Star Odyssey

Chapter 3298: Jade-Colored

Chapter 3298: Jade-Colored

Yu Leng went insane. This was not a part of the legacy that he had found from the powerful cultivator. Instead, this jade orb was something that he had stumbled upon more recently; it had fallen from the sky like a meteor. No one else had seen it, so he had kept it for himself. This exact item was why Yu Leng had stopped caring about the other cultivators in the Sixverse Academy. If not for the orb, he would have never ignored Xu Kang’s offer of alliance, which was what had led to the current confrontation.

Xu Kang had been infuriated by Yu Leng’s refusal, and his anger had given way to the battle.

Yu Leng was no match for Xu Kang. The young man was indeed a member of the Void Yang clan and had been trained by a Void Suprema. Yu Leng could not compete against that. The legacy that he had found, just as Xu Kang had pointed out, was only enough to help Yu Leng progress slowly. It was not enough for him to continue surpassing his peers. However, the jade orb was different. It was his trump card, his path to becoming a peak powerhouse.

Xu Kang looked at the orb with open interest. "Is that the legacy that you found?"

Yu Leng’s eyes blazed brightly as he looked at the jade-colored orb. He carefully placed a finger on one of the smaller spheres and gently tapped it.

Xu Kang frowned. There were too many strange and mysterious things throughout the various universes. For cultivators, there could be an incredible discrepancy in the power of legacies that were found, and Xu Kang knew that he could not afford to be careless. His life-bound voidforce puppet appeared in front of him. It was a red sword. This puppet allowed Xu Kang to use several times more voidforce energy than other cultivators, and it was how he had defeated Yu Leng so easily. This was the advantage that cultivators from the Voidforce Universe enjoyed.

The red blade radiated a hot killing intent that enveloped Yu Leng. The heat was from the Scorching Sun technique, which was the signature battle technique of the Void Yang clan.

Yu Leng did not seem to notice the danger that he was in. He continued to tap on the jade orb. Soon, a shadow appeared within it. Moments later, a dragonfly-sized insect crawled out of the sphere. Its entire body was the same jade color as the orb. The bug looked as though it had been carved from a single piece of jade, despite how delicate and lifelike it was.

The insect crawled out of the small sphere and onto Yu Leng’s hand.

His breath quickened with excitement. "Good child! You’re such a good child! Come, come."

The insect obediently crawled up Yu Leng’s hand and onto his arm.

The surrounding crowd erupted into mocking laughter. "I thought that you had some kind of incredible legacy, but it’s just a bug?"

"Yu Leng, is this the big secret that you’ve been hiding?"

"At least it’s a pretty bug. It might be worth a bit of money, haha."

Yu Leng gently stroked the insect before looking up at Xu Kang. At that moment, a fierceness warped Yu Leng’s features. "Bite him to death!"

The insect spread its wings and shot towards Xu Kang in a jade streak. It moved so fast that it startled the young man.

However, he did not sense any real danger from the insect. It did not seem to be particularly powerful.

The red sword sliced through the air to cut the insect down. There was a clang, and the bug was knocked to the ground, eliciting more laughter from the crowd.

However, Xu Kang was not laughing, as the insect was still alive.

His life-bound puppet, empowered by the Scorching Sun, should have been more than enough to kill Yu Leng, let alone some mere insect. And yet, the bug had survived.

Yu Leng’s eyes grew wide and filled with excitement as he continued tapping on the small sphere.

Another insect crawled out. It was perfectly identical to the first. Then, to the horror of the audience, more and more insects emerged. They seemed endless. Each one had the same jade color, and they were all exquisitely crafted. They looked to have been carved from jade, despite being living creatures.

The insect that Xu Kang had cut down started to slowly rise from the ground.

People stared in horror as countless insects formed a cloud that flew at Xu Kang.

Everyone fled. While one or two insects were nothing to be scared of, the horde that had appeared certainly was. Even if these insects were not particularly menacing, they were still bugs.

Even ants could be terrifying in large enough numbers.

Xu Kang hurriedly controlled his sword, and it slashed at the cloud of insects. When the sword passed through it, many of the insects were struck down, though none of them died. Instead, the sword trembled and fell to the ground.

Xu Kang’s face grew pale. His voidforce energy was gone; how had he lost his energy so quickly?

The horde of insects swirled through the air as they continued to fly towards the man.

Xu Kang was terrified, and his scalp went numb as the shadow of death loomed over him. Behind him, Yu Leng’s eyes gleamed with a cruel excitement.

At that moment, a powerful wave of voidforce energy surged through the area, crushing the cloud of insects, while also pressing both Yu Leng and Xu Kang to the ground.

Xu Xiangyin had arrived.

The nearby students, who had been frightened by the cloud of insects, quickly bowed to greet the older man as soon as they saw Xu Xiangyin.

Xu Xiangyin frowned as he looked at the cloud of insects that he was holding in place with his voidforce energy. His energy was being drained multiple times faster than normal; was it because of the insects? They seemed to be devouring his voidforce energy, which was something that he had never seen before.

"What’s going on?" Xu Xiangyin shouted sternly.

From where he was lying on the ground, Xu Kang stared at the insects that were just a meter away from him. They looked like delicate carved jade, but their claws were sharp and menacing. The thought of what could have happened left him terrified. If Xu Xiangyin had not arrived in time, Xu Kang knew that he would have died.

"R-Reporting, Instructor. There was a sparring match," a student nearby stammered.

Xu Xiangyin’s eyes swept past Xu Kang and Yu Leng to ultimately settle onto the insects. His voidforce energy was still being drained. Were the bugs still not done?

The man retracted his voidforce energy.

"A spar? If I hadn’t arrived, things would have gone far beyond that," Xu Xiangyin stated as he glared at Yu Leng. "Are these bugs yours?"

Yu Leng remained silent as he pulled all of the insects back and returned them to the sphere without saying a word.

As for Xu Kang, he climbed to his feet, breathing heavily. "They’re his. That’s his legacy."

Xu Xiangyin looked at Xu Kang. "What other people have obtained is none of your concern."

The older man then turned back to Yu Leng. "Despite just being a spar, you went so far. If I hadn’t come, Xu Kang would have died, wouldn’t he?"

Yu Leng put the jade orb away and looked up at Xu Xiangyin, a fanatical light still simmering in his eyes. Recent events had given him a great deal of confidence. Xu Kang was powerful enough that Yu Leng knew that he could never hope to match the man with his own strength. But with his insects, it was easy for Yu Leng to kill the other man. He was certain that he would eventually become a force to be reckoned with in the megaverse.

"I’m talking to you," Xu Xiangyin snapped, losing his patience.

Yu Leng coldly answered, "It was a spar."

Xu Xiangyin’s expression grew cold. "A spar? Then why did you go so far?"

"This is the world of cultivators, where survival of the fittest is the law." Yu Leng threw out the same words Xu Kang had just spoken, which caused the man to grind his teeth.

Xu Xiangyin saw the coldness and ruthlessness in Yu Leng’s eyes and felt a bit of a headache. The old man could roughly guess what had happened, but such events were common in the Sixverse Academy. Some people rose up after being oppressed, while others would collapse beneath the pressure. The Sixverse Academy was intended to be a place to train powerful cultivators, and such experts needed a mindset that matched their strength.

Yu Leng had the right determination, but the cold hatred that filled his eyes was rather concerning.

Xu Xiangyin waved his hand. "Everyone, leave."

Xu Kang shot an icy glare at Yu Leng before leaving with the others.

Yu Leng sneered, as Xu Kang no longer mattered to him. Given enough time, Yu Leng was confident that he would become a peak powerhouse. His insects were just one of his tools.

Just as Yu Leng was about to leave, he heard Xu Xiangyin’s voice. "Yu Leng, I know that you have been bullied, but you need to hold fast. Even Lord Lu was bullied while he was here in the Sixverse Academy, and he still made it through.

"No one is born a powerhouse. Hold to your bottom line, and it will allow you to go further."

Yu Leng was surprised. Lord Lu? That was a name that he had heard before. It was said that, when the Sixverse Academy was first founded, Xu Xiangyin had already been one of the overseers. Even then, he had greatly admired Lord Lu and had helped the younger man through many complications. Xu Xiangyin had even taken Lord Lu to the Voidforce Universe, which was the first step of Lord Lu’s journey into the Sixverse Association.

Xu Xiangyin enjoyed a high status at Sixverse Academy, despite not being a peak powerhouse himself. His relationship with Lord Lu was enough for no one in the entire Sixverse Association to dare risk offending the man.

Yu Leng offered Xu Xiangyin a small bow before leaving.

Xu Xiangyin shook his head. He had only offered a bit of advice. Whether or not Yu Leng listened was up to him.

The world of cultivators was cruel, and no one could know if they would survive the next day. If Yu Leng continued on with the same attitude, he would eventually run into some serious trouble.

However, those insects of his were quite intriguing. Xu Xiangyin had no idea whose legacy had left such bugs behind.

…

Progenitor Chen shot into the Heavens Sect, in a rush to speak with Lu Yin and share what had just happened with him.

Lu Yin was shocked. "That old monster, Yuan Qi? Let’s go! We can’t let him get away!"

Lu Yin immediately contacted Mister Mu, and both of them went with Progenitor Chen to the universe where the Progenitor had been pulled into the Rivers and Mountains Painting. While the chances of Yuan Qi still being there were slim, they needed to at least try.

As expected, they arrived, only to find an empty universe. The Rivers and Mountains Painting was gone.

"That’s to be expected. Yuan Qi won’t just sit around and wait for us to surround him," Mister Mu said, unphased.

"Senior Progenitor Chen, is that Rivers and Mountains Painting really so powerful that even you were nearly trapped?" Lu Yin asked. He was well aware of Progenitor Chen’s strength. Even if it was basically impossible for the Progenitor to defeat Yuan Qi, escaping should not have been a problem. In fact, it was even debatable whether or not Yuan Qi was capable of beating Progenitor Chen. The Progenitor’s battle technique, Linked Palm, grew stronger the more powerful his opponent was. Even Progenitor Xi had not been able to survive a single attack of that palm strike.

At the Immemorial Citadel, Progenitor Xi had been taken out by a single attack. It had been impossible to block it.

Linked Palm was even able to borrow the power of the Immemorial Citadel’s flames. Who could possibly stand up to such power?

Even if Progenitor Chen could not defeat Yuan Qi, the old man should not have been able to stop Progenitor Chen from escaping. And yet, the Progenitor claimed to have only barely gotten away.

There was a hint of fear in Progenitor Chen’s voice as he explained, "That old man’s Rivers and Mountains Painting is something that he called a sequence base. It’s formed from the sequence particles of seventy-seven cultivators, all of whom comprehended the Law of Near and Far. When I was inside it, it felt like I was sinking into a sea of sequence particles. Everything in that painting is made from the same exact kind of sequence particles. I wouldn’t have escaped at all, if I hadn’t been able to borrow the power of those sequence particles with Linked Palm."

The Progenitor then looked over at Mister Mu. "I really have to thank you, Senior. You destroyed that old man’s weapon at the Immemorial Citadel."

Progenitor Chen was referring to the Dao Bell. Yuan Qi had used that bell to hold his own against Mister Mu at the Immemorial Citadel, but during the ultimate battle, Mister Mu had broken the bell. Yuan Qi had been so weakened that he had been forced to flee.

Mister Mu’s expression became serious. "Seventy-seven sequence powerhouses, all of whom mastered the Law of Near and Far?"

Lu Yin was stunned. How could so many cultivators have mastered the same law of the universe?

Progenitor Chen stared out into outer space. "When he first told me that, I was just as shocked as you two. It was like when I first heard that it was possible to give people the strength of a Progenitor. The Cyclic Universe’s Great Sovereign was able to grant such a power to the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. I thought that it had to be a lie when I first heard about it, but after I understood more about the Cyclic Universe, I realized that it was true.

"I don’t think that that old man was lying to me."