Star Odyssey

Lu Yin solemnly said, "Everyone, the survival of the megaverse itself is at stake. I don’t know when the Spirit Nidus will invade us, but as things currently stand, there is a massive gap between us. They’ve used the same cultivation method for countless years, much like if our Heavens Sect had never fallen and continued to flourish for all this time. You can imagine the gap before us."

People’s expressions changed. All of them had heard bits and pieces about the Spirit Nidus, and Lu Yin had made sure that the researchers were told about the invasion. That would mentally prepare them for the intense days ahead of them.

"The gap is so large that, if we don’t fight to catch up, we’re doomed. Their goal is to reset our megaverse, destroying all of us so that they can climb higher themselves. Even if it means that I have to die, I refuse to let them succeed. I expect the same determination from all of you. Fight with your lives to develop what we need.

"I want 10,000 of these 108-array combinations, each capable of using the power of a Progenitor."

Lu Yin’s outrageous demand stunned everyone, and even the usually composed Grandmaster Xiu Ming was left speechless.

Grandmaster Li’s excitement vanished as if someone was strangling him.

"10,000?" Chief Engineer Biao Zi gasped in horror.

Lu Yin was completely serious. "What’s important is the theoretical research, right? Once that’s complete, it shouldn’t be that difficult to start mass production."

If not for Lu Yin’s status, Chief Engineer Biao Zi would have immediately started cussing him out.

Director Zhi cleared his throat and cautiously spoke up. "Lord Lu, I don’t fully understand this 108-array microarray, but in order to support something of this level, the universal armors need to be far, far stronger and durable than anything we’ve ever created. That’s not going to be easy to develop, and it will be even harder to manufacture."

Lu Yin nodded. "That’s why I’ll have the Infinity Empire cooperate with you. I’m assigning them with the task of manufacturing the armors. They use extremely robust materials, which I’m sure you’ve already heard about."

Director Zhi’s eyes lit up. They were indeed familiar with the Infinity Empire. How could they not be?

When the Infinity Empire had invaded the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect had captured a mecha to study it. They had immediately discovered just how extravagant the Infinity Empire was with their materials, as each mecha was constructed with invaluable materials. The amount of resources that each mecha required was staggering.

The Infinity Empire had spent years invading parallel universes, and no one knew just how many raw materials they had accumulated.

"Not only that, but I will also have the Heavens Sect’s peak powerhouses lead expeditions to find whatever materials you need and buy, or if necessary, steal it. We’ll gather resources from 10, 100, or even 1,000 parallel universes. I refuse to believe that we can’t produce 10,000 microarray weapons," Lu Yin said with a fierce determination.

Everyone was moved by the young man’s resolve, and there was a surge of excitement in the room.

This research project would be a massive collaboration involving countless parallel universes. No one could predict how many resources could be gathered, not even Director Zhi. That was because each parallel universe had different materials.

Without the accelerated time of the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes, the time needed to complete this research would have been terrifying. They would have needed thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Only with accelerated time did they even dare to try.

"Also, I might take you to the Mirari Realm along the way. Time stands still in that place, which will give you plenty of time for your work. If we can produce 10,000 microarray weapons with destructive power of Progenitors, we’ll blast the Spirit Nidus into oblivion," Lu Yin declared loudly.

The Spirit Nidus was certainly powerful, with their ten sequence bases and eighty-eight ranked sequence particles. They had a great number of powerhouses, not to mention a terrifying Immortal, Master Qing Cao. Even so, Lu Yin was determined to use all the available resources in the Tianyuan Megaverse to fight against the invaders.

This war would be entirely different from the one that they had fought against the Aeternals.

Against Aeternus, defeating their top powerhouses had been enough, but against the Spirit Nidus, unless all of their forces were completely annihilated, repelling invasions once or twice would simply mean a third and fourth invasion. They would return endlessly.

The Spirit Ignition and Spirit Rebirth methods that the Spirit Nidus had developed were undoubtedly excellent for raising talented cultivators, while also accelerating their progress.

This war would be a clash of civilizations, and it would far exceed the conflict with Aeternus.

A clash of civilizations would not have a true victor, but Lu Yin had no intention of being the loser.

Everything depended on just how much strength he could rally by relying on his years of experience in the Origin Universe.

He ignored the researchers who were still reeling from their orders, and Lu Yin moved on to the Infinity Empire.

The Infinity Empire would play a crucial role in the upcoming war, though not because of their combat strength. Rather, their expertise in materials would play a heavy role in how quickly the energy converter and the microarray research progressed. The Infinity Empire’s importance far surpassed that of the Technocracy.

Lu Yin assigned two tasks to the Infinity Empire. First was to manufacture a list of materials provided by the Heavens Sect with the empire’s advanced technology. Second, the Infinity Empire needed to ramp up production of their own mechas.

“The empire currently has seventeen ten-ring mechas, ten eleven-ring mechas, and six twelve-ring mechas,” reported the current emperor, Shang Tianzong, in a very respectful tone.

Shang Cheng, Shang An'an, and the head researcher from the empire’s Energy Research Institute were also present. The old man was simply known as Elder Huan. He had spent so many years in the Energy Research Institute that only a few people could even remember his real name. People referred to him as either “Sir” or “Elder Huan.”

“That’s not enough. Not nearly enough.” Lu Yin glanced around at the gathered people before announcing his orders. “I want fifty ten-ring mechas.”

Shang Tianzong and the others were stunned. Fifty mechas? They had not had that many even at the Infinity Empire greatest peak.

“Twenty eleven-ring mechas.

“As for the twelve-ring mechas, their number needs to at least double for a total of twelve.”

“Lord Lu, how are we possibly supposed to meet such demands?” Shang Tianzong immediately interjected.

Next to him, Shang Cheng let out a sigh of relief, grateful to not be the emperor. What Lu Yin was demanding was utterly impossible.

Lu Yin gave Shang Tianzong a sharp look. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. You already know about the Spirit Nidus. If we lose this war, the entire megaverse will be destroyed. I don’t care what you have to do. Melt your throne down for more metal if you have to, but you must meet your quota.”

Shang Tianzong’s face grew pale, and he did not dare to respond again. Instead, he turned to Elder Huan for help.

Lu Yin continued to explain, “We are currently gathering all the resources from every parallel universe. This will be an alliance that includes the entire megaverse, and we have no room for any mistakes. Don’t think that I’m being too demanding with you. Just talk to Zi Jing or Director Zhi, and you’ll realize that I’m actually being lenient with your Infinity Empire.

“Now, Elder Huan, tell me, can you develop thirteen-ring energy?”

Elder Huan bluntly replied, “No.”

Lu Yin sighed. Twelve-ring energy had already corresponded to the level of a sequence powerhouse, which meant that thirteen-ring energy would be a qualitative leap. It would theoretically match the power of an Ortuser. If they could develop this technology, Lu Yin’s confidence regarding the upcoming war would soar. Unfortunately, such a breakthrough would not be easy to achieve at all.

“Lord Lu, we lack the necessary experimental data needed to develop thirteen-ring energy, and we need lots of data. At the very least, we’ll need two thirteen-ring experts to work with us. But even if your Heavens Sect can provide that, I still can’t guarantee success,” Elder Huan explained. “For the time being, in order to deal with this war, the wisest course of action is to temporarily set aside thirteen-ring energy research. If I focus on helping with mecha production and material refinement, the efficiency will significantly increase.”

Lu Yin was taken aback. “You’re willing to delay your thirteen-ring energy research?”

Shang Tianzong, Shang Cheng, and the others were just as startled by this offer as Lu Yin.

Everyone knew about Elder Huan’s obsession with thirteen-ring energy. Killing the man would be easier than getting him to abandon his research. Lu Yin had never even considered asking the old man to help with mecha production, which was why he was surprised that Elder Huan had offered his assistance.

Elder Huan sighed. "If the megaverse is destroyed, who will develop thirteen-ring energy?

"I may long to research thirteen-ring energy, but doing so depends on the survival of the Infinity Empire. Lord Lu, I have but one request."

"Tell me."

Elder Huan's eyes blazed with excitement. "Capture a few thirteen-ring experts from the Spirit Nidus for me to study."

Lu Yin smiled as he met the old man’s eyes. "Deal."

Elder Huan smiled back.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the pending invasion, Lu Yin believed that, as long as the megaverse was united, victory was possible.

After leaving the Infinity Empire, Lu Yin went to see Ye Wu. The man could no longer escape; where could he run to? War was looming on the horizon. If the Tianyuan Megaverse lost, it would be reset, and Ye Wu would have nowhere to hide then.

Lu Yin delivered the corpses of ten peak powerhouses, traitors who had joined Aeternus. Most of the time, when peak powerhouses died, there would no body leftover, so gathering ten such corpses was quite impressive.

Ye Wu’s goal was simple: symbiotic corpses. Lu Yin wanted Ye Wu to raise up ten new peak powerhouses with his symbiotic corpses.

Ye Wu agreed without hesitation, assuring Lu Yin that he would provide as many experts as Lu Yin provided bodies.

Lu Yin secretly ordered the Heavens Sect to search for more bodies. This was not a task that could be done openly.

The Spirit Nidus’s invasion was not yet public knowledge, as Lu Yin wanted to avoid fomenting public unrest.

Making the invasion public knowledge would not help, but rather hinder progress.

Lu Yin was setting the bar high, as he was aiming for everyone to produce more peak powerhouses. He was not concerned about Semi-Progenitor-level combatants, because anyone beneath the Progenitor level would be insignificant in the war against the Spirit Nidus.

Next on his agenda was the Scourge Occupation.

Lu Yin did not immediately start assigning tasks when he arrived at the Scourge Occupation. Instead, he went to see the madman who was responsible for the Scourge Occupation becoming what it had: E' Jia.

E' Jia was an Ortuser, but an insane one.

Lu Yin had once discussed E' Jia with Mister Mu, who had explained that E' Jia’s breakthrough to the Origin realm had gone wrong. The man’s power had sealed itself inside his own body, and it had continued to grow. Eventually, if left unchecked, it would explode. In order to release the excess energy, the man had to bite others, which was how the Scourge Occupation had started.

Lu Yin wanted to see if there was a way to help E' Jia.

If E' Jia’s sanity could be restored, then the Tianyuan Megaverse would gain another Ortuser for the war. However, the chances of success were very slim. If it was possible to help E' Jia, Mister Mu would have already done so.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Mister Mu had once said that helping E' Jia recover would be harder than helping a Progenitor become an Ortuser.

Soon, E' Nan led Lu Yin to where he could meet E' Jia, face to face.

Lu Yin had seen the man once before, but he felt something different this time.

“Open the door,” Lu Yin commanded.

E' Nan hesitated. "Lord Lu, do you want to go inside?"

Lu Yin nodded.

E' Nan hesitated again. "Ancestor E' Jia is insane. He releases his power through pure instinct, attacking anything that appears. If you go in there, you might face danger that we can’t predict. Many of our people have been killed by our ancestor."

"It doesn't matter," Lu Yin replied.

E' Nan did not protest any further. He had seen Lu Yin’s strength for himself when the man had defeated the Ancient Lightning Locust with a single stomp. Such terrifying strength had left a deep impression on E' Nan, and he believed that even an Ortuser might not be able to stand up to Lord Lu, let alone an insane E' Jia.

What restrained E' Jia was not a sturdy cage. The man’s confines could be easily broken.

What truly imprisoned E' Jia was himself.

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA