Star Odyssey

Chapter 307: Heavenly Drum

The youth arrogantly declared, “Remember my name. I am Nate, a member of the Arcadian Arrow Crew. I can’t be compared to spoiled disciples like you all from the Innerverse.” He then released the string in his right hand, and although the arrow did not move, the sharp aura still left a cut across the young female disciple’s cheek. After that, the arrow flew out.

All of the disciples were dumbstruck by this scene. This arrow targeted not only the female disciple, but also all the other disciples of the Sword Sect.

In the sky, multiple disciples who could explore space were about to act, but they suddenly stopped. A sudden clap of thunder roared as a bolt of lightning crashed down and smashed that arrow to pieces, causing an intense explosion to burst forth. The lightning flickered, dazzling many people and tearing the void apart. However, the space quickly restored itself in the next moment, and the deafening sound transformed into shockwaves that swept out in all directions, pushing the Sword Sect disciples aside. The person called Nate was also pushed back a step, and he looked on in shock.

There was now one more person on the battlefield. Thunderbolts were wrapped around his entire body, and he carried a long sword on his back as he stared coldly at Nate. This person was Yan Hua.

Nate quickly grew serious. “Who are you?”

“Sword Sect disciple Yan Hua.”

Many disciples started to whisper behind Yan Hua. “It’s actually him. He still hasn’t broken through to the Explorer realm after a dozen years and is still waltzing about as a Limiteer.”

“Shh, regardless of his cultivation level, Senior Yan Hua has learned the Lightning Sword technique and can’t be underestimated.”

“When Senior Yan Hua first learned the Lightning Sword, he was full of energy and was second only to that female senior. It’s such a pity that he gradually fell more and more behind. While that senior became one of of the Ten Arbiters, Senior Yan Hua is still a Limiteer.”

“Even so, he’s second only to Liu Shaoqiu.”

…

Yan Hua heard the furtive discussions around him, but he had long since grown accustomed to it. His senior whom he held in high esteem had climbed to unreachable heights. But in comparison, he was just Yan Hua, a Sword Sect disciple. No matter what the people from his own sect said about him, he still had to protect the sect’s dignity. He could not allow it to be trampled upon by some stranger.

“Senior Yan Hua, thank you.” The female disciple who had attacked Nate before looked at the newcomer appreciatively.

Yan Hua ignored the crowd and stared at Nate. “You’re from the Cosmic Sea?”

Nate arrogantly replied, “That’s right. Compared to the Cosmic Sea, your Innerverse is too peaceful. People like you wouldn’t survive past a few days in the Cosmic Sea.”

Yan Hua frowned. “Surviving in a harsh environment is not the only factor that determines one’s strength.”

“But it’s the most important factor,” Nate coldly retorted as he aimed his bow at Yan Hua. “You’re pretty good since you were able to receive one of my arrows. Let’s see if you can take another one.” Then, the arrow unleashed such a terrifying aura that even Yan Hua’s scalp turned numb. At that moment, he realized that he was not this person’s opponent. Of the Sword Sect’s Limiteers, perhaps only Liu Shaoqiu could defeat this person. He truly lived up to the hype of hailing from the Cosmic Sea.

But Yan Hua would not retreat. He was a disciple of the Sword Sect; he was Yan Hua!

Crack! 

Lightning exploded forth, and a dazzling radiance covered the area once again. The void shattered in a spider web-like pattern. Meanwhile, the arrow pierced through the void and distorted the storm of lightning before arriving in front of Yan Hua’s eyes. Yan Hua had nowhere to run, and he did not intend to dodge the arrow either.

Whoosh! 

The arrow skimmed past Yan Hua’s cheek and into the void, gradually vanishing.

Yan Hua continued to stare straight at Nate.

Nate looked at Yan Hua in amazement, and respect appeared within his eyes. “You lost, yet you didn’t retreat. I admire that.”

Yan Hua was not satisfied, but he was completely powerless against a powerhouse from the Cosmic Sea.

“You’re the Sword Sect’s strongest Limiteer?”

Yan Hua shook his head. “The strongest is Liu Shaoqiu. You can wait for him to return.”

Nate shook his head. “I admire your spirit, but your power is lacking. Nevermind Liu Shaoqiu—none of the Sword Sect’s Limiteers are my opponent. The only worthy opponents are still only those from the Cosmic Sea.”

At that point, another youth appeared. “Nate, it’s time to go.”

Nate looked at Yan Hua. “If you have the guts, then come to the Cosmic Sea and leave your mark there. That place is a paradise for powerhouses. This Innerverse is too peaceful.” And with that, he left.

The purpose behind the two’s appearance seemed to be to probe the strength of the Sword Sect’s disciples. The two of them were from the Arcadian Arrow Crew of the Cosmic Sea, and they were representing the regiment in the Tournament of the Strongest. However, they did not seem to care about the competition in the slightest.

The environment of the Cosmic Sea was extremely harsh, and the two people from the Arcadian Arrow Crew felt that neither the Inner nor the Outerverse could ever produce powerhouses that could match up to them.

Many Sword Sect disciples were left unsatisfied, but no one could stop the two from the Cosmic Sea. Even Yan Hua, who was second only to Liu Shaoqiu, had lost. There was no need to even mention the rest.

Yan Hua watched on as Nate and his companion left the Sword Sect on their spacecraft. He shook his head; the two were way too arrogant. The Thirteen Swords was not a battle technique that he could even dream of matching with just his Lightning Sword. If the two used him as a standard to measure Liu Shaoqiu, then they would suffer a terrible fate; Liu Shaoqiu was much stronger than him.

Be it the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, or the Cosmic Sea, a flood of experts came to the Innerverse one after another. However, Lu Yin did not know about all these individuals appearing since he had entered the Undying Realm. That was where his territory lay, the Heavenly Drum that he had snatched away from Nightqueen Yanqing. He was the Realm Master of the Undying Realm.

The Heavenly Drum stretched across a thousand kilometers, and it was set flat within a mountain range. The beating of battle drums rang out from it once a month, which allowed everyone within range to see an ancient battlefield and experience all sorts of battle techniques. The luckier ones would even be directly pulled into the battlefield and experience firsthand the battle techniques of that ancient battlefield. This was the inheritance of the Heavenly Drum.

There had originally been many Daynight clan members training around the Heavenly Drum, but they had all left by now. They were too ashamed to appear in this area, unless Nightqueen Yanqing managed to defeat Lu Yin and reclaim the training zone.

Lu Yin had become the Realm Master of the Undying Realm, which meant that all of the Undying Realm now belonged to Astral-10. It was a pity that there were too few people from Astral-10 to utilize it. Additionally, Xia Luo was not interested in the trial zones, and Silver had vanished. Thus, the Area Masters of the Undying Realm had barely changed.

There were only two Astral-10 students at the Heavenly Drum when Lu Yin arrived. One was Darkvoid and the other was Meng Yue. The other students present were not from Astral-10.

Boom! 

A loud sound filled the air, signalling that the monthly beating of the battle drums had started.

Many students’ eyes grew fervent.

Darkvoid and Meng Yue stood at the front of the crowd. Darkvoid was qualified to be here, but Meng Yue’s presence was rather forced. Still, no one caused trouble for him due to their fear of Lu Yin.

The battle drums sounded out, and the ancient battlefield appeared. An endless bloodlust swept out and pervaded the entire mountain range.

The battle drum was a thousand kilometers across and seemed large, but it was still much smaller than a grand battlefield of the universe. This was just a miniature battle, but many strange battle techniques were displayed within it as it was from the ancient times. Just its aura caused many students to feel overwhelmed.

Each battlefield that appeared would be different from all the others, and the time that they lasted for would vary as well. The longest had lasted for several months while the shortest no more than a fleeting moment.

Meng Yue stared hard at the Heavenly Drum battlefield. Suddenly, the scene before his eyes transformed as the solemn sounds of hand-to-hand combat resounded around him. He had managed to enter the battlefield as a soldier.

At the same time, Lu Yin arrived at the Heavenly Drum and directly landed at the front, where he also stared at the battlefield. He didn’t even have time to react before his body vanished, as he had similarly been pulled within the battlefield.

He also merged into the body of a powerhouse, but a different one than Meng Yue’s—this one was an Explorer.

Lu Yin could not control this body, and he could only witness everything from a first-person point of view.

The Explorer that he was in raised his hand, causing a peculiar star energy to take the form of a horrifying imprint that suppressed the entire battlefield. Ahead, another powerhouse tore through the void and sliced at the Explorer carrying Lu Yin’s consciousness with a sword.

The powerhouse whom Lu Yin had merged with battled against this swordsman for five days.

At first, Lu Yin was not very used to the strength of an Explorer, but after spending five continuous days basking within the slaughter of the ancient battlefield and hearing the painful cries from those beside him, he slowly became accustomed to the battlefield. Additionally, he also became used to the sorrow from the deaths surrounding him.

He gradually forgot his own identity; it was as if this battlefield had become his home.

Finally, the swordsman was killed on the seventh day. The Explorer that Lu Yin had merged with roared at the heavens as blood continuously flowed down like rain.

This Explorer was not extremely powerful and had no strong battle force, outstanding domain, or even any mysterious innate gifts. He had relied purely on his battle techniques to carry himself through the battle.

Lu Yin could sense this Explorer’s passion and enthusiasm.

Suddenly, Lu Yin’s perspective changed; he had merged with another body, and from his new perspective, he could see the roaring Explorer with whom he had merged with before.

At that moment, the powerhouse whom he had merged with pointed out with a finger. Stars exploded from his fingertip and reduced the roaring Explorer to a mere puddle of blood.

The difference was too great. Now that he had merged with another Explorer, Lu Yin could feel the power of this person. He possessed a domain that allowed him to survey the entire battlefield. With a light tap of his finger, he could cause the void to collapse. This finger carried a strange, ancient charm to it, and the domain around his body surged. This was a personal forcefield.

The Rainmaster had once mentioned to Lu Yin that, once one’s domain grew strong enough, they could develop their own forcefield. The strength of the forcefield depended on one’s spirit, and this person’s forcefield was able to suppress the entire battlefield. He truly possessed a spirit that could quell an entire area.

The greater one’s forcefield, the greater the suppressive effect upon one’s enemies. At an extreme level, even the environment would be altered to better suit oneself, rather than the cultivator adapting to their surroundings. These alterations were a real, physical effect.

The entire battlefield was suppressed by this Explorer’s forcefield, and the Explorer flipped his palm over to crush the earth. One finger of his could pierce through the void, causing countless to die at his hand. The more that died, the stronger this person’s forcefield became. Within his domain, Lu Yin could sense the Explorer’s bloodlust. It fed on the battlefield’s murderous aura, and this aura strengthened his domain over and over again.

Lu Yin’s entire being was immersed into this person’s powerful domain as he experienced the killing intent emanating from the battlefield.

Without their notice, a few days had passed before the battlefield vanished. Lu Yin, Meng Yue, and a few other students were standing atop the Heavenly Drum. They were the lucky chosen ones who had been drawn into the battlefield.

Some students had grasped battle techniques through the battlefield while others had seen a path to growing stronger. Lu Yin had grasped a strand of killing intent, and his domain had taken a dramatic change, as it now caused others to shudder.

The students closest to Lu Yin felt numb, almost as if they had returned to that ancient battlefield. In just a moment, all of them left.

Meng Yue looked at Lu Yin in shock. This person was just too powerful, almost excessively so. Is this his current strength?

In the distance, Darkvoid similarly stared at Lu Yin in shock. During Astral-10’s new students competition, he had not felt such a disparity between himself and Lu Yin, but now, he felt that he could no longer even see how wide the gap between them was. Darkvoid thought of the mission that his company had given him, and felt his hopes of completing it fading. This person would never become that desperate.

Atop the Heavenly Drum, Lu Yin closed his eyes. He was still immersed in that battlefield. Even if it was invisible, his domain had been strengthened by a significant amount and had been incorporated with that ancient battlefield’s bloodlust. It now caused everyone who came in contact with it to feel a chill. Through experiencing this battle, Lu Yin had seen the path he should take to develop his domain.