Shu Qian’s feeling was quite accurate, as he had indeed been seen through, and it was through his Chronicles Scroll.

Lu Yin used a spiral of karma, penetrating the Chronicles Scroll. With that, he was able to observe the karma of the 3,791 people whose experiences had been gathered. Lu Yin immediately ignored his surroundings, disregarding everything. He seemed to have been thrown into darkness. One by one, the karmic connection spun and transformed into lines. Countless lines were intertwined in a chaotic mess, and each of the lines represented karma; one end was the cause, while the other was the effect, and they were all interconnected.

A casual wave of his hand sent countless lines of karma fluttering and colliding with each other. Some separated, while others connected.

The newly connected karmic lines created new karma, which then collided with each other as well.

Lu Yin’s eyes sparkled. He realized that the separated lines now lacked any sort of karmic connections between them, while those that had connected shared karma. For instance, he saw one line connecting two seemingly unrelated battles. When a connection formed, it revealed an old past. It had been made by the party that had lost the first fight, and when their opponents learned about the truth, the second fight had occurred. The losers had died without ever knowing why they had been attacked.

Seemingly random battles and deaths always had a hidden cause.

Shu Qian had recorded the karma of both sides of that battle, which had then ultimately been connected by the lines of karma. Even Shu Qian was unaware of this connection. Only Lu Yin could find it because he could observe karma and trace a karmic effect back to its related cause. This allowed him to see everything clearly.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

As his surroundings returned to normal, Lu Yin burst into laughter. "Karmic lines, hahahaha! So that’s it! This is karma."

Everything in existence had both a karmic cause and a karmic effect. When cause and effect were connected, they would form karmic lines. Similar karmic lines could naturally be connected, while dissimilar lines could not.

Lu Yin’s Inner Clarity Technique had just gained a new application, and this one was reminiscent of a battle technique.

Shu Qian and the others were startled by Lu Yin’s sudden outburst. No one had any idea what he found so amusing.

Lu Yin rose to his feet. Spirals of karma shot from his fingertips, passing through Ninerings City and the various people in it, creating karmic connections. Lu Yin did not know or even need to know what those connections were; he was simply creating them at random. Then, he waved his hand, causing the karmic lines to collide. Some of the lines connected, which allowed Lu Yin to then see individual karmic connections.

He looked at one person in Ninerings City. This man had become a senior disciple in the Jade Cauldron Sect, but even the man himself was puzzled by his appointment. He only had an average talent, had encountered a few opportunities, and had no backing. Even so, he had been elevated above many of his fellow disciples. It was all because his wife was the daughter of the Jade Cauldron Sect’s Elder Yi Zi.

In his youth, Elder Yi Zi had abandoned his first wife in order to marry the sect master’s daughter. That union had allowed him to become the Jade Cauldron Sect’s Elder Yi Zi. But secretly, Elder Yi Zi had always supported his first wife and their daughter, helping both of them continue cultivating while also plotting to kill his second wife. Elder Yi Zi despised the sect master’s daughter.

Elder Yi Zi was a truly despicable individual.

However, he had never had the courage to tell his daughter the truth, because she hated her father. Only by keeping their connection a secret was Elder Yi Zi able to maintain a harmonious relationship with his daughter. Naturally, he also supported his son-in-law, and he had helped the man rise up, step by step, until he had become a senior disciple in the Jade Cauldron Sect.

No one knew this, but Lu Yin had just learned it.

Lu Yin then turned to look at a couple. They were both aware that they were biological siblings, and yet they had to maintain the guise of a married couple. Their situation was quite tragic, as they had only learned the truth after their wedding.

Then there was an individual with horns on his head, but they were fake. He was a human-form Spirit Rebirth who had disguised himself as a beast-form Spirit Rebirth in order to join the Primal Beastland so that he could be with a beast-form Spirit Rebirth woman he loved. It was true love.

There was also a shady-looking man who had been searching for his biological father, never knowing that his master was actually his father. The father himself was unaware that his disciple was his own son. This was another tragedy.

Lu Yin studied the individual karmic lines, uncovering various stories. He felt like he was in control of everything at this moment.

It was a similar sensation to using his die’s Possession ability, but without the need to Possess anyone. The lines of karma were far more convenient, even if they did reveal much less information.

Ever since Lu Yin had discovered that it was impossible for him to Possess cultivators from the Spirit Nidus with his die, he had lost the feeling of being omniscient and omnipotent. That sensation had finally returned.

By using his Karmic Dao to suppress his karmic backlash and then observing the karmic lines, he felt as though he had finally regained a level of omniscience and omnipotence. His confidence in dealing with the High Seraph had been renewed.

As long as he remained passive, he would always be the one at a disadvantage.

Lu Yin exhaled and slowly sat back down. The High Seraph absolutely could not learn of this matter, or else he might not be able to remain on the sidelines.

Since comprehending karma, Lu Yin had constantly experimented and had cultivated relentlessly. Finally, he was seeing some results.

It was all thanks to Shu Qian.

By recording so many people’s experiences, Shu Qian had allowed Lu Yin to glimpse at countless karmic connections, which had led him to comprehend karmic lines.

"Shu Qian, you’re quite remarkable," Lu Yin praised the man.

Shu Qian was utterly baffled.

Why is he praising me?

No one could make sense of Lu Yin’s thoughts.

Two thumbs-ups appeared, nearly pressed into Shu Qian’s face as both the Megalith and the Pridebeast reacted. They had heard Lu Yin praise Shu Qian, and so they had immediately given him their approval as well.

What stood out to Shu Qian the most were the two sets of massive white teeth.

Also, why did he feel his energy draining away?

"Get back," Lu Yin ordered in exasperation.

"You came to Ninerings City in part because of me, but that was not your entire reason. What else brought you here?"

Shu Qian glanced at the Chronicles Scroll in front of Lu Yin before turning to look out at the Waterspire Grove. "I want to leave my mark here in the Waterspire Grove."

"You still care about the Waterspire Grove, even at your level?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

Shu Qian’s tone grew somber. "This was my master’s dying wish. He wasn’t able to accomplish it himself, so I will do it for him."

Lu Yin handed the Chronicles Scroll back to Shu Qian. "You can leave."

Without hesitating, Shu Qian picked up his Chronicles Scroll and left the tavern. While he had many questions to ask Lu Yin, especially about what had been done to him, Shu Qian understood that there were certain questions that should not be spoken.

At the moment, his greatest dilemma was whether or not he should stay. With the Third Boss in the city, Shu Qian did not feel safe at all.

Once Shu Qian was gone, Old Tal remarked, "He probably won’t stay here, since the Nine Horizons occurs periodically, if he can’t do it this time, he’ll just participate next time. The cycles are rather frequent."

"No, he’ll stay. This is his only opportunity," Lu Yin rebutted firmly.

Old Tal was puzzled by this confidence. "Why is that?"

Lu Yin looked outside. "He’s on the Black Spirit List. Right now, everyone is focused on me, which means that he won’t be targeted, especially since he’s met me and left safely. Next time, he won’t have such certainty. While he might not feel like it’s very long between these cycles, that’s also true of others.

"If he wants to leave his mark on this Waterspire Grove, he’ll need to return to this Nine Horizons. Others can afford to wait."

Old Tal considered this reasoning and soon agreed, which was immediately followed by more praise for Lu Yin. "Third Boss, your foresight is divine! For me to be able to follow you in my lifetime must be due to some blessing I’ve received from my ancestors. I can’t even dream of seeing where you will proceed in the future. But merely being allowed to follow in your footsteps, so long as I can learn even one-thousandth of your wisdom, I will be fully satisfied."

Palace Master Yao and Cai Keqing were already numb to the man’s incessant flattery. As they traveled, Old Tal’s words had gotten so excessive that their scalps had gone numb. Even so, he had never repeated himself. For that alone, it was impressive.

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Shu Qian had not left the city. This was indeed his only chance. In the future, there might be people lying in wait to ambush him.

As for Lu Yin, since Shu Qian had been allowed to go free, there was no fear that the Third Boss would do anything more.

This Third Boss was a complete mystery to Shu Qian, but he assumed that Lu Yin was staying in Ninerings City for the Nine Horizons. This thought caused Shu Qian’s eyes to blaze brightly. He decided to show this Third Boss just how astonishing his own preparations for the Nine Horizons truly were.

Shu Qian had created a comprehension technique specifically for the Nine Horizons.

Comprehension techniques were not anything that can be learned at will. Lu Xiaoxuan’s creation of Flipping the Sky had resulted in a technique that no one else in the Lu family could learn. Only Lu Yin had succeeded in relearning it. Similarly, no one could master Lu Yin’s own comprehension technique, Setting Sun.

Comprehension techniques needed intent first, and then comprehension.

Interestingly, the term comprehension technique was also used in the Spirit Nidus’s cultivation system, but one referred to a realm, while the other referred to a mental state.

Comprehension, huh?

Lu Yin thought that he might as well take a look at the Consciousness Domain. The consciousness that they cultivated there might be something that he could absorb.

He also had another reason to go. Qi Guan was still imprisoned in the Champions' Stage Purgatory.

Ninerings City grew even more lively after Lu Yin’s arrival, though he stayed in the tavern. Eventually, aside from those who were observing Lu Yin, everyone else returned to going about their own business, which allowed Lu Yin to observe the normal, bustling state of the Nine Horizons.

He enjoyed many delicacies from various domains.

He saw women who possessed exotic charm.

He watched as various battle techniques were used, some of which even managed to catch his eye. While not directly useful to him, they offered a bit of inspiration.

Lu Yin’s location became a focal point in Ninerings City. Everyone who arrived would look over to catch a glimpse of the Third Boss, who had become infamous throughout the Spirit Nidus. This was the man who had openly challenged all of the Spirit Nidus’s top experts.

No one could understand how someone as young as Lu Yin could possess such incredible strength.

Some were upset with his presence and wanted to challenge him. However, before they could do anything, they were knocked out by their elders, who stated that it was not the youths’ place to intervene.

"There are only a dozen days left before the Nine Horizons. This time, my Ghostfire Domain will leave a mark in the Waterspire Grove!"

"How arrogant! Your Ghostfire Domain is full of despicable people who are always sneaking about. How could you have the necessary ambition? If anyone does, it’s the people of my Cloudcrane Domain."

"Brothers, there's no need to argue. The Waterspire Grove doesn’t limit things so that only one person can leave their mark here at a time. If you have the ability, all of you can leave a mark behind," a woman stated with a smile. Her face was as pale as a blooming peach blossom, and her features were stunning. As she spoke, her eyes darted towards the tavern, towards Lu Yin, who was sitting inside. Emotions rippled across her eyes, giving her an even more enchanting appearance.

A fight broke out in the distance.

The closer to the start of the Nine Horizons, the more arguments that broke out, as everyone was competing to demonstrate their own ambition.

Lu Yin watched it all with interest. His focus eventually landed on a corner where a man emerged. The man had been standing motionless in that place for a long time, but as the Nine Horizons drew near, he finally moved.

With his first step, he pushed aside all who had been blocking his path.

With his second, he pushed aside all who were obstacles.

With his third, he arrived at where the Ghostfire Domain cultivators were and attacked them with a palm strike.

The cultivators from the Ghostfire Domain sneered as red flames spread out. They were intense enough to burn the void, but the flames were shattered by a single palm strike.

With his fourth step, the man turned to face Crane Apprentice from the Cloudcrane Domain. Crane Apprentice let out a sharp cry as a crane danced through the sky with unmatched ferocity. This was a signature battle technique of the Cloudcrane Domain, but it was also destroyed by the man. The man tore the crane apart with his bare hands, showing no concern for the technique at all.

Crane Apprentice spat out blood as he fell to the ground, shouting, "Who are you? Are you trying to crush all opposition with the Nine Steps in order to enter the Waterspire Grove in one move? You are seeking death!"

The enchanting woman attacked the man, but he did not even turn around. He would take the Nine Steps. He was determined and unstoppable. He refused to retreat.

Despite the woman attacking with countless weapons, the man never wavered. He stood in place as a radiant glow started to emanate from his body.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA