Star Odyssey

Chapter 3794: Can't See Through

Lu Yin knew that he could at least unravel Lu Bi and Lu Jing’s sword techniques.

One focused on defense, and the other on attack. Their styles were so obvious that they were actually quite easy to counter.

“Waiter, more wine, and bring a few more appetizers too.”

“Right away, sir.”

“Hey, have you heard? That senior from Everchange Valley has already found the attacker’s trail.”

“Of course I’ve heard! Why else would I be here? My senior brother’s been following, and he told me that Elder Le is headed this way.”

“This way? Surely, you don’t mean this tavern?”

“Haha, of course not! Though the direction is correct.”

“I can’t understand what the Four Commands Sword Sect is thinking. They could just choose their next Sword Master and then have him fight their attacker. They’ve already lost, so even if they find him now, what of it? I bet that there’s no one in the entire region who can stop him from leaving.”

“I’ve heard about that. Supposedly, Lu Feichen is the reason.”

“Lu Feichen? Didn’t he also lose?”

“Lu Feichen is proud. His Beheading Star sends a sword straight into the sky. There are rumors that he’s been hiding a second technique. The attacker was so quick that Lu Feichen never got to use it, so he wants to find that man and have a real duel.”

“That doesn’t just describe Lu Feichen. The entire Four Commands Sword Sect is proud. They won’t show anyone under the Greater Sancti any face! I heard that, years ago, Lesser Sancte Yue Ya visited them to request their assistance, only to be bluntly refused.”

“What could be challenging enough to make even a Lesser Sancte seek help from the Four Commands Sword Sect?”

“That I don’t know...”

As Lu Yin listened to the nearby chatter, he spoke up. “When did Lesser Sancte Yue Ya ask the Four Commands Sword Sect for help?”

“Oh, that was quite a while ago... It must have been several decades ago by now.”

“That sounds right, several decades.”

Lu Yin looked away. Several decades, huh?

Yue Ya had chased Lu Yin from the Spirit Nidus to the Consciousness Megaverse and then spent twenty years in that megaverse. Yue Ya had continued to pursue Lu Yin until he had finally arrived in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. If all of the time was added together, it really had been several decades.

That meant that, when the Ruler Garden had broken the rules to help Yue Ya in the Consciousness Megaverse, Yue Ya had also been seeking other allies. Not only had he approached the Ruler Garden, but the others that he had approached had also refused to help.

Lu Yin let out a breath. Yue Ya truly had risked everything, and he had even lowered himself to ask the Four Commands Sword Sect for help. Had they been willing to show Yue Ya a bit of face and send even just a few experts, things might have turned out very differently.

So, did that mean that Lu Yin owed the Four Commands Sword Sect a favor?

As he set his cup down, Lu Yin made a decision. His goal of making Lu Sizhan the Sword Master would not change, but as soon as he fulfilled the first request, he would repay the sect. Perhaps he could point out the weaknesses in Lu Feichen and the others’ sword techniques and help improve them. It would be his way of making amends.

When Lu Yin had first left the Tianyuan for the Spirit Nidus, he had been full of hatred and thirsted for vengeance. He had been prepared to die and had been entirely hostile to the other megaverse. This time, despite the fact that he was facing the vast Nine Odysseys Megaverse, which was a behemoth that harvested other megaverses like farms, Lu Yin felt little true enmity.

It was the way of the omniverse: survival was the first law. Anything that impeded survival was an enemy, but that did not necessitate hatred.

Altering his mindset had also altered Lu Yin’s choices.

Had he confronted the Nine Odysseys Megaverse with the mentality that he had possessed when he first left the Tianyuan, his meeting with Greater Sancte Green Lotus might have gone very differently.

He could only struggle to survive. There was nothing else.

After a while, Elder Le arrived with the people from the Four Commands Sword Sect who were following him. They all surrounded the tavern, leaving the chatting cultivators inside completely dumbfounded.

What’s going on?

Seeing the most powerful swordsmen in the sect arrive with an entire crowd of onlookers, the tavern’s waiter collapsed where he stood.

Elder Le’s gaze fell upon one table, and he walked over to touch it. “It’s still warm... he left only moments ago.”

He then turned to the waiter. “This table hasn’t been cleared. What did the person who was sitting here look like?”

The waiter stared blankly at the empty table, trying hard to remember. Finally, his face fell. “I- I can’t recall, sir.”

Lu Feichen turned to the people sitting at the nearby tables. “What about the rest of you? Does anyone remember the man’s face? My Four Commands Sword Sect will reward you for a picture of his face.”

More people also stared at the empty table, but no matter how they struggled to remember the man who had occupied it, they simply could not.

One man said in frustration, “I clearly spoke with him just now...”

“That’s right. He’s the one who asked about Lesser Sancte Yue Ya. I even glanced at his face when I answered. I absolutely saw what he looked like, and yet I can’t recall anything. How odd.”

Lu Bi barked, “Exactly what was his question? It was about Lesser Sancte Yue Ya?”

“Yes. We were praising the Four Commands Sword Sect’s integrity and how the sect once refused Yue Ya’s request for aid. He asked us when that incident happened, nothing more.”

Lu Bi turned to Lu Feichen.

A glint flashed in Lu Feichen’s eyes. Yue Ya? It was true that, decades earlier, Yue Ya had visited the Four Commands Sword Sect and asked them to send experts to the lower three megaverses, despite the fact that doing so was strictly forbidden. The sect had refused, thoroughly offending the former Lesse Sancte. Yue Ya had already been stripped of his title by the time he had approached the Four Commands Sword Sect.

They had thought little of the matter until they received more news later on. What they had learned had left them rather relieved by their earlier response.

The Ruler Garden had been eradicated, destroyed by Deathmound. This matter was still a secret, but anyone who was determined to learn the truth would find it.

The Ruler Garden had long since supported Yue Ya. That was no secret. When Yue Ya had left for the lower three megaverses, while he had failed to find support from the Four Commands Sword Sect and other organizations, the Ruler Garden had followed the man. The ultimate result was the Ruler Garden’s complete annihilation. As for Yue Ya himself, there was still no news.

Could the Four Commands Sword Sect’s assailant be connected to what Yue Ya had done, or was he merely curious?

“That fellow isn’t here to avenge Yue Ya, is he?” Lu Sizhan ventured.

Lu Bi frowned. “That’s not impossible...”

“It is impossible.” Lu Jing flatly rejected the possibility. “If Yue Ya had someone like this man, then why would he have ever begged our Four Commands Sword Sect in the first place? What could possibly be beyond him with such an assistant? The Ruler Garden would have never fallen.”

The man stopped there, as the Ruler Garden’s destruction was still not common knowledge, even years after the fact. The incident would remain sealed until Deathmound confirmed the clan’s total eradication. Only a handful of major powers knew of the matter.

Lu Feichen quietly ordered, “Investigate everything related to Yue Ya. I want to know exactly where he is now.”

"Yes, Sect Master."

Lu Bi, Lu Jing, and even Lu Sizhan issued their own orders as well. While Lu Sizhan himself lacked the strength necessary to compete for the position of the Four Commands Grand Swordmaster, that did not mean that his East Command was by any means weak.

Elder Le ignored everything. His only task was to locate the mysterious attacker.

He sat in the chair that Lu Yin had just vacated, closed his eyes, and continued searching. Unless you leave the Four Commands Sword Sect, this old man will surely find you.

From far away, Lu Yin observed the tavern and saw Elder Le.

Heaven and Earth Aura? As I suspected, when the power of the spirit seed liquid is used here in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, it leaves discernible traces.

He found the trail that I left from traveling about the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and he followed it all the way here.

It’s certainly an interesting technique, but if you want to find me, let’s see what you’re really capable of.

Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step. He instantly flashed forward, vanishing, reappearing, and then disappearing yet again.

The power of time was another mighty force. While there were a number of experts capable of perceiving its power, that did not mean that they could wield it.

Within the tavern, Elder Le’s eyes flew open, and he stared into the distance in shock. “Why are there so many trails?”

The others present were baffled by the question, and they looked at the man in confusion.

His eyes continued to flicker. “No, so many trails are impossible. How could one person leave so many at the same moment? Time... yes, this must be the power of time. It allows him to create hundreds—no, thousands of trails at once. But which are real, and which are false? Where is he now?”

Elder Le’s face steadily grew paler.

Lu Feichen and the others exchanged glances, suddenly struck by an ominous premonition.

The eyes of various people in the crowd following went wide with astonishment. Seeing a Thousand Changes master like Elder Le at a loss was proof of the attacker’s terrifying strength.

Instantly, messages were sent out in every direction.

Already, the fact that the mysterious assailant had managed to overwhelm the Four Commands Sword Sect with nothing more than sword skills defied belief. Attention had been drawn from many groups across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Learning that the person also possessed the ability to evade the Everchange Valley’s pursuit meant that everyone needed to be even more cautious.

There was no shortage of people in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse who could wield the power of time, but the fact that someone was able to use the power of time to elude a Thousand Changes master showed an exceptional level of mastery. Only someone who had studied the power of time for ages to become a peerless expert could manage to do so.

Xian Ding’s heart sank. Sword skills and the power of time? This man must be found. If not, he will pose too great a threat to Master.

Elder Le exited the tavern and closed his eyes yet again, only for them to bulge open a moment later. He had found even more trails.

In his perception, Lu Yin had left countless trails across the ground and throughout the sky. It was not a single person’s trail. There were hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of trails.

It was too convoluted for Elder Le to see through.

The Everchange Valley had always remained disconnected, but they feared the power of time more than anything else. Elder Le had never considered that he would meet such a formidable master of time in the Four Commands Sword Sect.

After spending a long time searching, the old man slumped over. He turned and bowed to Lu Feichen and the others. “My apologies, but I cannot find the man’s trail.”

Lu Feichen’s eyes narrowed. “Could a Myriad Changes master find him?”

Elder Le answered confidently, “A Myriad Changes master indeed could, but those seniors from our valley are either in seclusion or far away. Will you wait for one to become available?”

Lu Bi shook his head. “We won’t wait.”

He then turned to Lu Feichen. “It’s clear that this man is avoiding us. Even if a Myriad Changes master arrives and is able to find the trail, we might not be able to keep the man from leaving, and he might even leave before such a master arrives. Waiting would waste time and cost us dearly.”

Lu Feichen nodded, his eyes heaving as he looked around in every direction. “Elder Le, is the man nearby?”

Elder Le said, “There is no doubt that he is within the Four Commands Sword Sect, and he is also watching us.”

Lu Feichen lifted his head and spoke with a voice that echoed across the entire Four Commands Sword Sect. “I am Lu Feichen of the Four Commands Sword Sect. I seek you out not for revenge, as you have not gravely wounded any of us. I merely wish for you to show yourself and have a duel with me. I, Lu Feichen, still have a second sword technique, and I ask for your guidance.

“All of you, step back.”

Lu Bi and the others exchanged looks before silently withdrawing.

Lu Sizhan glanced around, feeling a bit guilty, but he still stepped back like everyone else.

Elder Le retreated just like the swordsmen, though he did not leave the sect. Despite completing his task, he wished to see just who he had been tracking.

One day passed. Then two, and three...

No one appeared.

Lu Feichen continued to wait.