Chapter 3825: Spatial Shift

Long Yin charged at Ying Mei from across the distance with two knives in her hands as her body flickered like an illusion.

Mr. Mo and the head archivist moved as one to block the woman, but blood sprayed across the sky within the blink of an eye. Long Yin had accepted a Seed Transfusion, gaining the cultivation of a peak Dukkhan. She was much too powerful for the two men to handle.

At the same time, a gate fell from the sky: Five Fingers: Skyward Gate. The Luo family was also attacking.

Master Yi Bai shot upwards to block the falling gate.

Ying Mei’s face contorted in rage as she shouted, “The Autumnspring Slip has never violated the law! Deathmound is abusing its power! We cannot both continue in this megaverse!”

Long Yin opened her hands, and Deathmound’s sand dunes spread out, shrouding the sky as she continued to race towards Ying Mei.

All of the Autumnspring Slip’s experts were either dead or wounded. None of them could still fight.

No one from any of the organizations that enjoyed a good relationship with the Autumnspring Slip took action. It was not easy to raise a powerhouse, and given Long Yin’s level of combat strength, only the leaders of the major factions could stand up to her.

The dunes reached Ying Mei and buried her. Sand swirled, quickly being stained red by the woman’s blood. Her skin was scoured in an agonizing fashion. From behind her, someone worked to block the sand dunes; it was a figure as pure white as jade. A member of the White Jade Clan had stepped forward. They had been forced to take action, as Long Yin’s hatred for the Autumnspring Slip stemmed from her mother’s death at the hands of the White Jade Clan. If the Autumnspring Slip was destroyed, the White Jade Clan would become the peak lord’s next target.

Yu Ru watched on in absolute horror. He had never imagined that even the Autumnspring Slip would be pushed to such desperate straits.

Farther away stood Lang Ruyu and Si Jiushi, who had been completely forgotten. No one from the Brocade Clan made any move against the two men, and the clan also avoided helping the Autumnspring Slip.

Despite the White Jade Clan’s intervention, they were unable to suppress Long Yin. One woman from the clan was buried beneath the dunes, only to find a flash of cold steel awaiting her. Her head flew from her shoulders as Long Yin descended in front of Ying Mei, two knives gleaming with a deadly glint.

Ying Mei glared at Long Yin with pure hatred. “If you dare to kill me, not even your Great Master will be able to protect you. You are attacking someone who has broken no laws! No faction will tolerate your actions.”

Long Yin replied in a voice as cold as ice, “So what? I’ve waited too long for this day.”

With that, her blade sliced down.

“Qian Shu-!” Ying Mei shrieked in despair.

The One (一) character shot out, ignoring a vast distance as it targeted Long Yin.

Long Yin spun around, crossing her knives and severing the character in two. She looked up and saw Qian Shu, who had a somber expression on his face. He had just entered the brawl.

He had accepted a Seed Transfusion, pushing his cultivation to the peak Dukkhan realm.

Ying Mei closed her eyes. By accepting a Seed Transfusion, Qian Shu was ineligible to return to the Scion Spire. He could never become a Lesser Sancte. His future had been destroyed.

Countless spectators felt their hearts drop, their minds tangled with various emotions. Even if Qian Shu had not been their own hope for the future, there was still a powerful sense of pity at the sight of a peerless genius being forced to give up his potential.

Before, even when facing pressure from Lu Yin, Qian Shu had chosen to seek Qing Yun’s protection instead of accepting a Seed Transfusion. He had clung to his final resort. After everything that had happened, he had been forced to cross the point of no return.

Long Yin laughed as she looked at Qian Shu. “Congratulations! You have just joined us as a peak Dukkhan.”

In the distance, the old man from the Luo family was also smiling.

In fact, all of the Autumnspring Slip’s enemies were smiling.

It was not the Autumnspring Slip’s current strength that people feared, but rather the wildcard that Qian Shu presented. He wanted to become a Lesser Sancte, which entailed becoming a peak Dukkhan through his own efforts without comprehending any sequence particles, in order to do so later, or even become accepted as a disciple of a Greater Sancti. In either situation, it would create a serious problem for many other factions.

That future threat had just been completely nullified.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Even if the Autumnspring Slip did manage to survive the current disaster, their future had already been destroyed. The chances that they could produce another genius to match Qian Shu were slim. On top of that, the other major powers would never allow it.

After all, just how much had the Autumnspring Slip sacrificed for Qian Shu to enter the Scion Spire?

All those efforts had ultimately been for nothing.

Qian Shu ducked his head, his eyes venomous. He did not dare to lift his head, afraid that Qing Yun might see his hatred. He was unwilling to accept this outcome. He wanted to kill and slaughter everyone. His future was gone, and it was all because of the people in front of him: Deathmound, the Luo family, Lu Yin, the Four Commands Sword Sect, and even the Everchange Valley. All of them were to blame for his fate. He wanted to annihilate all of them.

“Do you want to kill me?” Long Yin’s voice reached Qian Shu’s ears.

He forcefully suppressed his murderous thoughts before looking up to meet Long Yin’s gaze.

She sneered at him. “Do you really dare to attack me? I am a part of Deathmound and master of the Third Peak. Now that I’ve confirmed that the Autumnspring Slip has not broken any laws, Deathmound will remove itself from this matter. Tell me, do you still want to make a move?”

Qian Shu clenched his fists so tightly that his nails pierced his palms.

Blood spewed from Ying Mei’s lips as she roared, “Long Yin, you are too cruel!”

Loud, hearty laughter erupted from Long Yin. Far away, the women of the Third Peak joined in. Their laughter was joyful and completely unrestrained.

With this, Deathmound officially withdrew from the battle that the Autumnspring Slip was fighting. They had publicly announced that the sect had not violated any laws. This meant that, if the Autumnspring Slip dared to retaliate against Deathmound, their actions would be regarded as offending all of Deathmound, not just the Third Peak. That would bring the full wrath of Deathmound down upon the sect, as well as the personal retribution of the Great Master.

As for Long Yin’s interference, the women of the Third Peak would certainly face some punishment, but they had not killed anyone from the Autumnspring Slip, which made it highly unlikely that they would face any serious consequences.

On the other hand, the Autumnspring Slip had lost Qian Shu’s future.

In order to save Ying Mei, Qian Shu had sacrificed his future, and it was entirely because of Long Yin’s calculated attack.

The Autumnspring Slip had lost far, far too much.

Qian Shu had lost his future, and yet he was completely unable to retaliate against Long Yin. His rage consumed him, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Ying Mei’s hair was in disarray as she stared daggers at Long Yin, wishing to tear the woman to pieces.

Long Yin sheathed her two knives. “Savor this moment. From the day my mother died, I’ve tasted this same bitterness every single day. Now, it’s your turn.”

Shen then turned away to look at Yu Ru. “You’re next, White Jade Clan.”

Yu Ru’s face managed to grow even more pale.

Everyone was staring at Qian Shu, though their expressions varied greatly. Some gazed at him with pity, and others with scorn. He had lost everything, and he would never even have a chance to strike back. It was an awful joke.

If he had not accepted a Seed Transfusion and had allowed Long Yin’s blade to fall, would she have truly killed Ying Mei? No one could say. In fact, not even Long Yin herself could say for sure. Her greatest enemy was the White Jade Clan, not Ying Mei, but even so, her hatred for Ying Mei was sufficient to momentarily override her reason.

That was why not even Long Yin could say what would have happened without Qian Shu’s interference.

“Thank you, Qian Shu,” Long Yin said. Then, she simply walked away.

Qian Shu trembled with rage.

Ying Mei took a deep breath. “Qian Shu, ignore her. First, we need to kill our true enemy.”

In front of them, numerous characters were clinging to Lu Yin’s body. The writing looked alive as it writhed. While Lu Yin’s eyes were open, they were vacant. It looked as if he could no longer see the real world. Instead, he was looking at the 10,000-Character Scripture World.

Qian Shu’s eyes suddenly locked onto Lu Yin. The hatred and bloodlust in his eyes was no longer hidden. He stepped forward, and five fingers fell. Each one drew the character “One.” It was the simplest of characters, and yet each one held the sharpest edge. This was the character that Qian Shu had obsessed the most over.

Ying Mei had similarly focused on the character “Kill,” as she had intended to lead the way for the Autumnspring Slip and carve a path across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse with blood and steel. However, she had forbidden Qian Shu from focusing on the character “Kill” and had instead forced him to draw “One.” She had hoped that, starting with Qian Shu, the Autumnspring Slip could experience a transformation. Qian Shu’s rise would mark the true beginning of their sect’s legacy.

But that beautiful vision would never come to pass.

The five strokes of the “One” character transformed into deadly blades that slashed at Lu Yin’s entire body. Qian Shu was determined to take the man’s head.

“Be careful!”

“Watch out!”

Lu Siyu and Ming Xiaolong both shouted at the same time that Shui Su screamed in the distance, her face pale.

Countless spectators held their breath as they watched.

Qian Shu’s five slashes were about to connect.

Abruptly, Lu Yin’s vacant eyes flickered and regained focus. He raised a hand and caught the slashes, grabbing Qian Shu’s five fingers.

At the same time, Lu Yin’s withered body started to recover.

He was quite surprised, as he realized that Qian Shu had accepted a Seed Transfusion and become a peak Dukkhan. His improved cultivation caused his bloodlust and the sharpness of his attacks to match Ying Mei’s. Was this what a supreme genius who had entered the Scion Spire was capable of?

Ruler Garden’s Yanbo Hongli had merely been qualified to compete for a place in the Scion Spire, but she had not succeeded. There were countless competitors, but when she had accepted a Seed Transfusion and become a peak Dukkhan, she had gained enough combat strength to pose a threat to Lu Yin and had forced both Yue Ya and Chao Yi to chase her down. Her improved strength had been a significant complication for Lu Yin.

And yet, Qian Shu proved to be far more powerful than Yanbo Hongli had ever been.

When the cultivation of a peak Dukkhan was given to a genius of Qian Shu’s caliber, the result was incomparable power. Even just one attack was enough for Lu Yin’s withered body to immediately start recovering. This meant that all of Qian Shu’s attacks could potentially threaten Lu Yin.

Still, a threat was only a threat. The man lacked the power to truly overcome Lu Yin’s defenses.

Lu Yin tightly grasped Qian Shu’s five fingers, causing the man’s pupils to shrink sharply.

“Retreat!” Ying Mei shrieked. She understood just how freakish Lu Yin’s physical might was.

Lu Yin suddenly exerted a bit of force, flinging his arm to the side, only to find that his hand held nothing.

Hmm? Where did Qian Shu go?

Qian Shu hovered in the air above, staring down at Lu Yin with a vicious gleam in his eyes.

“Die,” he snarled as his hand swung to release the same five slashes as before. The attacks struck Lu Yin, causing his withered body to start recovering again.

Qian Shu was taken aback. Just what kind of defenses did this man have?

Lu Yin was similarly confused. He had clearly just grabbed the man.

Qing Yun suddenly spoke up, a hint of admiration in her voice, “As expected of one of the Scion Spire’s geniuses. He possesses a body that can cross dimensions. While he is focused on this place, his body is actually in a parallel universe.”

Those who heard her grew confused.

Qian Shu's eyes flickered. It was clear to him that Qing Yun’s explanation was intended to help Lu Yin understand the situation, but that did not actually matter. Even if others knew about Qian Shu’s secret, what of it? No one could counter his ability.

“Big Sis, what does that mean?” Lu Siyu asked curiously.

Qing Yun explained, “It means that he is able to overlap layers of void to appear in either the current universe or a parallel universe, while appearing to be present in the same universe as others. In that state, he can attack or defend at will. Within the Scion Spire, he's known as the Irresolvable One.”

Lu Siyu was startled. “There’s actually an ability like that?”

Ming Xiaolong was also stunned. “Only one genius every few eras qualifies to enter the Scion Spire. While there may seem to be a few people in each era who are qualified to compete for a place, few ever succeed. Qian Shu is not from our era. During his time, he was peerless within his generation.”

Everyone in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse knew of the Scion Spire, but few clearly understood those who slept within it.

What did it mean to be a genius born once every few eras? Such a concept was much too abstract.

Many were referred to as geniuses, or even considered invincible among their peers, but there were only eight pods in the Scion Spire.

The spire’s eight occupants were chosen from the greatest talents across multiple eras.

Such people were rarer than one in a billion.

This was why the Autumnspring Slip had chosen to go to war instead of abandon Qian Shu. Granny Ya, a peak Dukkhan, had always remained at the man’s side in order to protect him.