Star Odyssey

Chapter 3445: The Wheel Of Karma

The sword attack seemed casual, and the blade was not even aimed at Lu Yin, but rather at the void.

He easily dodged aside, but something felt wrong. It should not be that easy to avoid a Dukkhan's attack.

Still, it felt too easy to dodge the middle-aged man's sword, and that did not feel right.

The middle-aged man was unbothered by the fact that Lu Yin had avoided the attack, and he continued to slice at the void.

Lu Yin did not hesitate to use Inverse Step, which allowed him to appear in front of the Dukkhan, meeting the falling sword.

The sword dropped, and there was a loud clang as Lu Yin caught the sword, pinching the blade between his fingers. A terrifying force ran along the sword and tried to repel the man’s hand from the hilt. The Dukkhan was caught off guard by Lu Yin’s physical strength. It was no wonder how the young man had defeated Yu Shan so easily. The older man immediately released the sword, which caused it to dissipate before returning to his hand.

“Wild Calligraphy of Sword and Grass: Undying Stroke, Wisdom Domain. Have Yuan Qi come see me. My name is Mr. Li.” The middle-aged man’s sword fell again, and it felt like the final stroke.

Beneath the stars, the grass character (草) appeared, and it quickly transformed into endless sword qi that sliced through space, obliterating an entire region of the universe.

Lu Yin's expression changed. The power of this sword qi gave him chills. What’s more, this was not just sword qi, as it also contained the mysterious power of time reversal. This Dukkhan had comprehended the power of time to a level where he could wield it even better than Seraph Yi.

Just this one grass character was powerful enough to destroy an entire region of the universe. This attack was powerful enough that even some Ortusers might not be able to survive it.

However, overcoming this battle technique was actually quite simple.

Lu Yin’s body shimmered as Lightstream formed a boat around him. The boat sailed in a specific direction, and the powerful sword qi that could annihilate a vast region of the universe simply vanished.

The grass character had been formed from the sword slashes that had disappeared into the void. The attacks had already been released, so they should not have been able to reappear. However, the Dukkhan had used the power of time to bring the attacks back and then combined them to form the character for grass. Because of this, the best way for Lu Yin to counter the technique was to simply prevent time from being manipulated. As a result, the sword qi returned to the void.

Lightstream grew by devouring time that had been removed from the River of Aeons.

The time that was manipulated to bring the sword slashes back into existence was time that could not be part of the River of Aeons.

The Mirari Realm was anchored within the Tianyuan Megaverse, severing the flow of the River of Aeons. This prevented any external megaverses from drawing upon the river to alter the past or future. However, this did not hinder them from cultivating their mastery of time to the extent of rewinding attacks that had already been unleashed.

The Dukkhan had not expected to encounter someone like Lu Yin, who had some level of mastery of the power of aeons.

He could sail along the River of Aeons, and not even Wei Nu, the ferryman of the River of Aeons, could easily escape from Lu Yin.

The middle-aged man stood rooted in place, dumbfounded. What had just happened?

Lu Yin seized the opening and raised a hand to release a spiral of karma. The Dukkhan immediately sensed the danger and retreated, but he had forgotten that Lu Yin had released another spiral of karma earlier. The two spirals met in space, and they formed a wheel that touched the middle-aged man.

Wheel of Karma. This was Lu Yin’s first attempt to improve his Inner Clarity Technique.

When the wheel touched the Dukkhan, he saw multiple scenes unfold. He saw people devoutly holding onto the fragments of his statue and worshiping them. Seeing this brought a great deal of satisfaction, as it met his expectations.

However, he also saw many people trample on the fragments of his statue that they had taken. They insulted the shards and even threw them into stinking pits. These scenes enraged the Dukkhan. How dare these people insult him?

Belief was something that sprouted from within. These people had placed their belief in the Dukkhan, but by failing to fulfill their wishes, their beliefs had become invalid.

The Wheel of Karma showed the middle-aged man many scenes, all of which he could have seen with his own power. After all, the people he was watching were just ordinary humans.

However, for some reason, it felt as though he was seeing these scenes for the first time. The feeling of being trampled and insulted overwhelmed all that he knew, and he even felt as though he himself had been thrown into that revolting pit.

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Dukkhan gasped for breath. This was bad—his Dukkha had become unstable. He stared at Lu Yin in shock. How had the young man accomplished this? Lu Yin had caused the man’s previously stable Dukkha to fluctuate and show ominous signs of losing control.

Lu Yin did not immediately attack, but instead stared at the middle-aged man. The Wheel of Karma was indeed useful, especially against Dukkhans, but it was still lacking in many ways. He had simply discovered one direction in which to develop his Inner Clarity Technique. With time, he would find more.

"Third Boss, that’s very impressive. I underestimated you. You are an even greater threat than Yuan Qi." The Dukkhan’s sword transformed into swirling energy that vanished into space. "Farewell."

As he moved to leave, green sword qi flashed. The Dukkhan stumbled back, struck by a wave of dizziness. He spun back around. "Spiritual force?"

Lu Yin waved his hand, and a setting sun appeared, its last rays of light burning from the horizon!

Burn your martial arts.

The Dukkhan’s expression changed. This was a comprehension technique. In front of him, Progenitor Xi emerged, and she struck out with her sword, releasing unimaginable power.

The stream of energy formed a barrier that blocked Progenitor Xi’s attack. Her sword was not able to penetrate the barrier.

The Dukkhan looked past Progenitor Xi at Lu Yin. “The Wisdom Domain sends their regards. Welcome to the Spirit Nidus!”

With that, the man escaped.

Lu Yin did not try to stop the Dukkhan. He had not revealed all of his strength. After all, the man was from the Wisdom Domain.

Progenitor Xi sheathed her sword. "That man is extremely powerful. While he’s not at the level of Yong Heng, he’s still not easy to deal with."

No matter what, the man was a Dukkhan.

Even so, contact with the Wheel of Karma had caused the man to suffer greatly. If he failed to stabilize his Dukkha, he might regress, which would prevent him from ever being able to enter Dukkha again.

The man had paid a price just a little better than death.

Lu Yin had not expected it to be easy for him to kill a Dukkhan. Of course, it was possible to surround such an expert with others from the Tianyuan Megaverse, or the Origin Progenitor could take action, but it was not yet time for that.

Lu Yin was unable to see through the Wisdom Domain’s schemes.

The dark heir?

Lu Yin had already met the publicly acknowledged heir to the Wisdom Domain, and he was quite eager to meet the secret heir.

…

The Law Domain was home to the Gate of Laws.

The entire Law Domain belonged to the Zhan family, and the Zhan family’s ancestor, Zhan Ming, was one of the current Seven Seraphs.

Shortly after Mr. Li fled, the image of an old man appeared in front of Zhan Ming in the Law Domain.

"You’re being so blatant with this meeting with me. It wouldn’t be good if the High Seraph discovered this." Zhan Ming looked old, but while his hair was white, his face was still quite youthful.

The old man smiled. "There are many things that the High Seraph doesn't want to see, such as the key. It is with the Grandverse Manor, isn't it?"

Zhan Ming’s eyes flashed. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Old friend, are you questioning my intelligence?"

"I always have."

"Heh, the key is with the Grandverse Manor. I’m certain of it."

Zhan Ming stared at the old man. "You were the one behind that alliance of the five domains, weren’t you? Was your goal to test the Grandverse Manor and my Gate of Laws?"

"Without cooperating with the Gate of Laws, the Grandverse Manor would have never been able to learn about that alliance so quickly. It was just a small ploy. Only by understanding your relationship can the next step be taken."

Zhan Ming was curious. "What is your next step? I’d like to know."

The old man smiled. "I’m also curious. How’s your progress with your sequence technique?"

That said, the image of the old man disappeared.

Zhan Ming's expression fell. How much had the old fool figured out?

Zhang Ming had not expected things to take such a turn with the key. He had planned to have Zhan Yan keep the key in the Tianyuan Megaverse, as doing so would allow her to avoid the High Seraph's schemes and also earn some merit. If the Tianyuan Megaverse were to suddenly be reset, things would turn out even better. No matter how he looked at it, they would not have suffered any loss.

Unexpectedly, the Tianyuan Megaverse had not only overcome their crisis, but their humanity had also managed to defeat Aeternus. The Spirit Nidus’s schemes had been uncovered, and Yuan Qi and Zhan Yan had both been captured. Even worse, Zhan Yan had been forced to reveal the key.

The key had fallen into the hands of the Tianyuan Megaverse, and not even the Gate of Laws could force them to return it. They could only follow the path of that Third Boss. The worst part was that the entire matter had been seen through by the old fool.

That man had seen through the matter with the key, and he had made sense of the Gate of Laws’ passive reaction. Not only that, but even Zhan Ming’s own sequence technique had been seen through.

That old fool was one step ahead, always one step ahead.

Zhan Ming’s expression turned grim. The key—he had to get it back.

With five domains deprived of their leadership, the regions surrounding the Grandverse Manor grew much quieter. No one was willing to make trouble for them, and many of their observers left.

Although they had violated multiple rules of the Spirit Nidus and sheltered a number of people who were targeted by powerful factions, the Grandverse Manor’s unfathomable strength left everyone reluctant to provoke them.

Even Heavenspire and the Primal Beastland did not take action, but that was because it was not yet their turn.

No one wanted to suffer the same fate as those five domains.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, more than twenty people joined the Grandverse Manor, all of whom had been forced into dire straits.

Lu Yin knew about their experiences, and he eventually chose a married couple to help.

"I am Bian Ji."

"I am Yan Xiang'er."

"Thank you, Third Boss! You are our savior! If you can help us get our daughter back, both of us will serve you for eternity."

Lu Yin replied, "There’s no need for such thanks. The people of my Grandverse Manor will not be bullied by outsiders."

Everyone who joined the Grandverse Manor had been backed into some corner or another. Lu Yin had chosen this particular couple to help due to the faction that they were involved with: the Bifrost Palace.

Bian Ji and Yan Xiang'er were married, and they had a daughter named Bian Xiaoxiao. However, that girl had been taken away by the Bifrost Palace. Her parents had repeatedly begged the Bifrost Palace to release her, but all of their requests had been denied, and the couple had even been severely injured. After their last request, they had been hunted down. If not for a stroke of good luck, they would not have even survived long enough to join the Grandverse Manor.

The Bifrost Palace had taken Bian Xiaoxiao for a simple reason; she was a perfect match for their battle technique.

The Bifrost Palace was famous for their signature battle technique: the Bifrost Unscathed Sword. When the sword was drawn, it was invincible. Only death would follow. When the Bifrost Unscathed Sword was unleashed, it was one of the few battle techniques that could match the sword techniques of the Ascendant Hall.

However, it was not easy to master the Bifrost Unscathed Sword. It needed specific talent, as well as the ability to adapt to the Unscathed Sword.

The Bifrost Palace sent their people throughout the entire Spirit Nidus, and they would offer the Unscathed Sword to suitable children. If the child could cultivate the technique, they would be taken.

This had originally been a good thing. The leader of the Bifrost Palace, Palace Master Yao, was hailed as the greatest cultivator, only beneath the level of the Seven Seraphs. It was expected that she would one day become a Seraph herself. She stood near the top of the entire Spirit Nidus, and joining the Bifrost Palace would allow anyone to rise above their peers.

However, the Bifrost Palace also had strict rules. When joining the palace, all of a person’s ties with the outside world had to be severed.

This included family, friends, and everything else.

All the children who were taken by the Bifrost Palace would have their memories erased so that they would form a connection to only the Bifrost Palace for the rest of their lives.

Because of this, no one was willing to send their children to the Bifrost Palace.

Bian Xiaoxiao had coincidentally come into contact with the Unscathed Sword and had revealed an unparalleled talent for it. She was considered an exceptional genius, even throughout the many years that the Bifrost Palace had been searching for suitable children. Naturally, the girl had been taken away.

Bian Ji and Yan Xiang'er's pleas meant nothing to the Bifrost Palace. They had repeatedly approached the Bifrost Palace and requested that their daughter be returned to them, but to prevent her parents from influencing her, the Bifrost Palace had sent people to hunt Bian Ji and Yan Xiang’er down.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA