Chapter 4205: Together

Lu Yin soon finished looking. He slowly released a breath and then looked at Qing Yun with bright eyes. “From now on, we should be seeing quite a bit of each other.”

Qing Yun did not understand.

Lu Yin rolled his die again.

Qing Yun’s jumping line of sight was very useful to him. While there was a flaw in that the innate gift offered no sense of distance, in a situation where he needed to escape, it was invaluable. He might not be able to know how far he would travel, but neither would his enemies.

Moreover, after using a given type of matter, he would be able to remember it and the regions connected to it. As long as he could identify a region, it would serve as a set of coordinates to him.

More importantly, the innate gift allowed him to see extremely far away. It was almost like exploring the cosmos through sight alone.

“Your innate gift is a tremendous help to me.”

Qing Yun smiled. “If it can help you, Mr. Lu, that is enough for me.”

Lu Yin soon delivered Qing Yun and Granny Yin back to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, taking them right to the Frightened Sparrow Terrace. That was where they had wanted to return to.

The jumping line of sight was Qing Yun’s innate gift, and it most likely belonged to the civilization focused on vision techniques that Greater Sancte Awe Gate had mentioned. But if it was an innate gift, how could he obtain it for himself?

Greater Sancte Awe Gate had said that she would take Lu Yin to visit that civilization, but if the ability was only an innate gift, the trip would be pointless. He needed to get a clear answer before leaving.

There were far more people at Frightened Sparrow Terrace than what he had seen in the past. The enormous Awe Gate stood tall and majestic, while the area beyond it was lively and noisy.

Lu Yin did not pay the commotion any attention. He moved straight past the Awe Gate and entered a forest.

He had entered the Mother Tree’s canopy. Referring to it as a forest was merely figurative, as it was actually the branches and leaves of the Mother Tree.

There was nothing special behind the Awe Gate. Greater Sancte Awe Gate simply liked the aesthetic. Lu Yin had visited the region behind the gate once before.

Out of everyone in the human civilization, only a limited number of people were allowed in.

Lu Yin sought out Greater Sancte Awe Gate and let her know everything that he had learned about the jumping line of sight.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate was taken aback. “Qing Yun told you?”

Lu Yin nodded.

“Aside from myself, Granny Yin, and Senior Green Lotus, no one else knows about her innate gift. You, Mr. Lu, are the fourth. It seems that Qing Yun holds you in very high regard.”

Lu Yin was speechless.

This again?

“She yearns only for the same kind of peaceful, simple life that the Seven-Treasure Anuras enjoy.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s voice grew cold. “Without us standing at the front, she would not be able to enjoy even the life she currently leads. What good is constant escape?”

Lu Yin had no desire to debate the ethics of war with the woman. “If I’m not mistaken, the civilization that you intended to take me to is the one that the jumping line of sight comes from. Am I wrong?”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate did not answer immediately. After a brief silence, she finally answered, “Correct.”

“Since it’s an innate gift, how can it be learned?”

“There is a way. Besides, don’t you already have the ability to borrow others’ innate gifts, Mr. Lu?”

Lu Yin considered the question and realized that it was a valid point. “In that case, when can we go?”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate looked out, peering across the Aevum Inch. “We must wait. We need to wait for the most suitable opportunity.”

Lu Yin did not press the matter any further. Since he had received an answer, he would wait, despite wanting to obtain the ability as soon as possible.

He already possessed many innate gifts. There were his original six, which he had gained from his die, and the Champions' Stage and the Investiture of the Gods that he had awakened later. Most recently, he had obtained teleportation.

In fact, Lu Yin had nearly as many innate gifts as he did battle techniques or cultivation arts.

If he told anyone about everything that he possessed, they would never believe him.

Having learned about Qing Yun’s jumping line of sight, Lu Yin no longer placed much hope in acquiring a vision method from Obscura. The rewards that they offered had suddenly become far less tempting.

He no longer intended to have anything to do with the Seal-Eater Civilization.

Right as he was about to leave, Greater Sancte Awe Gate spoke up, “Since you are already here, stay. Join the Frightened Sparrow Terrace Gathering. Enjoy a bit of activity.”

“Frightened Sparrow Terrace Gathering?” Lu Yin was puzzled.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate glanced towards the other side of the massive Awe Gate. “Every so often, a handful of talented youths are invited to gather at my Frightened Sparrow Terrace. The goal is for them to interact with each other, possibly spar. Those who are fortunate are given the opportunity to ask me questions, and then I do my best to help resolve their doubts.”

Lu Yin then remembered. Hundreds of years ago, during his first meeting with Qing Yun at the Autumnspring Slip, she had invited him to the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, offering him a chance to ask Greater Sancte Awe Gate a question. At the time, he had been eager for the opportunity.

So many things had happened since that initial invitation, including even wars with foreign civilizations. As a result, both the Terrace Gathering and the Rift of Suffering’s planned trip to the Mindscape Megaverse had been delayed.

It had felt like the blink of an eye, and yet several centuries had already passed. Coincidentally, it was finally the day of the Terrace Gathering.

“Previously, a great deal of time would pass between each gathering, but our human civilization is constantly advancing, and Master Qing Cao has been making frequent appearances in the Spirit Nidus. All of us Immortals here should walk among our people more often, as well as help the younger generations,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate explained with a bit of emotion in her voice.

Lu Yin nodded. “Since that’s the case, why don’t we go together?”

“After you, Mr. Lu.”

“Please, Senior.”

The Terrace Gathering was an extremely grand event, and everyone invited was an outstanding member of the younger generation. All of them had assembled in the Frightened Sparrow Terrace.

Qing Yun had only managed to return in time to attend thanks to Lu Yin. Without him, she would have missed the event.

The so-called Frightened Sparrow Terrace Gathering was, in essence, a competition regarding sparrows.

There was a rare species of sparrow in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse that was known as the Frightened Sparrow. They only lived in the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, and were its eponymous animal.

Frightened Sparrows were quite unique. At an initial glance, they seemed no different from ordinary sparrows. They would fly away when startled, but unlike other birds, they would never fly away from the Frightened Sparrow Terrace. The furthest they would go was to the edge of the terrace, after which they would simply circle around. The more laps they flew, the more they have been frightened.

It was hard to say if the birds were timid or bold.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate used the sparrows as a means of testing the invited youths. Whoever could make the Frightened Sparrows circle the terrace the greatest number of times would earn the right to ask her a question.

Of course, one condition of the contest was that the sparrows could not be harmed.

Lu Yin was curious. “Can you really observe the abilities of the juniors just by having them scare these Frightened Sparrows?”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate smiled. “Partly. The truth is that the biggest reason for this is that I formed a bond with the Frightened Sparrows in my own youth. These competitions are a bit of nostalgia for me.”

“It sounds more like entertainment,” Lu Yin replied with a smile.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate agreed, saying, “People should relax from time to time. Do you think that, when the children rack their brains coming up with a way of scaring the sparrows, they aren’t also unwinding?”

Lu Yin looked at the youths scattered across the Frightened Sparrow Terrace and nodded.

“To be honest, the Frightened Sparrows are never actually afraid. On the contrary, they are delighted. They consider these scares as nothing more than a way to play. Very few know this secret, so don’t let it slip, Mr. Lu,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate revealed with a laugh.

Lu Yin was taken aback.

No wonder.

He had thought that it sounded a bit far-fetched for Awe Gate to have formed a bond with the birds by scaring them.

But in truth, the young prodigies were happy, the Frightened Sparrows were happy, and Greater Sancte Awe Gate was also happy. Why not do it?

In the past, Tai Hong, the Great Sovereign, had held a tea ceremony to commemorate humanity’s heroes who had died fighting against Aeternus.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate held her own event to encourage the heroes of the present era.

Older powerhouses did consider the younger generation, but they simply had their own ways of helping their juniors. Those means were often misunderstood by the young.

As the time for the Terrace Gathering to begin drew near, everyone started moving closer to the massive gate, where the event would be held.

The gathering was divided into two parts: the first was a time for interactions between the youths so that they could socialize and exchange pointers, while the second focused on the Frightened Sparrows.

Many attendees had arrived at the Frightened Sparrow Terrace months or even years before, waiting for the event to begin. The first half of the event was intended to allow the youths to become familiar with one another and to grow closer.

Naturally, there were also grudges between those who had gathered, but very few dared to act up on the Frightened Sparrow Terrace. At worst, they would spar with each other or attempt to humiliate each other a bit; that was all.

Lu Yin had seen and experienced such things many times himself.

A single gate separated two sides; on one were those who stood at the peak, guiding and directing the whole of human civilization. On the other stood the future, the best of the younger civilization.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate glanced at Lu Yin.

Realistically, Mr. Lu should also be on the other side. He is still so young, to the point where some of those who have gathered here have lived far longer than he has

.

That indicated the true gap between the two sides of the gate.

Lu Yin looked past the Awe Gate and saw many, many familiar faces.

There were people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the Spirit Nidus, as well as the Tianyuan.

From the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, he saw Hong’er, Qiunan Hongye, Lu Siyu, Ming Xiaolong, and Ming Xiaochou. There was also Xian Ding, Wu Jie, Ku Zhou, Luo Ning, Ning Xiao, Yu Shu, Jue Rou, Si Jiushi, and many more.

Some, he had not seen some in hundreds of years, but for cultivators, that was a brief amount of time.

Lu Siyu was still as lively as ever, her eyes sparkling with mischief, betraying her cleverness and making her look quite endearing.

Ming Xiaochou kept glancing around. Long ago, Lu Yin had rescued the man from the Autumnspring Slip, and when Qing Yun had invited Lu Yin to the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, Ming Xiaochou had wanted to tag along. He had since earned an invitation of his own.

Jue Rou had a cold appearance. Few knew that she was actually a chatterbox. Her eyes roamed over the crowd. It was clear she was searching for someone suitable to strike up a conversation with.

Si Jiushi had grown even fatter, his body practically being a cube now.

Qiunan Hongye was someone who had earned Lu Yin’s respect, as had the entire Qiunan clan.

There was also Wu Jie. The man had once enjoyed controlling others, and Lu Yin had taught him a lesson. The man had since become much more honest.

Luo Ning had become much more steady than he had been in the past. When Little Lotus King, Xue Zhan, and the others had gone to Blackmarsh, Luo Ning had not joined them. When he first met Lu Yin, Luo Ning had possessed the courage to gamble with his life, which had earned Lu Yin’s admiration.

The Nine Odysseys Megaverse unquestionably had a great number of geniuses.

From the Spirit Nidus, Zi Yi was attending. Zi Tianshu’s daughter had once challenged Lu Yin in Sunring City, demonstrating a level of boldness.

There was also Little Salamander, Ling Tong, Rong Hua, Zhan Qianguhou, Ru Mu, and others.

Strictly speaking, Ru Mu belonged to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. She had once been injured by the High Seraph, but she had since healed. Judging by the attitudes of those near her, she was given a considerable amount of respect.

Old Salamander was still Lu Yin’s captive, but Little Salamander showed far more restraint than in the past. After all, several centuries had passed.

Ling Tong, the chubby little fellow, was as sly as ever, and he caused Zi Yi to seethe with anger. He stayed carefully hidden.

Rong Hua seemed to have done quite well for himself. He was Rong Xiang’s grandson. In the past, whenever the man saw Qing Yun, he had lit up. He had always been eager to protect the Spirit Nidus, and he had even offended Lu Yin at one point in time. However, his grandfather was someone who could read the situation.

After Yi Shang was captured, Rong Xiang’s attitude toward Lu Yin had changed. He had become humble and respectful, to the point where Lu Yin felt embarrassed to cause any trouble for the man. Because of that, Rong Xiang still controlled the Daquan Domain’s chamber of commerce.

Of those from the Spirit Nidus, the one who garnered the most respect was Yue Susu. She was one of Lu Yin’s genuine subordinates, as he had personally helped her drive Yue Cheng away.

Many people were aware that the Sima Chamber of Commerce essentially belonged to Lu Yin.

Even though he rarely used the company after helping Yue Susu, there was nothing to be done about it. His own growth had progressed far too quickly for any sort of accumulation of resources to keep pace with him.

That did nothing to change the fact that Yue Susu remained Lu Yin’s underling. If not for that, she would have never qualified to receive an invitation.

In terms of just cultivation, she had a long way to go to measure up to the other attendees.

Strictly speaking, some of the people present were not part of humanity’s youngest generation. They made up a small fraction of those who had gathered in the Terrace Gathering, but that fraction formed the strongest group of all. All of them were from Lu Yin’s generation.

The fact that Lu Yin had left them all far behind did not mean that they were lacking, only that Lu Yin’s strength was terrifying.

There were also quite a few from the Tianyuan: Liu Tianmu, Shang Qing, Chu Yuan, Sky Garan, Gu Xiao’er, and Seruzen.

Most of the people from the Tianyuan had returned home long ago, yet a group had stayed in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to cultivate there.