Star Odyssey

Chapter 693: Mutual Harm

Cai Jianqiang looked at his sourcebox case with a very serious expression. He glanced over at Deng Pu and the others and then took a deep breath. He was different from the other competitors since he normally needed a long time to lockbreak, and it was an extremely enormous amount of time at that. He could not wait any longer, and after thinking about it, he waved his hand and opened the case. 

Everyone looked on with expectant eyes, and many even inwardly cursed and hoped that Cai Jianqiang would also obtain a Boundless Advanced sourcebox. 

As the case opened, Cai Jianqiang looked in and relaxed. It was a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, so his luck was not too bad. 

Many felt that it was a pity, as Cai Jianqiang was a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and he had coincidentally drawn a matching sourcebox. This was nothing less than good luck. 

Saul and the others did not care. Given Cai Jianqiang’s lockbreaking ability, even if he got a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, he would still take more than twenty four hours to succeed, let alone a Perceptive Intermediate one. This person was no threat at all. 

Deng Pu did not even spare a glance for Cai Jianqiang, as he had never seen this Hunter as a worthy opponent. 

Cai Jianqiang began to lockbreak. His lockbreaking style was very simple and crude, just like his battles. It was almost as if he was forcefully dissolving the condensed energies of the sourcebox. His actions were crude, and it stumped many. Could this still be considered lockbreaking? 

Lu Yin was also stumped, as this method was akin to an uneducated brute holding a pen. This person’s lockbreaking ability was unique; was this actually his true method, or was he merely acting? Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed; had Cai Jianqiang’s lockbreaking style reverted to its natural state? 

As the crowd discussed the events on the altar, Lu Yin’s face grew more colorful. So it’s like this—lockbreaking trash, cultivation genius. That’s the kind of person he is. 

He turned around and stopped watching, as this person was of no threat to his plans at all. 

At this time, there were still six participants who had not opened their cases. 

The night quickly passed, and when the following day dawned, two Lockbreakers opened their cases simultaneously. Both were unlucky enough to receive sourceboxes that were beyond their abilities, so they both immediately gave up. One of the two was the Serpent Queen, as she had unfortunately uncovered a Boundless Advanced sourcebox. 

Xi Qi finally opened her chest under the fish’s constant urging, and she found a two star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. 

Xi Qi’s face soured, as this was as far as she could go. She had never successfully unlocked a two star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox before. 

“Come on, lockbreak it! Lord Fish will teach you. Hurry, two-legged beast!” The fish was eager for her to begin. 

Xi Qi acknowledged it and then began attempting to unlock the sourcebox. In a moment, she unleashed her domain as star energy flowed out like water. Her control had reached the Cloudwalk realm. Seeing this made Lu Yin envious, as he was still in the Intricacy realm. 

Upon seeing the difference between them, he decided to stop waiting, and he opened his case as well. Inside, he saw a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. Many were thrilled at his misfortune, as a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker receiving a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox was an event that would almost always result in their elimination. 

However, Lu Yin himself relaxed. It was not like he had never unlocked a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox before.  

“Bro, just give up. You’ll only end up doing free work by lockbreaking for the Society,” Ku Wei’s voice called out from behind him. He was looking at Lu Yin with clear glee on his face. Ku Wei had always been paying special attention to Lu Yin, as he had caught Ku Wei’s attention after blocking Ku Wei’s attacks; after all, very few people could block Ku Wei’s attacks within the same realm as him. 

Lu Yin smiled back at him. “Take care of yourself first and open your case for a look. Perhaps you’ll get a Boundless Advanced sourcebox.” 

Ku Wei pursed his lip and opened his case. The crowd was stumped, as he also received a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. 

Lu Yin smiled. “You seem like you’re in the same predicament as me.” 

Ku Wei’s lips curled upwards. “Then let’s compete to see who can succeed and become the champion as well as be promoted to a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker at the same time.” 

“Sure,” Lu Yin responded. 

In the distance, Deng Pu did not bother with them, and he simply opened his own chest. He already knew what sourcebox his chest held, and as expected, it was also a one star Perceptive Intermediate. He himself was a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, so the difficulty was not too great, and he was basically guaranteed to win this competition. 

Straight Metallic Man directly walked off of the altar. He had also opened his case, and it contained a weapon-looking sourcebox. He would only unlock sourceboxes that were naturally found within metal, and since this sourcebox did not have any metallic aura, he simply walked away. 

With this, there were only nine competitors left atop the altar. 

The nine Lockbreakers began to lockbreak. Each one of them had their own distinctive methods, including Xi Qi and Deng Pu, who retrieved their lockbreaking tools. Cai Jianqiang also took one out, which were a pair of glasses that looked rather similar to Casanova’s sunglasses. 

Lu Yin also retrieved his own lockbreaking tool, and since he had entered the Intricacy realm, he was able to use his improved star energy control to continuously break down the condensed energies. 

Before, Lu Yin had spent thirty two hours to unlock a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and he had collapsed into a deep sleep immediately after succeeding. That had been an arduous experience, and after thinking back to it, Lu Yin was clear on how much effort it had taken him. However, that experience had drastically improved his lockbreaking ability, and now, he was about to unlock another Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. This sourcebox did have some danger to it, but it was not overly threatening. By his estimations, it would take Lu Yin around fifteen hours to finish lockbreaking this sourcebox. 

Everyone on Sourcepeak Planet stared at the altar. The Wei family, Angie, Aegis, and people of Endless Borders were all very silent. They were all waiting for the final moment, which was now getting quite close. 

Five hours passed, after which all nine were still lockbreaking. Some of them appeared calm while others looked like they were suffering. 

Cai Jianqiang was undoubtedly the one who was suffering the most, as he had started lockbreaking much earlier than the others, though his speed was clearly slower as well. Due to the difference in speed, he had taken out a second lockbreaking tool, which was an antenna-like item, and placed it on his head, stumping quite a few onlookers. 

Lu Yin subconsciously glanced over at it and was similarly struck speechless. However, this person was definitely worthy of being Master Wusheng’s younger brother, as he actually owned two lockbreaking tools; even Lu Yin himself only possessed one. 

But Lu Yin’s thoughts proved to be too simple, as Cai Jianqiang slowly took out a third lockbreaking tool under everyone’s astounded gazes. At this moment, even Saul, Fiend Li, and the others inside the Hall of Insight were surprised, as three lockbreaking tools was rather excessive. 

“This person is actually so passionate towards lockbreaking that he actually has three lockbreaking tools.” The crowd below the altar discussed this scene. 

“Could it have been given to him by Master Wusheng?” 

“Impossible, I heard that even Master Wusheng himself only has one.” 

“That’s crazy, yet he’s not afraid of being robbed.” 

“Don’t think about that too much, as nobody would dare to rob him unless an Enlighter acts. Also, don’t forget, he’s still a Lockbreaker, so touching him is the same as messing with the entire Lockbreaker Society.” 

…

With the assistance of his three lockbreaking tools, Cai Jianqiang’s speed increased a bit, but only by a small amount. 

Lu Yin felt that it was not worthwhile for the Hunter to use those three lockbreaking tools. 

Two hours passed quickly, and Lu Yin glanced over at Deng Pu. He looked to be delighted, and the rune lines around his sourcebox had decreased a great deal, which indicated that he was about to succeed. 

This would not do. The original plan was indeed to let Deng Pu win, but since Lu Yin did not plan to step forward and accuse Saul, it would be better for him to take the championship title himself. Otherwise, he would not be able to easily get his hands on the True Insight. Since this was the final round, he had no worries of being targeted by Saul. 

As he thought about it, Lu Yin suddenly unleashed his domain and pressed down upon Deng Pu with it. It was as if a tornado was sweeping towards the Lockbreaker, and it almost sent the unprepared Deng Pu tumbling off of the altar. 

Deng Pu was furious, and he glared at Lu Yin. “Despicable!” 

In the distance, Saul leaped to his feet. “Despicable! Immediately disqualify him.” 

Felynn’s brows rose, as she had not expected Lu Yin to do such a thing. Hadn’t they agreed to let Deng Pu win? 

“Saul, there’s no rush. The third round’s rules do not stipulate that the contestants cannot interfere with the other competitors. When we lockbreak, do we expect everyone in the universe to leave us alone? This is a difficulty that a Lockbreaker must be able to overcome,” Fiend Li said. 

Saul’s expression grew ugly, as he obviously knew that this was true. In previous competitions, scenes like this often appeared during the third stage as the participants would interrupt the people lockbreaking beside them. But this season was different, simply because Deng Pu was his own disciple. This random person dared to cause such a disturbance, and he was simply courting death. 

Deng Pu angrily glared at Lu Yin. “Don’t make a mistake, or else I won’t let you step off of Sourcepeak Planet.” 

Lu Yin sneered, “You’ve almost finished lockbreaking, so it’ll be too late if I don’t act now.” 

“What, almost finished? That won’t do!” Ku Wei broke in, and he also suddenly unleashed his domain to crush down upon Deng Pu. 

Deng Pu almost spat out a mouthful of blood. These two bastards. 

A storm seemed to surge around the three Lockbreakers, and the star energy in the area suddenly went berserk. This felt oddly familiar, and the crowd looked at Cai Jianqiang and found that he was also looking towards Deng Pu in a very unfriendly manner. 

Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat. Could this guy also be hoping to eliminate Deng Pu? That wouldn’t do, as if Deng Pu were eliminated, then nobody would cause trouble for Saul. As Lu Yin thought about this, his lips moved, and Ku Wei’s expression also changed from across the altar. They exchanged glances, and the two smiled. They then simultaneously unleashed their forcefields, causing a Towering Tree and a Finger Tap to crash down towards Cai Jianqiang at the same time. 

Cai Jianqiang was shocked, as he had not expected for these two people to team up to deal with him. He would not care if they were just average Explorers, but both Lu Yin and Ku Wei had the strength to match up to a Hunter. Even if Cai Jianqiang was powerful, since he was in the middle of lockbreaking, he did not have the opportunity to resist the forcefields’ attack. Not only was his lockbreaking interrupted, but his entire body was flung off of the altar by the two forcefields. 

The situation had changed too quickly, and the audience had not expected that these two Explorers would be able to eliminate Cai Jianqiang through their teamwork. 

Deng Pu had not expected it either, as he had believed that he was finished.

Saul relaxed. Although Cai Jianqiang was of no threat when it came to his lockbreaking ability, if he decided to shamelessly interfere with others’ lockbreaking sessions, then the outcome would become completely unpredictable. His elimination was a lucky break for them. 

Cai Jianqiang stood beneath the altar and looked up at Lu Yin and then at Ku Wei. He did not make a scene. He merely silently put his three lockbreaking tools away, then leaped up, and then tore through the void to leave Sourcepeak Planet. 

Lu Yin and Ku Wei relaxed. Cai Jianqiang had been the biggest threat to them, and without him, the rest would be handled much more easily. The two of them then simultaneously acted against the rest of the competitors on the altar, using the bombardment of their forcefields to knock the Lockbreakers off of the stage one after another. Even Xi Qi gave up and was eliminated, though Lu Yin was surprised to see that Deng Pu was able to withstand their forcefields’ attacks. 

Deng Pu’s face was dark. Even though he didn’t have a forcefield, his domain was very sturdy. His star energy control had also reached the Cloudwalk realm, and under these circumstances, he was able to combine his Cruiser realm strength with his domain to forcibly withstand Lu Yin’s and Ku Wei’s forcefield attacks while continuing to lockbreak. 

“If you eliminate me, then which of you two are confident in succeeding?” Deng Pu asked with difficulty, as he had almost reached his breaking point. 

Lu Yin and Ku Wei hesitated. That was right—if Deng Pu was eliminated, then the two of them would have to face off against each other. 

Lu Yin looked at Ku Wei’s sourcebox and then at his own. The two had a similar lockbreaking speed, but he felt strange. Not only did he have his domain and his lockbreaking tool, but he also had the Cosmic Art and his altered eyes. Despite all of these abilities, he was not able to surpass Ku Wei. Was this person truly someone from the Seven Courts? If so, then he would not be easily dealt with. 

Lu Yin was apprehensive of Ku Wei, but Ku Wei was similarly cautious of Lu Yin. The two had no plans to face off against each other, so in the end, they did not knock Deng Pu away for the moment. 

Felynn continuously sent her voice to Lu Yin, telling him not to deal with Deng Pu and that he had to allow Deng Pu win.