Star Odyssey

“This is all I know, you can ask your teacher if you want to know more,” Xi Yue finished, leaving Lu Yin pondering. A gale appeared at just the right time; the only distractions came in the form of her occasional pained cries.

It was easy for people to fall apart in such dark surroundings, especially in the face of such a strong suppression; even an elite student like Xi Yue found it hard to bear. She was almost broken by the 50-hour mark, her deep blue hair starting to turn into a sickly yellow. Her exquisite skin had now lost its luster just like her sunken eyes, and she was starting to hallucinate on occasion. Lu Yin watched it all with a frown; the woman would surely die if she went on like that, but he couldn’t help her.

She trembled subconsciously as the wind whistled, having grown to be fearful of such sounds. As she folded her arms in response to her body quivering, he let out a sigh and suddenly hugged her, moving his mouth close to her ear, “You’re such a washing board.”

“YOU SCUM!” Xi Yue’s gaze changed drastically in an instant, her face turning bright red as anger filled her heart. That anger didn’t fade at all in the face of the oppressive winds, and the aura of battle force burst forth from her body. Dozens of hours of inhuman suffering had finally taught her battle force, but all her focus was on the asshole in front of her.

Lu Yin couldn’t help a laugh as he got up to stretch, “Congratulations, you succeeded!”

“Succeeded?” she was stunned, looking down at her body as she realized what it was. Battle force? She’d really done it! After all that torment…

Up above, the Sandmaster raised a brow, “Understanding battle force largely depends on one’s determination, some will never grasp it in their lives while others grasp it quickly. This girl isn’t bad; in fact, she’s quite extraordinary.”

“Hey, you can pay me now,” Lu Yin said below.

Xi Yue raised her head, but the only thing that came to mind when she saw Lu Yin’s face was the term washing board. This asshole! Her battle force quickly swirled around her palm and she sent it out, “Go to hell!”

Lu Yin evaded the attack and complained, “Woman, you’re biting the hand that fed you.”

“SCUM!” she yelled, but her body swayed from even this exertion. She had to crouch down in exhaustion; the long torment had drained her completely.

Lu Yin crouched down beside her, “Pay me, I refuse to think you don’t have the money.”

Xi Yue snorted and took out a crystal Mavis card, “60,000 star crystal cubes. You aren’t to tell anyone else about what happened here and what you did to me.”

“What did I do to you?” he asked in puzzlement as he took it.

“You better not call me that in the future!”

“Call you what? A washing board?”

“Shut your mouth!”

“Are there really 60,000 cubes here?”

“Go see for yourself.” She didn’t want to waste time talking nonsense any longer.

“Eh. Alright then. If you’ve scammed me, I’ll tell everyone about what happened here. Rich kids like you care about your reputations.” Seeing Xi Yue ignore him, Lu Yin clenched his fist, “Okay, it’s time to set off. Because of the additional 10,000, I’ll bring you back.”

She simply glared at him with disdain, getting up and shouting feebly, “Sandmaster, I want to leave this place.”

Sandmaster? Lu Yin was taken aback.

“Alright,” a voice suddenly rang out from the void, and soon after, Xi Yue was pulled out by a formless energy and disappeared. Lu Yin’s eyes went wide in speechless shock. He’d forgotten that the Sand Ocean had its tutor as well; if he’d known, he would have left earlier.

“Sandmaster, I want to leave as well!” he yelled, but no one paid him any attention.

He yelled again, and there was still no response. This time he fell silent; this was such favoritism! Unfortunately, the winds buffeted him again before he could think about it, and he had to push his battle force to deal with the gale. He was no longer affected by the boundless pressure; while Xi Yue had spent the past two days understanding battle force, he had advanced his own control. He quickly shot into the sky, touching the upper layer of sand. Thirty meters passed by very quickly, and he made his way out of the desert with only a light ringing in his head.

It felt like he hadn’t seen the sun in forever when he finally got out, and he wasn’t able to adapt. Xi Yue wasn’t anywhere nearby, so he didn’t bother about the nasty woman who might start a messy fight if they met again. After going through such torment for so long, all he wanted to do was rest and roll his die.

“Miss Xi Yue, what happened?” The waiting students from Astral-8 were alarmed at the mere sight of a dejected Xi Yue that walked out of the Sand Ocean towards the teleporter. She looked in dire straits, and her clothes were torn.

“Scram!” Xi Yue had no plans to talk. Gloomily making her way to the teleporter, she looked deep into the desert just before she left, “Just you wait, scumbag. You’ll pay for what you’ve done!”

She left in a hurry, not even bidding goodbye to the Pao brothers as she headed straight to her spaceship. The middle-aged woman looked at her with concern as she took her time to freshen up and change, returning to her usual beautiful self. “You’ve had a hard time, Young Mistress.”

Xi Yue took a deep breath and looked at the darkness outside, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Then your battle force…”

Xi Yue raised her arms and a formless current circled around it, neither star energy nor air. It gave off an aura of power that could pierce through anything. Many of her followers were shocked and amazed, while the middle-aged woman was filled with glee, “Wonderful! You managed to comprehend battle force in a matter of days; that is the quickest in Astral-8!”

When she heard that she was the fastest, Xi Yue immediately thought about Lu Yin. That asshole had mastered it in a matter of hours. Besides, even her own success was owed to that bastard commenting on her chest. If she didn’t get her revenge, she wouldn’t be worthy of her fame.

“Spread the news that Lu Yin of Astral-10 was disrespectful to me,” she suddenly said with an arrogant look.

The middle-aged woman and the others were alarmed, “What? Who? The Souldream Tribe won’t let him off.”

“It has nothing to do with you, just get the word out that he took advantage of me,” she said with a crooked smile. She wanted to show the asshole that Xi Yue wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Washing board? She was clearly voluptuous.

The middle-aged woman was put in a difficult position, but she could only comply under Xi Yue’s icy glare. Very soon, the paparazzi burst to life with news that the star of the Innerverse had been taken advantage of at Astral-10 by someone named Lu Yin. At the same time, the news that she’d gone there to meet a boyfriend had spread out as well, and countless pairs of eyes focused on Astral-10.

Within Astral-8, one youth’s eyes were filled with magma as his hatred frozen the sky, “Tell Craynor that Lu Yin doesn’t need to continue his cultivation. I want one of his arms.”

Within his enormous spaceship shuttling through the starry skies, Hart Phoenix had a gloomy look on his face.

“The news might not be real, Young Master. Miss Xi Yue might have been taken advantage of a little, but it likely isn’t as bad as it was made out to be,” someone said cautiously.

Hart stared into space, “Doesn’t really matter. That woman is the one my brother chose for me; she’s my property, and no one can touch her. This Lu Yin took my spot as the greatest Sentinel, and he’s now taken advantage of my girl. He has some guts.”

“I’ll report to Young Master Serati immediately.”

“I can handle my own matters,” Hart said gruffly.

In another spaceship, Bonnie from Astral-9 was watching the news with alarm, “Xi Yue is an elite of Astral-8; there are very few Melders that can take advantage of her. So not everyone at Astral-10 is worthless, Tutor was right in asking me to take a trip.”

Once the news broke out, many spaceships from across the Innerverse shot towards the Frostwave Weave, heading for Astral-10. Xi Yue was well aware of the buzz she could create; every member of the Souldream Tribe was a star in her own right, but she was a cut above the rest and even an elite Melder of Astral-8. She was certain that her proclamation would cause Lu Yin enough trouble in the foreseeable future, and could already see the pain and helplessness on his face. She smirked, “Call me a washing board again.”

It wasn’t just the Innerverse that followed news about Xi Yue. She had plenty of fans in the Outerverse as well, and two die-hards were named Big Pao and Little Pao. When they saw this news, they could not believe it, they had to verify it before they finally accepted it as truth. Stunned, they looked at each other.

“Little brother, is the Lu Yin they speak of the one from our academy?”

“Who else could it be? We’re in trouble.”

Big Pao sulked, “My goddess has been violated.”

“That isn’t the problem. Think of how many people will be on their way here right now. Quick, go look for Lu Yin; I’m sure he doesn’t know what kind of mess he’s made. But then again, he really is something if he took advantage of her; she isn’t weak.”

There were no restrictions on Astral-10 outside of the three major cultivation grounds. Lu Yin found a spot near the teleporters to sleep right after he got out of the Sand Ocean, and when he woke up, there were over a hundred messages from the Pao brothers. He realized something was wrong and responded immediately with his location.

Big Pao and Little Pao flew over very quickly, and the latter grabbed him by the collar, “You son of a bitch, tell me which hand you used to take advantage of her!”

“What advantage are you talking about?” Lu Yin was confused. It was only after Little Pao showed him the news that he realized how powerful this woman was, and it left him speechless. Taking advantage of her? Surely, it wasn’t that serious. One might be able to stretch the circumstances to consider it that way, but… This woman was really strange. She was the one who’d told him to keep quiet about the entire thing, but she was the one who spread the news. There was definitely something wrong with her.

However, it was this look of annoyed contemplation that gave the Pao brothers a confirmation. They exchanged glances, each sure that this bastard had taken advantage of their idol.

“Damn it, think of a way out! There are bound to be many people who are already on the way to Astral-10!” Big Pao said helplessly. 

Little Pao looked at Lu Yin, “I think it would be best if you hide yourself for a while. Those who are wooing Xi Yue are all young and powerful individuals. You’ve seen her abilities for yourself, you know how strong she is. She’s one of the strongest Melders in Astral-8, but there are some people stronger than her. There are also a number of suitors who are even higher in realm.”