Star Odyssey

Chapter 1042: A Ruthless Person

At this moment, nobody could deny Lu Yin’s strength, as he was indeed qualified to fight against the Ten Arbiters head on. 

Lan Si had not relied on the Vacuum Palm to become an Arbiter, only the Overlaying Stacks Path. Lu Yin had already shown that he had the strength to hold the seat of one of the Ten Arbiters, but what he needed to do now was defeat Lan Si.

However, Lan Si himself was still a mystery, as Lu Yin could not figure out how the Arbiter had managed to retaliate so quickly after being seriously injured. At this rate, Lu Yin would lose.

He had been able to endure Lan Si’s Vacuum Palm in order to observe the technique, find its weakness, and retaliate. This had allowed Lu Yin to set himself up for what seemed to be a guaranteed victory. However, if he could not accurately gauge Lan Si’s full strength, then Lu Yin would not be able to win no matter how hard he fought, as all of his efforts could be overturned by Lan Si. 

Lu Yin looked over at Lan Si, and something suddenly occurred to him. “That was your innate gift.” 

Lan Si panted heavily, and each time he took a breath, the palm imprint on his chest recovered a little. “My innate gift allows me to block out all pain.” 

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank, and his face went pale.

Blocking all perception of pain might seem like a useless innate gift, as it did not help a person in attacking or defending. However, to someone who was adept at physical battles, this innate gift was incredibly powerful. 

Pain was the human body’s instinctive way of protecting itself. Only through the feedback of pain would one learn the limits of their physical body. Once pain was felt, no matter how firm a person’s resolve might be, their actions would still be hindered. This was one of the body’s instinctive reactions, and it could not be avoided. 

During a battle, any hint of carelessness could become the basis for the opponent’s victory.

Being able to block off all perception of pain meant that there would be no restrictions. Even if a person was severely injured, unless their body was completely destroyed, they would still be able to remain clear headed, and their body would move without any delays, just like what Lan Si had just done. Under normal circumstances, even if Lan Si wanted to retaliate, his body’s limits would not have allowed him to do so. At best, he would have been able to defend himself. But because of his innate gift, Lan Si had blocked off the pain and retaliated.

Doing something like this might lead to more severe injuries, but it was still much better than directly suffering another attack from the Twin Suns. 

Since the physical body was not sapient itself, it was unable to differentiate between good pain and bad pain; there was only the pain of injuries. Only the brain had any intelligence.

Lan Si had screened off his body’s pain, which allowed him to use his unclouded intelligence to perfectly control his body. This allowed him to do things that were impossible for normal people. 

Lu Yin instantly understood all of this. It was no wonder how Lan Si had cultivated the Overlaying Stacks Path and the Vacuum Palm. Everything had been established upon his foundation of having an innate gift that blocked off pain. 

“Seventh Bro, this person is clearly ruthless if he can block out all perception of pain. That’s simply disregarding his body—even if he falls apart, he’ll still be able to retaliate. Seventh Bro, stop fighting! This guy’s a freak!” the Ghost Monkey screamed.

Lu Yin clenched his fists, as this was a very tricky situation. He could defeat someone who was even stronger than Lan Si or who had a more powerful innate gift. However, it would be incredibly difficult for him to defeat a person who longed for death.

Lan Si had removed all perception of pain, and to a certain extent, he was essentially a person seeking death. Without any sense of pain, Lan Si would not be defeated unless he was killed. 

“Now do you understand why I want you to admit defeat? I admit that your strength is impressive, and you’re almost on par with me. However, you’ll never be able to defeat me,” Lan Si calmly said. 

He also looked calm despite the deep palm imprint on his chest. It should have left him in agony and even possibly ruptured his organs, but he could not feel the pain.

Lu Yin’s gaze sharpened, as he also had an innate gift. He was fully confident in defeating Lan Si if he could use his die. No matter how much Lan Si blocked off his pain perception, as long as Lu Yin was able to hide in the Timestop Space, he would be able to take medicines and naturally recover from all of his injuries. 

However, Lu Yin could not use his innate gift. At this moment, the entire universe was watching him, and he did not know if anyone would be able to recognize his innate gift that was a die. 

The universe had developed for countless years. Who knew what bizarre events had taken place in the past? 

Still, there was no need to ponder all this right now. Clearly, it would be far too difficult for Lu Yin to defeat Lan Si. 

This was quite a dilemma; using his innate gift would reveal the die, and Lu Yin was hoping to only reveal it if it was absolutely necessary during his battle with Nightking Zhenwu. If not for Nightking Zhenwu ambushing Lu Yin with his Heart Seeker secret technique, Lu Yin would not have been defeated so easily, especially with his die. 

The next time Lu Yin encountered Nightking Zhenwu, as long as he was not ambushed by the Heart Seeker secret technique, he would not lose as easily. After all, Lu Yin had the Stonewall Scriptures, and he could use it to resist the Daynight clan’s spiritual force attacks.

“Seventh Bro, are you going to fight or not? If you’re not, then hurry up and leave. Stalling is just helping this guy,” the Ghost Monkey asked.

Lu Yin was stunned, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He had been distracted and had actually started thinking about Nightking Zhenwu even though he still had not found a way to deal with Lan Si, who he was currently fighting. 

The monkey was right. The longer Lu Yin stalled for, the more Lan Si would benefit.

As he thought about this, Lu Yin tore through the void and threw a palm attack at Lan Si.

Lan Si’s gaze trembled, and he vanished. Lu Yin spread out his domain, and Lan Si appeared as he emerged from the void. At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly unleashed his spiritual force: Night Advent. 

This was the only way for Lu Yin to defeat Lan Si. He had to use his domain to keep track of Lan Si’s whereabouts while using Night Advent at opportune moments to slow down how quickly the Vacuum Palm could be unleashed. 

When Lu Yin released Night Advent, the members of the Daynight clan in the Innerverse were stunned. Night Advent was a powerful battle technique that only a few in the entire Daynight clan had comprehended, and it was no weaker than the Daynight Restoration Technique; Night Advent was merely not as famous. The moment Lu Yin used their technique, the Daynight clan grew furious. 

Nightking Zhenwu’s face looked as gloomy as water; Lu Yin had actually comprehended Night Advent. 

Earlier, Lu Yin had used Night Advent while hidden in the core of Planet Fleabane, but this time, he was using it in the middle of outer space. 

When Night Advent was unleashed, it manifested as an expanse of darkness in front of Lan Si. However, he did not use Vacuum Palm. Since he had already been ambushed once by Lu Yin, Lan Si would not allow himself to be ambushed a second time. Instead, he tore through the void to move to a new location. 

Lu Yin unleashed his domain to continue searching for Lan Si.

Lan Si appeared behind Lu Yin with a hand raised high and ready to attack.

Lu Yin could not use Night Advent repeatedly, but when Lan Si appeared, Lu Yin tapped out and used his Dream Finger. 

Although Lu Yin’s Dream Finger did not suppress an opponent’s spiritual force, it had the special property of solidifying the void, and it was a battle technique from beyond the Upper Three Gates. Unless the disparity of strength was too great, there was no way that Lu Yin’s opponent would be able to stop the void from being frozen, and Lan Si was no exception. 

The Arbiter had never expected Lu Yin to still possess such a battle technique, but even though Vacuum Palm had been delayed for a moment, it was still released. However, the moment Lan Si released the Vacuum Palm, Lu Yin used the Yu Secret Art to divert the attack. Still, this time, Lu Yin had not used Truesight to erase some of the rune lines, and he only shifted the attack. Hence, he did not manage to completely divert the attack, and his body was still forced to endure half of the attack. 

The half was something that Lu Yin was willing to endure, and at this moment, his pupils transformed into runes as he weakened the rune lines on Lan Si’s right hand. He did this right as his Dream Finger pierced through the void. The finger instantly penetrated through Lan Si’s right hand, and the power behind this finger attack continued on after that, ripping open Lan Si’s right arm. 

The two were both thrown back, and half of Lu Yin’s body had gone numb. His nine lined battle force had reached its limits and was about to collapse, and he could no longer release his fatesand. 

Lan Si’s right arm had been shattered, and fresh blood pumped out, flowing into space. He was almost unable to stand at this moment. 

This was a pyrrhic battle, and they were competing in terms of endurance.

There had never been such a miserable battle involving the younger generation of the Outerverse.

Beyond the battle, countless people had already guessed at the outcome of this battle. The majority had favored Lan Si, expecting him to easily defeat Lu Yin. There had also been some who favored Lu Yin, but they had only expected him to lose graciously. 

Instead, the two were having a bitter fight. 

Countless people silently watched the battle on their screens from within the Innerverse.

Liu Shaoqiu, Mu Rong, Ling Que, Wen Qian’er, and the others who sat at the very top of the Top 100 Rankings like Xia Tian, Tai Yuanjun, as well as many others, all watched on in silence.

At this point in the fight, the two had finally revealed all of their trump cards, and many people no longer cared about who won this fight. All that mattered was that these two were among the most powerful people of their generation. 

Even the other Ten Arbiters had to admit that Lu Yin had reached the same level as them.

Off in the distance, the energy that made up the Astral River continued to recede.

Planet Fleabane was still breaking apart, and explosions from its core continued to spread outwards. This moment was coincidentally the planet’s most glorious moment, as it was ending its existence with a literal bang.

The two youths charged at each other once again without any hesitation.

Neither was willing to admit defeat, as the battle would have ended long ago if either had been willing. 

Thump

Thump

Thump

Thump

…

There was another explosion, and the two were both thrown down onto the last remnants of Planet Fleabane. It had almost completely shattered by now, but they had managed to land on a continent that had been sent flying into space. Rivers of boiling lava snaked across the land, and there were some strange creatures twisting about desperately. 

Lan Si raised his hand: Vacuum Palm. 

Lu Yin’s domain had been fixated on Lan Si this entire time, and when the Arbiter moved, Lu Yin used Night Advent again. However, after multiple uses, Lu Yin’s spiritual force had been greatly depleted. Not only was he unable to injure Lan Si this time, but Lu Yin also suffered repercussions since his body was no longer able to endure Lan Si’s Vacuum Palm. 

At this moment, his nine lined battle force finally collapsed. It had endured being struck by at least ten Vacuum Palms from Lan Si. Even the other Ten Arbiters might not be able to endure such abuse, as Lu Yin’s battle force had already reached nine lines, which was the limit.

Lu Yin was knocked into the lava, and when he spat out fresh blood, it was instantly vaporized by the lava’s intense heat. 

Lan Si’s left palm was trembling, and he dropped to the ground. When his hand met the earth, it sank down deeply as his sweat and own blood dripped down. Lan Si’s blood was also being burned away. 

He stared intently at the bottom of the lava; had Lu Yin been defeated? Was he still able to stand? 

Countless eyes focused on the fragment of a continent from the destroyed Planet Fleabane, specifically at the lava on the landmass. 

Lu Yin’s eyes opened wide within the lava. His left arm was completely powerless by now, and his nine lined battle force had been shattered. His fatesand could no longer be released, and his spiritual force was almost completely exhausted. Even his right hand was no longer able to unleash his more powerful attacks while one finger had been crippled from the use of the Dream Finger and the Overlaying Stacks Path. Lu Yin had seldom ever been beaten into such a miserable state, and throughout his nearly twelve years of cultivation, he had experienced very few battles as bitter as this one! 

The red lava obstructed his vision, but it also blocked the vision of the people observing Planet Fleabane. 

Lu Yin slowly opened his right palm. Since he was facing one of the Ten Arbiters, it would not be very respectful if he still held back with any of his abilities. After considering this, he screened off the Ghost Monkey, brought out his die, and tapped it with a finger. This was not cheating, as the die was Lu Yin’s innate gift, just like how Lan Si had an innate gift that allowed him to block off all sense of pain. 

If Lan Si had not used his innate gift to block his pain, then this battle might have already ended.

The die slowly stopped spinning, and Lu Yin stared at it with high expectations, hoping to roll Timestop. As long as he could enter that isolated space, everything would be within his grasp. 

At that moment, Lu Yin’s expression suddenly changed. Through his domain, he could sense that Lan Si had appeared directly above him, and the Arbiter’s star energy was surging as he pushed the lava aside. 

Lu Yin hurriedly gathered his forcefield around him, forming a large tree to stop this attack, but he failed. Lan Si’s gaze trembled, and he raised his left hand to slap out with an attack. This time it was not the Vacuum Palm but rather One Hundred Stacks. 

At that instance, Lu Yin’s die slowly stopped spinning. Five pips: Gift Copy.

There was a thump as the attack struck Lu Yin head on, sending his body flying away from the landmass and back into outer space. Lu Yin tumbled through space as he spat out another mouthful of blood. 

Lan Si stood on the landmass and stared at the distant Lu Yin. “I don’t want to kill you, but it’s time to admit defeat! Your body has already reached its limit.”