Star Odyssey

Chapter 454: Probing And Order

The Specter Clan was a branch of the Neohuman Alliance and was very mysterious. However, why was Faceless acting so courteously towards Lu Yin? It had even gone to the point where he was speaking deferentially to him.

Lu Yin could not understand the situation, and he watched as Faceless attacked once again. Lu Yin leaped up, and battle force covered his body as he struck out against the tip of Faceless’ blade. An enormous shockwave swept out in all directions, and although it seemed intense, it was actually not that powerful.

Faceless had not used that much strength when he swept his blade out, but Lu Yin’s right hand left a mark on his stomach for the third time as the Overlaying Stacks penetrated his body. Lu Yin’s face changed, as he felt the strange strength of that death energy again. This time, he also noticed that this energy was being suppressed by his attacks. 

Faceless was knocked into the waterway, raising a huge commotion among the audience.

Even Che Han, Cheng Wu, and Mu Rong slowed their battle to look over. Lu Yin’s performance was a little too mind-blowing since he was suppressing Faceless.

Lu Yin jumped into the waterway and broke away from the stares of countless people. He pressed one hand against the hilt of Faceless’ knife and stared at him. “Quickly get rid of Feng Mo and the Bo Duo.” 

Since Faceless had acted so deferentially towards him, he had made this gamble to see if Faceless would obey his commands as well. It would be great if this person listened, and it did not matter if he didn’t. After all, Lu Yin could just pass his words off as a mistake. 

Faceless softly and feebly replied, “We don’t have enough manpower for the mission.”

“Give up your mission,” Lu Yin barked in a voice that demanded deference.

Faceless immediately acknowledged his orders. “Yes.”

Lu Yin’s heart jumped. Was that it? That had been too simple! Besides, why was this person being so respectful towards him? When he possessed that Specter Clan member in the past, he had not been able to go through that many of the person’s memories since he had mostly been preoccupied with watching the event unfold before him, until his host body had died at the hands of that Yōu Elder whose power level was in the hundreds of thousands. Thus, Lu Yin had not gathered that much information from that Possession session.

Lu Yin reviewed his battle with Faceless and realized that there was only one possibility: he was the one who was suppressing the death energy. That energy was the Specter Clan’s distinctive trait, and no one else other than them could have it. Lu Yin was very clear on this point. Could the death energy also be what determined one’s status within the clan? 

Lu Yin had suppressed Faceless, which indicated that he held a higher status, so Faceless had to obey Lu Yin. But now, the question was, how could Lu Yin suppress his death energy in the first place? He did not even understand the energy’s principles, and he had not used any special battle techniques, so just how had he suppressed the death energy? 

Death energy, death… Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck through Lu Yin’s mind. Could it be the Arcane Art—Fatal Revival?

The Fatal Revival Art had a suppressive effect towards a body’s self-recovery abilities, and it had even restrained Zhanlong Daynight’s Daynight Restoration Technique. Could it also possibly have a similar restraining effect on death energy? 

Lu Yin did not have too much time to dwell on the subject. The two young men dashed out of the waterway and clashed again, both of them being knocked back simultaneously this time. 

It looked like a draw. 

This scene made Cheng Wu raise his brows, as Mu Rong and Lu Yin’s powers were proving to be beyond his expectations. This situation was not what he wanted to see, so he immediately turned towards Che Han and Mu Rong. “Let’s take care of those two first.” 

Che Han and Mu Rong did not bother with him, but those words had been heard by Lu Yin. He turned around to stare at Cheng Wu and then looked towards Faceless. “The clock man is the strongest. Get rid of him first.” Then, he attacked Cheng Wu himself. 

Cheng Wu’s brows twitched. Clock man? Was that supposed to be him?

Faceless did not hesitate and moved his blade to hack at Cheng Wu.

Not only did Lu Yin and Faceless attack Cheng Wu, but Mu Rong and Che Han also joined in at the same time.

Cheng Wu felt like he was about to choke on a dead housefly. “Stop!”

But his words were drowned out by four powerful attacks—Che Han’s Fireglass Frost, Mu Rong’s wooden flute, Lu Yin’s Skybeast Claw, and Faceless’ knife.

Cheng Wu was strong, and he could overpower everyone else present, especially with the indomitable defense of his large clock. However, no matter how strong his defenses were, it still could not withstand these four powerful attacks at once. Even though he used the clock to block them, Faceless’ knife still landed squarely in Cheng Wu’s chest, the gaping wound readily visible under the sunlight. Cheng Wu looked infuriated, and he howled angrily.

“Thunder Punch.” He then attacked his own large clock.

There was a loud bang, and the sound wave transformed into a thunderclap that pulsed outwards. A visible white shockwave swept out, disturbing the water within the canals and even shattering the surrounding areas.

This was Cheng Wu’s strongest strike, and the other four participants felt their brains being jostled against their skulls as they developed splitting headaches. 

Cheng Wu hated Lu Yin at this moment, as he had been the one to instigate all four people into ganging up on him. He knew that he was already doomed to lose this contest, but he was determined to at least eliminate this person with him. 

As he thought about it, he struck out with a punch again, this time targeting Lu Yin. Lu Yin did not move, but Faceless sliced out with his knife to dispel the intense sound wave, and the giant blade continued on moving towards Cheng Wu. 

Cheng Wu’s eyes narrowed. He used the large clock to surround his body, and another loud bang sounded out. 

Lu Yin was astounded, as this person indeed lived up to his sixty ninth rank on the Top 100 Rankings. The clock’s defense was admirable, and its defenses still had not been broken yet. It was almost as strong as Lu Yin’s Fatesand. 

There were no cracks on the clock, but Cheng Wu was not completely unharmed within it. Beneath him, the Fireglass Frost that looked like frozen flames spread out, and it slowly started to extend onto his legs. Cheng Wu’s face was deathly pale, and his star energy vibrated to shatter the layer of ice, but in the next instant, green grass spread out from where the shattered ice had just spread to. This was not an unfamiliar scene, as it was Mu Rong’s forcefield: the country boy herding cattle. 

Cheng Wu had experienced a powerful forcefield before, and he would not fear such a move if he was at his peak. However, he was currently heavily injured, and this forcefield made him feel like he was mired in a swamp. His entire body felt suppressed as the country boy herding cattle transformed into a very simple wooden flute that tapped against his chest. There was a thump, and Cheng Wu was pushed back, landing onto his own clock. The clock slowly dissipated, as Cheng Wu’s strength could no longer sustain it. 

Plop!

Cheng Wu spat out a mouthful of blood and gritted his teeth. He looked at the four people in front of him. He knew that his momentum was gone, so he did not hesitate to directly dash towards one of the waterways and retreat with the flow of the current. He was not going to struggle without reason; he knew when to give up.

The strongest in the selection, Cheng Wu, had been defeated. There were only four participants remaining.

Everyone looked at the screens. This event was about to end.

Hai Dashao did not feel any regret or sympathy over Cheng Wu’s defeat. He was destined to only find trouble since he had been the strongest of the group. And since the strongest had been Cheng Wu, there was no way he would put up too dazzling of a performance. It could only be said that his ego was too inflated.

Starsibyl also didn’t feel surprised at Cheng Wu’s defeat, but she looked at the screen with interest as she watched the remaining four. How would they battle it out?

At this moment, everyone looked on curiously. Four could be evenly split into two pairs which should then decide the two finalists. Logically, Che Han should fight Mu Rong while Faceless should be face off against Lu Yin. Mu Rong and Lu Yin would probably be eliminated, and the final winner would most likely be either Che Han or Faceless.

However, the previous battle between Faceless and Lu Yin made the crowd now feel uncertain about that prediction, and it was plain to see that the outcome had yet to be decided. At this point, many people also realized that Mu Rong had not revealed his true abilities yet, as he had only shown a movement technique and his forcefield. He still had not used any attacking battle techniques or his innate gift. 

Mu Rong’s abilities were just too immeasurable, and he had hidden his strength even deeper than Che Han or Faceless. 

Michelle and the others also looked at the screen with complex expressions. They had thought that Lu Yin had just been going through the motions here, so they had never expected him to reach this final stage.

Since he had reached this point, they were hoping that Lu Yin would not fail at the final step. Being friends with the Sea King’s son-in-law had a terrific ring to it. 

“Speaking of, if junior becomes the Sea King’s son-in-law, will we still need to be afraid of Feng Mo and the Bo Duo?” Little Pao asked loudly, fully intending for Bo Junior to hear him.

Bo Junior felt uneasy, and he looked apprehensively at the screen, hoping to see Lu Yin fail.

In another area of the Sea King’s Dome, Feng Mo and Bo Senior felt nervous as well. So what if they were Hunters? Against the Sea King, it would be as if they were Lu Yin’s group against themselves. No, Lu Yin’s group had still been able to escape from them, but the Sea King would definitely not allow the three of them to flee. 

At the lower reaches of the Skyfall Cascade, the group of losers were rescued, and Xun Jiong was pulled out of the water as well. He had been beaten rather badly to the point of losing consciousness. Even after being rescued by Xun Tao and the others, he could barely open his eyes. He cast a venomous glare at the screen. “I, Xun Jiong, am not a man if I don’t take revenge for this grudge!” 

Xun Tao felt helpless. You better pray that Lu Yin doesn’t become the Sea King’s son-in-law. Otherwise, forget about revenge. You might even have to curry favor with him.

On the other side of the mountain, Hai Qiqi frantically tried to contact Hai Dashao, but he would not accept any of her calls. 

The Sea King’s Trident emitted a brutal aura, but the four finalists did not act right away. They only glanced around at each other. It appeared that they were mutually restraining each other.

Faceless suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and left without looking back. He had given up. 

Many watched on blankly.

Che Han watched Faceless leave, and his eyes then flashed as he looked vigilantly at Lu Yin and Mu Rong. He was afraid of suffering Cheng Wu’s fate. He was afraid that Mu Rong and Lu Yin would team up against him.

However, he was overthinking things. The battle had reached its final stages, so Mu Rong did not intend to continue it any further. He did not want to become the Sea King’s son-in-law; he only wanted to lift up that person’s name. And in this battle royale, he had used one strike of his wooden flute to defeat Cheng Wu and displayed a nearly invincible forcefield, which was enough to satisfy his desires. 

Lu Yin did not plan to act either, but he was rather interested in Mu Rong. He wondered if he should fight against Mu Rong to see who was the true unequaled Limiteer.

“Seventh Bro, it’s time to show your might! Use your Fatesand and fight with that Mu Rong! Make him regret his own life!” the Ghost Monkey shouted excitedly. He felt as if he was about to become the strongest Academy Master in the Spiritual Academy.

Lu Yin was also a little moved. With his Fatesand, Mu Rong definitely would not be able to break through his defenses, so Lu Yin was sure that he would not lose. Also, Mu Rong’s forcefield reminded Lu Yin of the war spirit that he had met in the separate dimension within the storm space, and he really wanted to fight against a forcefield expert. 

However, he could not fight for nothing. He thought about the situation and then looked at Che Han. “I’ll hold him back for you. You go and pull out that trident.”

Che Han was stunned, and he just stared blankly at Lu Yin. He had originally been indifferent, but his expression now became slightly perplexed. “Why?”

Mu Rong also curiously looked at Lu Yin. Was this person really willing to give up on this chance to become the Sea King’s son-in-law?

Lu Yin looked at Che Han. “I want you to owe me a favor. Regardless of if you become the Sea King’s son-in-law, you must remember to return this favor in the future.”

Che Han’s eyes narrowed. “You know where I’m from?”

Lu Yin nodded.

Che Han’s gaze flickered. “Alright. I, Che Han, owe you a favor.”

He then directly charged towards the Sea King’s Trident.

Lu Yin turned to Mu Rong and prepared to fight.

Mu Rong made no indication that he was about to move, and he only casually watched on as Che Han rushed towards the Sea King’s Trident. “There’s no need to guard against me. I have no intention of interfering.” 

Lu Yin was shocked. “Don’t you want to become the Sea King’s son-in-law?”

Mu Rong had a calm gaze, but there was a rich sorrow that was hidden in the depths of his eyes.

Only those from the Ten Arbiters Council knew that Mu Rong had been emotionally scarred in the past. That pain rendered him unable to form relationships with females for the rest of his life. 

Countless people in the Sea King’s Dome were lost as to what had just happened. Cheng Wu had been defeated and Faceless had left. The remaining three had then somehow reconciled, and no one planned to fight anymore. This was just too strange—what had that life and death battle been for? It was an injustice to Cheng Wu and the rest that they had lost in such a manner.