The ?arīra charged at Shao Yin from the front.

A solitary ?arīra did not pose much of a threat to the man, but Mu Xie had more than just that one ?arīra; his true attack was his ?arīra Kingdom.

For a very long time, Mu Xie had kept his true ?arīra inside the Mother Tree, where he had used it to search for Ye Bo and to train with Origin Tracer.

After Lu Yin managed to find Ye Bo, Mu Xie had been able to release his main ?arīra, and that allowed him to use his true Progenitor's world: ?arīra Kingdom.

The ?arīra suddenly separated, forming a central piece with eight satellites surrounding it. This was the form of Mu Xie’s ?arīra Kingdom, and the entire thing then crashed into Shao Yin. The man was forced back a step, as the power of the attack far exceeded his expectations. This attack was nearly as powerful as one made by a sequence powerhouse.

Mu Ke’s saber chopped down once again.

Shao Yin waved a hand, dispersing the ?arīra Kingdom. He was highly wary of both Mu Ke and Mu Xie, and he prevented any of their attacks from approaching. He was quite frustrated, as he could not understand how these two men were able to erase his attacks. What kind of battle technique were they using?

The entire First Scourge had been thrown into chaos, but Shao Yin had no time to worry about anyone else. His only intention to break free of Origin Tracer.

Unfortunately for Shao Yin, he could not find any way forward, as he was completely unable to comprehend the time-manipulating battle technique.

Helpless, Shao Yin could only retreat. This was not because he lacked the strength to fight against Mu Ke and Mu Xie, as even when cooperating, the two men could not defeat Shao Yin. Still, their techniques were too bizarre, and their relentless assault and total focus on him made Shao Yin uneasy.

As he pulled back, Mu Ke’s attacks grew sharper, and Mu Xie’s ?arīra Kingdom blocked Shao Yin’s path. The ?arīra Kingdom was not able to deal much damage to the man, but it was tough and durable enough that it was difficult for Shao Yin to break through even with his sequence particles.

He tried to move in a different direction, but Mu Ke would not allow it.

Step by step, Shao Yin was forced to move towards the black Mother Tree.

This was exactly what Mu Ke and the others were trying to do, and it was exactly what Lu Yin had told them to do; force Shao Yin to the black Mother Tree.

Shao Yin felt that something was off about Mu Ke and Mu Xie’s actions. Whenever he retreated, the attacks he faced grew softer, yet any time he tried to move in a different direction, the attacks grew fiercer. Something was definitely wrong.

He quickly decided to not go along with their plans. Shao Yin knew that he needed to move in a different direction.

Mu Ke’s saber slashed out again in a fierce attack as the ?arīra Kingdom closed in.

This time, Shao Yin was determined to change direction. He retaliated with a Divine Yin Awl, firing it at the ?arīra Kingdom while dodging Mu Ke’s saber. Shao Yin had managed to figure out that the men could not negate his attacks so long as none of their attacks got close to him.

While Mu Ke and the others had their own techniques, Shao Yin was not an idiot, and he had managed to determine the pattern.

A beam of light shot out, forcing Mu Ke to dodge.

As soon as this happened, Qing Ping stepped forward from where he had been watching carefully. He had also been taught Origin Tracer.

The three disciple brothers had all learned Origin Tracer, though they all had different levels of mastery of the technique. Mu Ke was able to easily negate Shao Yin’s attacks due to also being a sequence powerhouse, while Mu Xie found it more difficult, though he could succeed with great effort. As for Qing Ping, it was much more difficult.

For this reason, he decided not to use Origin Tracer at all, and instead used Judgment.

The set of scales appeared, with one side appearing beneath Qing Ping's feet while the other appeared under Shao Yin's feet.

This was Qing Ping’s method of using the laws of the universe to judge another law. The path he walked was unique to him alone, but it was a path that had once allowed him to judge even Di Qiong. Facing Shao Yin was naturally within Qing Ping’s capabilities.

Shao Yin pointed a finger, intending to destroy Qing Ping's Progenitor's world.

It did not work. Qing Ping's Progenitor's world was not a battle technique or a physical attack. Instead, it was a judgment based on the laws of the universe. Although it did not use sequence particles, it used a shortcut that allowed it to function similarly.

"Judgment: near or far? It must be near."

During the battle against Di Qiong in Aeternus Nation, Qing Ping had used this same judgment to save Lu Yin. The further he had been from his target, the more favorable the judgment had been in Qing Ping’s favor. This had forced Di Qiong to distance himself from Lu Yin. Against Shao Yin, Qing Ping reversed the trial, choosing to be near. This meant that the closer he was to Shao Yin, the more the judgment would be in Qing Ping’s favor, and the worse it would be for Shao Yin.

This was a fair trial, so long as there was no outside interference.

The effectiveness of the battle techniques employed during the judgment should determine the outcome, but with Mu Ke and Mu Xie interfering, things changed.

Shao Yin was relatively close to Qing Ping at the moment, and he could clearly feel that the scales were raising him up. He felt a nameless fear come into being, as though some invisible force was weakening him.

What was going on?

As Qing Ping continued to move closer, Shao Yin felt a chill that only grew worse.

If Mu Ke and Mu Xie were not present, Qing Ping’s judgment might not have posed any danger at all to Shao Yin. Even in the worst case scenario, Shao Yin would suffer harsh injuries. This was because Qing Ping was not invincible, nor was his Judgment.

Shao Yin knew nothing about the severe backlash Qing Ping would face if he forced the Judgment to continue, and Shao Yin could not risk being wounded on the current battlefield.

With Qing Ping closing in, Shao Yin had no choice but to retreat, so that he could maintain a bit of distance.

The further Shao Yin retreated, the more his side of the scales dropped, and the sense of danger faded.

Shao Yin let out a sigh of relief, but then he saw Qing Ping chasing after him.

Shao Yin raised a hand and fired a beam at Qing Ping, but Mu Ke shattered the attack with a sweep of his saber. At the same time, Mu Xie’s ?arīra Kingdom approached from the other side.

Shao Yin was utterly bewildered. The coordinated efforts of these three men indicated a pre-planned strategy. Just what was their goal?

Mu Ke's saber, Origin Tracer, Qing Ping's Judgment, and the relentless pressure from the ?arīra Kingdom worked together to overwhelm Shao Yin, leaving him breathless.

The trio combined their techniques in various manners to counter everything that Shao Yin attempted.

Helpless, he could only continue to retreat, trying to gain as much distance as possible from Qing Ping. However, Qing Ping chased after Shao Yin, moving their fight closer and closer to the black Mother Tree and further from the main battle where Progenitor Xi and the others were fighting.

Mu Ji noticed the odd fight between the four men, but chose to neither intervene nor investigate.

Given the size of the battle across the First Scourge, the attack on Shao Yin was only a small skirmish, and it lacked the scale of other fights.

There was the fierce, ongoing clash between Arrow God and Sovereign Dou Sheng, Lu Tianyi's battle with Progenitor Xi, Kong Tianzhao's fight with Ji Luo, and the combined efforts of Lord Xu and Mu Shen against Ancient God, and all of them were far more eye-catching than what the three disciple brothers were doing.

Even more distracting was the fact that high above everyone else, the Ancient Lightning Locust sent its lightning spreading across the First Scourge while the Lord of Lightning fought it. Blackless God’s black lines filled the sky, giving the entire Scourge the appearance of an apocalypse.

No one dared rise high into the sky.

The First Scourge fell into ruins.

Shao Yin was forced ever closer to the black Mother Tree, and he became increasingly certain that something was wrong. However, Qing Ping's Judgment prevented the man from moving in any other direction.

Moving closer to Qing Ping was dangerous, but so was continuing to be corralled.

Desperate, Shao Yin used the Eight-Star Garan.

The Eight-Star Garan used spatial memory, and this allowed Shao Yin to replicate a previous attack that had occurred within a certain range of him, and use it for himself.

He had no idea what attacks may have been used in the nearby area, but Shao Yin knew that humanity had repeatedly invaded the First Scourge, and had even pushed as far as the black Mother Tree. It was impossible for no powerful attacks to ever have been released in his current location.

Blue lines appeared across his body, and as the lines on his back disappeared, a blue gemstone appeared nearby. Shao Yin grabbed it and swallowed it in one gulp.

Mu Xie and Qing Ping both exclaimed in shock, "Eight-Star Garan?"

Mu Ke's expression fell. He had also heard of the Eight-Star Garan, but how could Shao Yin use it?

If Big Sis or Arch-Elder Zen were present, they would not be surprised by the sight, as they had once attacked Shao Yin with Lu Yin in the Decaying Diablo Universe, and had seen him use the Eight-Star Garan innate gift. The power that this innate gift could unleash depended entirely on how powerful of an attack had occurred in a given area in the past.

As Shao Yin swallowed the blue gemstone, invisible ripples spread out. He raised his hand and shot an arrow at Qing Ping, replicating one of Arrow God's attacks.

The first time that the First Scourge had been invaded, Arrow God had arrived to offer support, and she had done so by firing arrows. Lu Yin had nearly been struck, and the Lightning Lord and Chu Jian had both been badly wounded.

Mu Ke’s saber slashed out, severing Arrow God's attack. While the arrow was powerful, it was not to the level of being able to overpower Mu Ke with a single shot. Arrow God was more of a threat because of her continuous attacks that could suppress the entire battlefield.

However, Arrow God had only ever fired one arrow in the area where Shao Yin stood.

While only one arrow could be replicated, Shao Yin was only getting started. Terrifying lightning crackled across his body, and it lit up an entire region of the Scourge, bright enough to pull everyone’s attention for a moment.

Even high in the sky, Jiang Feng noticed the lightning, recognizing it as his own.

Shao Yin flashed a wicked grin, reveling in the sensation. He had unwittingly replicated the Lord of Lightning's power. Shao Yin turned to face the three men, and sneered at them.

“Die!” he shouted as he unleashed the lightning. The attack shattered the void.

Jiang Feng's expression instantly changed, as he understood the danger the three men faced. He moved to intervene.

Above him, the Ancient Lightning Locust grew enraged, and it looked down as it released a furious roar. Blue lightning flashed from its eyes, tearing through the void. The beast was attacking Shao Yin.

Just as Shao Yin was about to attack Mu Ke and the other two men, he felt a sudden chill. As he looked up, he saw blue lightning falling upon him. Without any hesitation, he redirected the replicated golden lightning towards the falling blue lightning.

The two lightnings collided in the most dazzling spectacle to have occurred in the First Scourge.

No one had expected Shao Yin to suddenly fight against the Ancient Lightning Locust.

Even Shao Yin himself was stunned by the sudden development.

He had intended to use the Lord of Lightning's power to sweep his adversaries away, but had instead found himself targeted by the Ancient Lightning Locust.

The blue lightning was relentless, and it continued to rain down. The golden lightning that surrounded Shao Yin was overwhelmed and suppressed. He had only managed to replicate the power that the Lord of Lightning had released in a single location, and Jiang Feng had not used his full strength there. The Ancient Lightning Locust's full-power attack was unstoppable. The blue lightning burned Shao Yin's skin as it tore it apart. His body was bombarded by the blue lightning, and the golden lightning quickly dissipated.

Desperate, the man used his sequence particles, and released all of them in an attempt to counter the lightning.

When the blue lightning finally crashed into the ground, the exchange ended.

Mu Ke and his companions were left bewildered by the sudden turn of events they had just witnessed. They could not make sense of what had just happened.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA