The old man's expression flickered. He looked at Lu Yin, his gaze shifting from bizarre to contemplative, as if hesitating. When he saw Lu Yin's ninth star form a perfect diagram of a star system, the strangeness on his face intensified. "This... doesn't seem to be the orthodox Heavenly Star Art."
"The orthodox Heavenly Star Art requires opening the thirty-six vital acupoints of the human body to completely eliminate all weaknesses. This kid's Heavenly Star Art was forcibly manifested; some great expert must have intervened. But this method can only be temporary. How can the Heavenly Star Art be deduced by just anyone? This kid will definitely have to go to the Heavenly Star Sect," the old man mused, his eyes glinting.
A moment later, as if having made a decision, he flicked his finger. A gust of wind shot out and struck the back of Lu Yin's neck. He fainted once again. On this planet, it seemed he was never truly awake, just cycling between consciousness and unconsciousness.
The old man walked over to Lu Yin and lifted the sole of his foot. "One of the thirty-six vital acupoints is right here. To learn the orthodox Heavenly Star Art, one must open it. I wonder what those old fogeys at the Heavenly Star Sect will choose when they see the diagram on your sole. A pity... I won't be able to see it." With that, he used Star Energy to carve something into Lu Yin's foot.
"Kid, the moment the diagram on your sole is exposed will be the moment your destiny changes. I hope you can withstand it then," the old man muttered, looking at Lu Yin with a complex expression. He then casually removed the "dark-jìn" he had placed on him. It wasn't needed anymore. He had only wanted to leave a sliver of hope, but now, it all depended on this kid's luck. He has the background of the Heavenly Star Sect; his chances are much greater than others. But... why is a Heavenly Star Sect disciple in the Outerverse? He couldn't figure it out. And this kid even pretended not to know about the New Universe. I was fooled.
Regardless, even if this kid was a traitor to the Sect, as long as his Heavenly Star Art wasn't crippled, he had a chance. Moreover, to be able to deduce the ninth star, this kid had to have a major figure backing him.
How could the old man have known that Lu Yin's Heavenly Star Art was stolen, and that he truly didn't know about the New Universe? The Heavenly Star Sect's protection of its art was heaven-defying. The old man couldn't possibly imagine someone could steal it. This was a misunderstanding. As for whether Lu Yin would go to the Heavenly Star Sect in the future, or whether the diagram on his foot would be exposed, no one knew.
...
An unknown amount of time passed. Lu Yin woke up again, rubbing his head. What happened? I just fainted for no reason. Is it an aftereffect of memorizing the text on the wall?
Lu Yin subconsciously looked at the wall and his eyes widened. The text was gone, replaced by countless numbers. What does this mean? He turned, looking for the old man.
A piece of meat flew at him. Lu Yin caught it and looked outside the cave.
The old man walked in. "Eat it. Then memorize."
Lu Yin was speechless. "You're telling me... I have to memorize these numbers too?"
"Nonsense! Just memorize it like I told you!" the old man snapped.
Lu Yin felt like cursing him. The entire wall was covered in numbers. It had taken him nearly a month to memorize the text, and now it was a bunch of digits.
"Relax. These numbers don't have that oppressive force. You can memorize them quickly," the old man explained, seeing Lu Yin's face grow darker.
Lu Yin felt a bit better. As long as there was no pressure, memorizing it all wouldn't be too difficult. He was a Melt-realm expert, after all; his senses were greatly enhanced.
"Oh, right. I remember you know battle-qi. Try it," the old man said suddenly.
Lu Yin was puzzled but activated his battle-qi. An airflow swirled around him, and in the next instant, the battle-qi turned black, covering his body and forming patterns. And the lines... were purple.
Black battle-qi with purple lines. This was the sign of Three-Pattern Battle-Qi!
Lu Yin stared at his body, stunned, unable to believe it. Three-Pattern Battle-Qi? How did I improve so much? It was just at the initial stage.
The old man wasn't surprised. "As expected. Your body's innate talent is quite good. To go from the initial stage to Three-Pattern is decent. You can be considered to have some real strength among the younger generation."
"How is this possible?" Lu Yin was baffled.
The old man cackled. "Because you died."
Lu Yin was lost.
The old man's lips curled. He said flatly, "In the universe, there is a very strange cultivation art called the 'Life-Death Mystic Art'. It's not a difficult art, but the conditions to cultivate it are so harsh that almost no one in the universe can meet them. Because... it's cultivated by the dead."
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed, staring at the old man.
"When you fell onto this planet, you expended your strength to use a technique to avoid being eaten. Then, you were in a standoff with the slaves for days. In truth, after I appeared, you fainted. That wasn't fainting... you were really dead." The old man stared at Lu Yin. Seeing his confusion, he continued, "I controlled your own Star Energy to circulate the Life-Death Mystic Art. This art doesn't help you heal; on the contrary, it can even worsen your injuries. At the time, I was just curious, so I tried it. I didn't expect you to come back to life. You've... successfully cultivated it, in a sense."
"How did I come back to life?" Lu Yin frowned.
"How would I know? You just did. I told you before, an ordinary person couldn't survive your injuries, regardless of their strength. An injury like that is equivalent to death. I circulated the art on you out of curiosity, but you revived. So now, you get to enjoy the benefits it brings," the old man said with envy.
Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "I'm already cultivating another art. I can't cultivate a different one."
"Relax. The Life-Death Mystic Art doesn't need you to cultivate it. Only the dead can. Its only function is to 'gamble'. If you're dead, you're dead. But if you live, then congratulations, you're reborn, just like... now," the old man said.
Lu Yin looked at his hands, at the patterns on his body. He could feel his own power. This was power won back from the brink of death.
"Does this mean I can use the Life-Death Mystic Art to improve my battle-qi in the future?" Lu Yin asked. Such a huge jump in power... anyone would be tempted.
The old man shook his head. "I told you, you don't cultivate it, so you can't use it. It's just a gamble. It squeezes your potential at the moment of your death. Everyone has a natural ability to heal. This art not only doesn't activate that potential, it suppresses it, worsening the injuries. All that potential is converted into power. If you die, it's all gone. But if you live, that power is returned to you. Don't be surprised your battle-qi improved so much. Because... you truly gambled your life and won."
Lu Yin stared at the old man. "You mean... you didn't intend to save me? You just used the Life-Death Mystic Art on me out of curiosity?"
The old man admitted it without hesitation.
Lu Yin looked away. Only a fool would believe that. This old geezer definitely hoped someone could memorize those things and deliver them to his designated person. But the place he mentioned must be incredibly dangerous, so he used the Life-Death Mystic Art to gamble, over and over. Whoever survived would be stronger, and thus have a greater chance. I'm not the only one he used this on... I'm just the only one who survived.
This old man was vicious. In his condition, Lu Yin was as good as dead. Yet the old man used this art to suppress his healing, which was tantamount to murder. Surviving was truly a miracle.
"Years ago, someone coveted the Life-Death Mystic Art but didn't dare cultivate it. So, he scoured the universe, gathered ten thousand geniuses, killed them all, and circulated the art. A pity. All those geniuses died. Not one survived. After that, this art was forgotten," the old man muttered, looking at Lu Yin with a trace of envy.
Lu Yin laughed. "Old man, looking at you now, you've pretty much reached the state to cultivate the Life-Death Mystic Art yourself. Give it a try. Maybe your strength will soar and you can fly out of here."
"Fly out? Kid, don't tell me you think I haven't even reached the Explorer realm? Let me tell you, at my peak, I could shatter a hundred planets like this with one slap!" the old man said disdainfully.
Lu Yin rolled his eyes. Only a fool would believe that. Even a Hunter-realm expert would find it hard to shatter that many planets in one blow.
"Alright, enough nonsense. Hurry up and memorize," the old man urged.
Lu Yin sighed, looked at the wall, and began to recite the random numbers.
...
There were many numbers, but without the pressure, it only took him a few days to memorize them all. To keep him from forgetting, the old man forced him to recite the numbers and the original wall text once every day. The numbers were easy, but the text was hard. He could only recite a bit before fainting, wake up, and continue. This repeated for another half a month.
Starting ten days ago, Lu Yin took over the job of hunting. He knew the old man was strong, but he wasn't used to letting a geezer who could barely walk find food for him.
He looked at the parched earth and the slaves mining in the distance. His heart felt heavy. He looked up. The thick, dark red clouds smothered the planet. This place... was like a tomb.
Tsi tsi...
A chilling sound came from behind. A giant, strange beetle snapped at Lu Yin. This beetle's bite could sever metal and tear the earth. The slaves could only flee if they saw it. But this thing... was food for Lu Yin and the old man.
Phịch! The beetle was killed. Lu Yin retracted his hand, looking at the Three-Pattern Battle-Qi covering his body, feeling its power. I wonder what level I'm at in the Academy now? Domain Master? An ordinary Domain Master is definitely not my match. Van Kleed only had Two-Pattern Battle-Qi. Perhaps... I'm qualified to fight for the title of the strongest Domain Master.
He didn't know when he could return. Lu Yin glanced up again, then dragged the giant insect back to the cave.
At this moment, there was only half a month left until the Ten Academies Tournament.
He dropped the beetle at the cave entrance and saw the old man staring at the sky. "What are you looking at?" he asked.
The old man frowned. "Something's wrong. It's been a month, and no one has come to 'collect the ore'."
Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Collect the ore? Who does this planet belong to? Who comes to collect? When?"
The old man glanced at Lu Yin. "You really want to go back?"
"Nonsense!" Lu Yin snapped.
The old man chuckled. "Don't you know how much stronger you've gotten in these short two and a half months?"
"So what if I'm invincible? What's the use of facing you all day?" Lu Yin rolled his eyes.
The old man said flatly, "This planet... belongs to the Leiao family."
Lu Yin was stunned. "The Leiao family?"
The old man nodded.
"That's not right. I was attacked at Pirate Harbor. The Leiao family should have been attacked by enemies, they might even be wiped out. How can this be the Leiao family?" Lu Yin frowned, confused.
The old man said dismissively, "When you encounter something, don't just deny it. Think about its rationality. This planet... does indeed belong to the Leiao family."