Star Odyssey

carve out a path for his future—Lu Yin could feel this in his bones. 

As the radiance fell onto Lu Yin, he could feel Zi Rong’s spirit, determination, and perseverance through it.
He was stunned by Zi Rong’s perseverance, and Lu Yin felt as though he was facing an indestructible rock.
He couldn’t win.
There was absolutely no way he could defeat this attack. 

Lu Yin felt an urge to put on his universal armor and use the Yu Secret Art.
These actions had already become an ingrained habit of his, but he forcefully stopped himself as he felt Zi Rong’s perseverance.
The rune lines of this attack didn’t match up to an Enlighter’s, as Zi Rong hadn’t used his full power.
However, this attack was still sincere, and despite Zi Rong reducing the attack’s power compared to his battle with Cai Jianqiang, Zi Rong had still managed to put his perseverance, spirit, and determination on full display. 

Lu Yin opened his eyes and unleashed his domain.
His eight lined battle force appeared and covered his body as visible shockwaves of power emanated out from him.
He then lifted his hand and formed a claw, causing an ancient beast’s roar to ring out.
He used the Skybeast Claw in conjunction with his battle force and domain to defend himself from the attack. 

The ground shattered with a bang as a countless amount of invisible force surged into space, causing the various spacecraft observing the planet to tremble.
Spatial shockwaves also rippled out into the distance. 

Lu Yin fell to the ground as the Skybeast Claw had only helped him block the attack for a brief moment before quickly disintegrating.
Although Lu Yin could battle against Hunters with his current strength, Zi Rong wasn’t anything like a normal Hunter.
He was a Hunter powerhouse who could challenge Enlighters, and even if he hadn’t reached the peak Hunter realm, his attack still wasn’t something that Lu Yin could easily face. 

The classification of realms wasn’t the only way of measuring one’s power.
Kong Shi had already reached the peak Hunter realm, but she couldn’t compare to Zi Rong at all. 

Lu Yin had used the Yu Secret Art to divert his opponent’s attack any time he had faced off against a strong opponent on the level of Yan Yan, Twin Daemon, or Enlighters.
He had never directly fought against such people with his own pure strength; after all, those people had far exceeded his strength, so he had never felt embarrassed at using the Yu Secret Art.
However, now that he was facing Zi Rong, he didn’t feel like retreating.
Cultivation was intended to train one’s body, and one had to train both their strength and their soul.
Without the soul of a powerhouse, one would never be able to achieve greatness no matter how strong their body was. 

Zi Rong had only attacked once, but his attack had ignited Lu Yin’s passion for cultivation.

He roared and used the Skybeast Claw once again.
He continued to use the Skybeast Claw in rapid succession, trying to whittle away at Zi Rong’s attack. 

Cai Jianqiang watched the two in shock.
It was rare that an Explorer could survive an attack from Zi Rong, let alone fight back against it.
Even the Ten Arbiters might not have reached Lu Yin’s level when they had been Explorers. 

Zi Rong maintained his stance and carefully watched Lu Yin.

Suddenly, the space around them solidified, and a strange power caused them to shiver.

Lu Yin raised his hand and used the Dream Finger.
The attack was finally shattered with a clang, but Lu Yin’s finger was bleeding profusely.

The effects of practicing the Finger Tap Technique could be clearly seen now, as Lu Yin wouldn’t have been able to shatter this attack and keep his finger intact before.

Crack.

The mountain range in the distance shattered apart as invisible energies tore the ground apart.
Normal cultivators would no longer be able to approach this area as remnants of the blade attack remained in the sky. 

Lu Yin smiled despite panting heavily.
He had managed to withstand the attack.
He had truly held his own against a genius Hunter.
Although Zi Rong hadn’t used his full strength, Lu Yin had also held back.
He could have easily diverted that attack away with the Yu Secret Art, but he hadn’t done so because he had wanted to experience Zi Rong’s perseverance.
 

He had accomplished his goal, but Lu Yin wasn’t going to change his battle style.
He would continue to use the Yu Secret Art and external items whenever he fought against someone like Zi Rong in the future.
However, he was no longer confused about his cultivation path either. 

Lu Yin felt that he had learned a lot on this day, and he had a feeling that this battle would have a profound effect on his future. 

He hadn’t improved his strength, but he had nourished his spirit.

Clap clap clap clap!

Cai Jianqiang looked down at Lu Yin from the sky and applauded.
“Alliance Leader Lu, I am rarely impressed by people, but you have done it.”

Zi Rong also looked at Lu Yin.
“I am also rarely impressed by people, but you are one of them.”

Lu Yin laughed and quickly bandaged his finger.
He then used some special medications from Shamrock Enterprises to help his finger recover quickly.

He then leaped up out of the pit and glanced around.
There were countless rune lines hanging in the air, signifying the remnant energy from Zi Rong’s attack.

Lu Yin felt relieved; if Zi Rong’s attack had been slightly stronger, he wouldn’t have gotten off with just a simple finger injury. 

“You didn’t use your full strength,” Lu Yin told Zi Rong with a smile.

Zi Rong shrugged.
“I just wanted to witness the abilities of the renowned Lu Yin.
I wasn’t planning on killing you.
Why? Do you want to attack me too? It’s only fair.”

Lu Yin answered, “No, thank you.
My attacks would be useless against you.”

At present, his most powerful attacks were the Finger Tap Technique and the Skybeast Claw, but even when he used both techniques together, he had only barely been enough to block Zi Rong’s blade.
Lu Yin wouldn’t be able to injure the Hunter with any of his attacks, and although his spiritual force was comparable to the Ten Arbiters’, Zi Rong was a person with incredible determination, which meant that his spiritual force was likely equally as strong. 

Zi Rong grinned, as he already knew that.

“This guy’s so annoying! Seventh Bro, you shouldn’t have risked your life,” the Ghost Monkey said with a sneer.