Star Odyssey

Chapter 1304: Hidden Innate Gift

The Mountains and Seas Imprint clashed against the tip of Yōu Qi’s spear. The specks of darkness rapidly expanded and gradually covered the entire area, even spreading towards the Mountains and Sea Imprint.

Right behind the shockwave caused by this impact, the black specks crashed down towards the foot of Zenith Mountain like meteors, causing countless people to scream as they fled in terror.

Yōu Qi’s spear had already cracked, but he still did not give up. Instead, he once again borrowed the Eleventh Sword and launched it at Wu Taibai.

Wu Taibai was essentially facing a joint attack from Liu Tianmu and Yōu Qi right now. Right before the Eleventh Sword was about to strike him, he raised his right hand and curled all five fingers. Just like Lu Yin, Wu Taibai grabbed ahold of the Eleventh Sword and threw it at Xia Jiuyou.

The crowd was stunned; it was understandable that Lu Yin had been able to grab the Eleventh Sword, as he possessed a physical strength that even surpassed Yuhua Mavis’s. However, how had Wu Taibai managed to do the same? And more importantly, why did he also throw the attack at Xia Jiuyou?

Xia Jiuyou was speechless, and he hurriedly avoided the incoming attack. He then stared at Wu Taibai; did this fellow also have some sort of grudge against him?

Wu Taibai was actually not overly concerned with where he had thrown the Eleventh Sword. In the next instant, he tore through the void, disappearing briefly before reappearing right before Yōu Qi. Lu Yin’s eyes snapped wide open. Yōu Qi’s ability to turn immaterial was still a pain to deal with, so Lu Yin wanted to see what Wu Taibai would do next.

While this thought ran through Lu Yin’s mind, his pupils transformed into runes as he carefully observed Wu Taibai.

Wu Taibai flashed over in front of Yōu Qi, and with a swipe of his hand, Yōu Qi’s left arm was severed and fell to the ground and was engulfed by the black flames.

Lu Yin’s gaze grew sharp. He had noticed some runes gathering in Wu Taibai’s palm, but what exactly had he just done?

No one had managed to see through Wu Taibai’s actions with the sole exception of one person: Wang Yi.

Wang Yi stared at the scene in shock. He had not expected to witness a skill of such caliber in this place. So that’s what the “Tai” in “Wu Taibai” means.

Yōu Qi had been defeated, surprising everyone who was familiar with Burial Garden.

The cultivators from the Sixth Mainland erupted in cheers. They did not care how it happened, and they were happy as long as their Daosource Three Skies won.

Wu Taibai’s victory over Yōu Qi drew a lot of attention, but just a moment before that, at the same time as when Wang Yi shattered Wen Sansi’s barrier, a fraction of the universe’s audience shifted their attention over to a certain girl—Xiao Qing. Once they did so, they never looked away again. More and more people started to watch her battle, and it was entirely because she had managed to severely injure Bu Kong.

Not even Lu Yin had noticed that Xiao Qing had wounded Bu Kong, as he had only noticed Xiao Qing’s battle after Wu Taibai secured victory. Lu Yin had been so focused on Wu Taibai’s match that he had completely forgotten about Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing was the true Realmling of the Sixth Mainland’s Sage Martial Realm, and her opponent was Bu Kong, one of the Daosource Three Skies.

Most people had assumed that their match was pointless, like the one between the Greenmen Duo’s Skinny Bro and Zhi Yi. However, for this battle, even the people from the Sixth Mainland believed it to be meaningless as one of the two contestants clearly held the upper hand.

At the bottom of a staircase, blood dripped down from Bu Kong’s lips. He stared at the woman across from him in disbelief. She was actually capable of hurting him.

After the match between Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu, Shang Qing had continued making his way up towards the mountain’s peak. It was believed to be a matter of fact that Bu Kong would also make his way up the stairs, but here he was, being held back by Xiao Qing.

It was perfectly normal for the Sixth Mainland’s Realmlings to challenge the Daosource Three Skies. Even though the Daosource Three Skies were a highly dignified trio, that did not mean that no one had ever dared to challenge them before. It was only one after another bloody battle that the Daosource Three Skies had constructed their remarkable reputation.

Bu Kong had not been concerned about his match with Xiao Qing, but he was suddenly forced to rethink this matter.

Boundless star energy descended, and Xiao Qing laughed cheekily. “If you’re still thinking of injecting a sourcebox array into my body, it’s useless against me.”

As she spoke, she twirled some strands of her hair around a finger on her right hand. Then, when she raised her hand, dozens of hair strands flew out at Bu Kong.

Bu Kong’s expression stiffened; this was the same technique that had managed to injure him earlier. Although they looked like ordinary strands of hair, each and every strand contained a martial print.

It was simply extraordinary.

Martial prints had been created by the Progenitor of Combat, and they were meant to act as a shortcut for cultivators from the Progenitor of Combat’s Territory to raise their strength. Like the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ Territory’s bloodlines or the Progenitor of Secret Arts’ Territory’s secret techniques, every cultivator from the Progenitor of Combat Territory cultivated a martial print. It was common sense that every person was only allowed to cultivate a single martial print.

In contrast, Xiao Qing had melded a martial print omtp each strand of her hair, causing the power behind each strand of hair to rise immensely. Any single strand of her hair was enough to make the other Realmlings cower in fear, and when dozens of hair strands were fired out at once, then even the formidable Bu Kong would be caught by surprise. The impact had caused him to cough up blood.

More importantly, Xiao Qing had discovered Bu Kong’s secret method of dispersing a person’s star energy.

The sourcebox array that he had comprehended was called Bind. As its name suggested, it could keep anyone within the array fixed in place. Like what had happened during the fight in the Cosmic Sea, this sourcebox array could defeat a large number of powerhouses at the same time, and as his comprehension of the array deepened, Bu Kong had stopped using it to stun all his enemies within a specific area. Instead, he injected it straight into his target’s body to freeze their star energy, which then caused it to disperse.

That was how he had dispersed Lei Nü’s star energy reserves in one go.

When it came to mastery of star energy, Bu Kong actually could not compare to Wu Dan, but Bu Kong was more successful in battles than Wu Dan. This sourcebox array was the secret behind Bu Kong’s success, but Xiao Qing had managed to completely see through it.

Lu Yin stopped in place on the stairs. He no longer continued walking up the stairs, instead turning to focus on Xiao Qing.

She had actually been able to understand the secret behind how Bu Kong had dispersed his enemy’s star energy? Lu Yin had only learned of this matter from Xia Luo, as Lu Yin had not been able to figure it out for himself by just observing Bu Kong. Surprisingly enough, Xiao Qing had seen through it. A person like her could only be described as someone who was incredibly meticulous.

While seeing Bu Kong constantly avoid Xiao Qing’s attacks, Lu Yin’s expression turned solemn, and he was reminded of when they had all been searching around the Daosource Sect’s ruins together. Back then, he had already known that Mr. Bai and Xiao Qing were not average people despite his limited interactions with them.

Two of the final twenty contestants in ZENITH actually turned out to be the same people: Wu Taibai of the Daosource Three Skies and a Realmling from the Sage Martial Realm.

The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more convinced he became that Wu Taibai and Xiao Qing had actually already known about each other’s identities the moment they had traded blows after passing through that door! That blow had not been as simple as it seemed.

One strand of hair after another went flying out towards Bu Kong. He raised his hand in an attempt to decompose Xiao Qing’s innate gift, but he instead ended up being restrained by the martial prints. Every single strand of Xiao Qing’s hair contained a martial print, which was unbelievable. Even the Progenitor of Combat would have been shocked to see this!

Bu Kong was certain that, other than the Progenitor of Combat, the person with the deepest understanding of martial prints was the woman right before him. Even the Sage Martial Realm’s Imprinters had never heard of anyone being able to utilize martial prints to such a level, and it was possible that not even Wu Taibai was able to do so.

Outside the barrier formed by the blackhole that isolated the Starfall Sea, the Progenitor of Combat looked towards Zenith Mountain, and shock flashed through his eyes.

Wu Taibai was his own disciple, but at this moment, the Progenitor was deeply impressed by Xiao Qing. This girl was using the martial prints that the Progenitor had created with such skill that she did not need anything else to suppress a disciple of the Progenitor of Secret Arts to the point where he was not even able to counterattack.

At that same moment, the Progenitor of Secret Arts was also observing the battles on Zenith Mountain. His expression remained unchanged even when he saw Bu Kong being suppressed. No one knew what the Progenitor was thinking about.

Bland expressions painted the faces of countless cultivators from the Sixth Mainland. Who would have dreamed that a Realmling would be able to force one of the Daosource Three Skies to the point of doing nothing but dodging? This was a battle to be recorded down in history.

Bu Kong finally reached the point where he was sick of the constant attacks. As dozens of hair strands pierced through the void and were just about to strike him, he raised a hand. “Time Reversal Technique.”

Xiao Qing had used martial prints to prevent Bu Kong from using his innate gift or dispersing her star energy, along with many other possible actions. She had far too much hair, and each and every hair strand contained a martial print. Nobody could withstand such an assault.

After the Time Reversal Technique was unleashed, the strands of hair that should have struck Bu Kong suddenly vanished. He repeatedly attacked the void with one hand, building up multiple layers of star energy. Before long, the entire battlefield had been encapsulated in star energy. Who cared if people knew exactly how he was dispersing his opponents’ star energy? It was still pointless as long as they were unable to defend themselves against it.

Xiao Qing closely observed her surroundings. She was a Lockbreaker herself, and although she had neither become a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker nor cultivated her star energy control to the Worldliness realm, she was still able to see through star energy.

By spreading his star energy everywhere, Bu Kong hoped to sneak his sourcebox array into her body and then forcibly disperse her star energy that way. Xiao Qing would not be able to stop such a move, so she randomly tapped a strand of her hair, which transformed into a sword. That was the Azure Silk Swordsmanship.

There was a whoosh as a gush of sword qi slashed a horizontal line across the air. It cut through the layers of star energy and headed straight for Bu Kong.

Bu Kong lifted a hand, intending to destroy her technique with his innate gift once more.

Although Bu Kong’s ability to use his innate gift of undoing was being suppressed by Xiao Qing’s martial print, it was also fair to say that Xiao Qing’s Qing Strand Sword was simultaneously being suppressed by Bu Kong’s innate gift.

An endless amount of star energy covered Xiao Qing’s eyes in an instant—the star energy inside her body was already out of control.

Bu Kong sneered. “It’s over!”

He waved a hand to finish things.

Xiao Qing’s eyes went wide in indignation, and she charged towards Bu Kong. Her star energy suddenly leaked out from her body, creating visible ripples that floated off into the distance. It even sent a slight vibration through Zenith Mountain.

At that moment, Xiao Qing was only about five meters away from Bu Kong.

Bu Kong turned around with a look of contempt on his face as he waved his palm towards Xiao Qing. “Time Reversal Technique.”

Without any star energy, Xiao Qing was no different from a lowly ant before Bu Kong, and he could easily kill her with a slap.

Xiao Qing came within three meters, two meters, and then one meter of Bu Kong. All of a sudden, a feeling of alarm rang out within Bu Kong. Right in front of him, he saw Xiao Qing and her long hair flying through the air. The tips of countless hair strands were ruthlessly shooting towards Bu Kong. His pupils constricted, and he saw innumerable martial prints fill his vision. If this attack struck true, he would certainly suffer a tragic outcome.

Bu Kong instinctively summoned the Progenitor of Secret Arts’ imprint behind him, and its majestic aura enveloped the battlefield, forcing all of the Xiao Qing’s hair strands to stop for a moment. That one moment was all that Bu Kong needed to escape.

Sadly, he was unable to get away.

A moment was a considerable amount of time for Bu Kong, but even if his speed was not taken into account, he had already set up a Fixed Stakes sourcebox array in the area. Thus, even if he did not manage to escape, Xiao Qing would still be immobilized.

However, for all of Bu Kong’s calculations, he had still missed one important detail: Xiao Qing’s innate gift of slowing.

Ever since her numerous hair strands had struck Bu Kong, Xiao Qing had already planted her innate gift, and she was easily able to control when it activated.

In that instant, the power of her innate gift of slowing materialized, and Bu Kong’s movements suddenly became unimaginably slow, and all he could do was helplessly stare at the countless strands of hair that were about to pierce through his body. As soon as they made contact with him, the martial prints detonated, and the terrifying force blew Bu Kong off of the mountain peak, where he fell all the way down to its base.

No one had expected Bu Kong to be defeated by a cultivator from the Sixth Mainland, even if she was the Sage Martial Realm’s Realmling.

There were three territories and nine realms in the Sixth Mainland, and of the nine major realms, the Sage Martial Realm had always stood amongst the top three when it came to their Realmling’s power. That had applied to Sword Scholar in the past, and even more so for Xiao Qing, who had defeated Sword Scholar. Her level of skill was so formidable that she could even make the Daosource Three Skies think twice before acting.

It did not matter if Bu Kong’s fall to the bottom of the mountain had been because of his own complacency; this was Zenith Mountain, and there was no room for second chances.

Having cast Bu Kong off the mountain, Xiao Qing was the victor of this fight.

Bu Kong violently crashed into the foot of the mountain and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His clothes were all torn and tattered, and his body was in such great pain that it felt as though he had been ripped apart.

He had been struck by as many martial imprints as Xiao Qing’s strands of hair.

After being attacked by such a large number of martial prints, and especially when the cultivator launching them was a Realmling from the Sage Martial Realm, meant that the attack’s final impact had been powerful enough to tear apart even the Little Arrow Saint’s stacked arrow attack.

Even if Bu Kong had been able to hold out and heal himself with the Secret Technique of Resurrection, he would not be able to get back to the top of the mountain anytime soon. He needed at least half a day’s worth of time to recover.

Bu Kong looked up at Xiao Qing. He had been defeated. To think that he had truly been defeated. Even now, he could not believe that he had lost, especially since he had never even been able to use the Power Transfer Secret Technique. That woman had truly hidden a lot up her sleeves, and anybody would meet a tragic end the first time they encountered her innate gift.

It was great. Everything was just fine. Even if she became the champion, Bu Kong planned to make her pay later once they returned to the Upper Realm.

Xiao Qing let out a sigh of relief at the bottom of the stairs and then smiled. She had actually managed to beat Bu Kong, though partly through ambush. She had never revealed her innate gift until this battle, and she was finally seeing the fruits of her labor.

From this point on, however, it would become a bit more difficult for her to seize victory by using her innate gift like this.