber is my greatest weapon, and with it, you’ll never be able to best me."

Lu Yin laughed. "People who have already been defeated can only complain about being defeated by greater strength. If you can’t accept your loss, keep going. Honestly, I don’t have any reason to keep you alive. If you’re of no use to me, I can just put you down right now."

"No!" A-Mei screamed as she ran over and dropped to her knees. "Please, don't hurt Lord Cloudflow! I beg you!"

Cloudflow gritted his teeth. "Get up! The people of my Cloudflow Universe don't need to beg for mercy!"

A-Mei ignored the man and continued begging Lu Yin.

Lu Yin looked at A-Mei, and then down at Cloudflow who was still deep underground. "Do you not want to save the Cloudflow Universe?"

A-Mei's pleading paused for a moment, and underground, shock filled Cloudflow's eyes. He thought of his Cloudflow Universe and of all those who worshiped him and followed his path of cultivation. He thought of everyone who had sacrificed themselves before the door to his cell over the years, their screams still echoing in his mind. Despite not having seen their deaths, Cloudflow had profoundly felt their despair. How many of his people had died over the many years? All so that the Transcendent Universe could obtain the data they needed for their experiments. Cloudflow’s people had never been treated as human beings at all.

He would never be able to forget those deaths, and he would never be able to forgive the Transcendent Universe.

While the “law of the jungle” applied, such words would never be enough to erase the grudges that had accumulated.

"Can you allow yourself to die?" Lu Yin said coldly, looking down at Cloudflow.

Cloudflow narrowed his eyes. Die? How could he? He was not willing to give up and forego revenge. He was not willing to abandon the Cloudflow Universe. He was not willing to die.

"Ask this woman just how many of the people from your Cloudflow Universe die every single day. Ask her how many of your people are so desperate that they can’t even see tomorrow, yet they still wait for it, believing that you will return and that you will transform the Cloudflow Universe and save them from their suffering. And yet here you are, asking for death," Lu Yin said.

Cloudflow shouted, "You want to use this to control me?"

"Yes." Lu Yin did not deny it. "All I want is to control you. Why else would I have saved you? You ask for death, but can you really accept death? Do you deserve to die? Are you living for yourself? From the moment those people from the Cloudflow Universe sacrificed their lives to save you, your life has no longer been your own. Go back and check outside your cell and see just how much blood has been spilled there by your people. Ask this woman how many people die every day on the frontlines. What keeps their hopes alive? Even if they know that they might die at the next moment, all of them hope for a miracle to happen, that you will appear on the battlefield and rescue them."

Every word from Lu Yin’s mouth left Cloudflow's heart trembling. The man did not know how to argue at all.

"You want to give up now of all times? Pathetic," Lu Yin spat out indifferently.

A-Mei remained kneeling in front of Lu Yin, but she did not say a word. His words reflected the hopes of everyone from the Cloudflow Universe. They did hope that Cloudflow would be able to return and save them. None were willing to see the man die in such a place.

Cloudflow remained silent, and Lu Yin also said nothing further.

A-Mei stayed on her knees on the ground.

A long time later, still lying on his back, Cloudflow spoke up in a dry and emotionless voice. "What's your name?"

Lu Yin looked down at the man, seeing Cloudflow staring back up at him. "Lu Yin."

"Lu Yin? How do you intend to control me?"

Lu Yin replied, "Be conferred as a god."

Cloudflow had no idea what to think of that.

Above Lu Yin's head, the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods grew brighter and brighter, and the image of Progenitor Nong disappeared. There was no longer any need for the summoned figure to do anything. "This is my Lu family's innate gift: Investiture of the Gods. It allows us to borrow the strength of others, but only from peak powerhouses, giving us the power of multiple experts. As long as you are willing, I can confer you into this scroll, making you a god, which will allow me to call upon your power through the Investiture of the Gods.”

“This must be done willingly. If you are unwilling...” Lu Yin hesitated for a moment before continuing. “If you are unwilling, I can do nothing. It is impossible to hide your reluctance from the Investiture of the Gods, and that will prevent me from being able to confer you as a god. If that happens, I will have to kill you.

"I will not allow a peak powerhouse to go free as my enemy, not to mention that you are aware of who saved you from the Transcendent Universe. Letting you go free is too dangerous for me. I can’t say whether you might turn to the Transcendent Universe and seek refuge with them. To save your Cloudflow Universe, you might be willing to sacrifice your pride.

"I refuse to allow my own universe to become the next Cloudflow Universe, and because of that, I also refuse to take any risks. The people of my universe should not have their lives be the stakes in a gamble. They are free to make their own choices."

Some people were just too naive, and that naivety could have irreversible consequences. Lu Yin had things that he needed to do as well as people whom he had to protect. For this, no matter how ruthless he needed to become, there was nothing he would not do.

How great would it have been if the Origin Universe had never come into contact with the Sixverse Association? How wonderful would it have been if the Origin Universe had never made contact with the Aeternals?

The megaverse was a cruel place. Once a civilization was exposed, they had the choice of doing their best to survive, or of being conquered or destroyed.

The Origin Universe did not need a good and kind person at the helm, but rather someone who could help them survive and remain free and independent.

Cloudflow's eyes positively blazed. "I would never turn to the Transcendent Universe! That is absolutely impossible! I want nothing more than to destroy it!"

"Instead of hating the entire Transcendent Universe, you should hate the people who reduced the people of your Cloudflow Universe to subhumans and used them in their experiments. Most of the people in the Transcendent Universe are completely innocent. My Lu family was banished into Aeternus’s territory by the Sixverse Association, and I don’t know if any of them still live or not. It’s also impossible for me to get revenge on the entire Sixverse Association,” Lu Yin commented. He had no desire to rescue a madman.

Cloudflow stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "Your family is gone too?"

Lu Yin sighed. "You’ll learn more about that soon enough. What do you say? Are you willing to become a god?"

Cloudflow stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "Yes."

A quiver ran through A-Mei's body, and her eyes revealed conflicted emotions. She had no idea what the consequences of being conferred as one of Lu Yin’s gods might be, but this person had repeatedly mentioned controlling Lord Cloudflow. Once he became a god, Lord Cloudflow would be controlled. A-Mei wanted to stop this, but how? Not even Lord Cloudflow could stand up to this man.

A-Mei did not want Lord Cloudflow to die.

He was the symbol of the Cloudflow Universe, and if he was gone, there would be no hope at all for their universe.

Was it really alright to accept being controlled by another if it meant surviving?

A-Mei had no answer, though she also did not need one. Cloudflow had already thought the matter through.

His body slowly floated up to the surface of Aeternus Nation until the man was face to face with Lu Yin. There was no expression on the man’s face, though there was an icy glint deep in his eyes. "I’m willing to be controlled by you, but I still want the chance to get revenge. My Cloudflow Universe has long since fallen under the control of the Transcendent Universe, and suffered horrible abuse. Let me rescue some of my people.”

Rather than a request, this sounded more like begging. Cloudflow was equal to a Progenitor, but he had been reduced to begging. If not for what was happening to the people of the Cloudflow Universe, Cloudflow would happily die before being controlled.

Lu Yin was reminded of A-Mei's despair that one night, and of the helplessness that he had seen in her. He saw that same helplessness in Cloudflow's numbness as the man begged to save his people. This was the fate of the weak. Lu Yin realized that he could never become weak.

The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods grew brighter and brighter, and where there was light, there would also be darkness. The golden light caused Cloudflow to cast a deep shadow.

"Cloudflow, are you willing to be conferred?" Lu Yin asked, his voice sounding different from normal. It was both more solemn, and more sacred, and his words sounded inviolable.

Cloudflow took a deep breath and softly answered, "Yes."

"Are you willing to be conferred?" Lu Yin asked again.

"Yes," Cloudflow answered quickly this time. He had made his decision, and he would not regret it.

With the man’s answer, his shadow moved from behind him and made its way towards the Investiture of the Gods. Once it entered the scroll, Lu Yin would be able to summon an image of Cloudflow. No matter if it was against Cloudflow or anyone else, Lu Yin would be able to use this summon to fight.

The first time Lu Yin had tried to confer a god had been with Senior Brother Mu Xie, but the attempt had failed. Lu Yin’s senior brother was simply too powerful, and his strength was more than what Lu Yin could endure. The backlash had given Lu Yin serious injuries.

His second attempt had been with Progenitor Nong, and that success had given Lu Yin the confidence to try again with Cloudflow. Cloudflow was not necessarily stronger than Progenitor Nong, but Lu Yin was far stronger than when he had made his last attempt. As for Chen Le, Lu Yin did not want to reveal too much to the man. Additionally, Chen Le would never be genuinely willing to be conferred as a god.

There was a bang that shook Lu Yin’s mind. He could feel something else enter his mind as the shadow entered the scroll. He had successfully conferred another god. His Investiture of the Gods had another powerhouse, and Lu Yin now had access to Cloudflow’s Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao.

Cloudflow stared as his own shadow entered the scroll, shocked by this development. This Lu Yin was truly able to borrow his strength. Investiture of the Gods? This name was beyond overbearing. Was this supposed to be an inherited innate gift? That meant that others from the child’s family should possess it as well. Even so, they had been banished! By whom? It was impossible for the Transcendent Universe to be responsible, as they had struggled to deal with just Cloudflow, let alone a family terrifying enough to possess this innate gift.

Could it have been the Great Sovereign?