Yuhua Mavis smiled as she watched the two girls bicker. “Alright, you two, give me some quiet.”

“Right, Sister Yuhua needs to go to the Astral Tower, so she can’t be disturbed. Lulu, you should go,” Grandini said gently as she clutched Yuhua Mavis’s arm.

Lulu showed her teeth. “Why don’t you go? I won’t!”

Yuhua Mavis helplessly said, “You can both stay. Tell me more about what you two experienced outside. The academy? Wasn’t it interesting? Did you meet anyone you like?”

Lulu quickly said, “Sister Yuhua, I captured a giant tortoise during the apocalypse on a planet called Earth. It’s really, really big!”

“Don’t brag. How could it be bigger than our ancestral tortoise?”

“Are you trying to annoy me? It’s an Explorer! It hasn’t matured yet.”

“You’re too noisy.”

***

In the Neoverse’s western region, at Smoke-Eater Peaks, Gu Xiao'er had a stunned expression on his face, and he looked a bit like an idiot.

A ray of sunlight shot through the smoke, and his father, Gu Laogui, appeared with a smile on his face. “Xiao’er, you can come out now. Rest for a bit. Then, we’ll head to the Mountain and Seas Zone.”

Gu Xiao'er looked up, shocked. “I- I can go out now?”

Gu Laogui nodded.

Gu Xiao'er shouted, “You’re lying! I won’t go out! You’re trying to hurt me.”

“Xiao’er, Father has been doing all of this for your own good. Think about it—if you can become one of the Cosmic Five, then won’t all of those ladies from Azure Mansion flock to you? Think about that Flower Queen Ming Yu!”

Gu Xiao'er swallowed his saliva, his eyes showing both expectation, nervousness, as well as a longing and a rather obscene glint. “I- I’ll go out.”

“Come, Xiao’er, come over to Father first and take a puff of smoke.”

“You lied to me again, ***!!!”

…

The competition at the Astral Tower was about to begin, and the Mountain and Seas Zone had already opened up. The powers who knew the location of the Mountain and Seas Zone had made their preparations a long time ago, and they were ready to set out at any moment.

***

At this time, Lu Yin was still putting on a show of learning the first layer of the Cosmic Art. He felt that ten days should be about right, and the group of disciples who had queued up outside the valley should be almost done by now. If not, then he would just cut the line, as a true disciple should have some special privileges.

Ten days later, outside of the Skystar Jade Wall’s great valley, five disciples were still queued up and waiting for their turn.

Mu Ziying was waiting to one side, bored. He also wanted to cultivate, but cultivating at this time would have absolutely no bearing on the contest at the Astral Tower. In truth, he just wanted to try his luck.

Yao Ji also arrived at this time. He was still recovering from his battle with Lu Yin, and his face was a bit pale.

After being promoted to a true disciple, he had gone to the Cosmo Hall and had carved his name there before moving onto the Starsky Jade Wall. He still had more than a month left before the contest at the Astral Tower began, and the Cosmic Sect was only half a month away from the Mountain and Seas Zone, which meant that he had about a month left to prepare, which should be enough. In reality, ten days were generally enough to learn the Cosmic Art from the Skystar Jade Wall.

Yao Ji did not plan to wait in line at all, and he simply nodded towards Mu Ziying before moving to the front of the line. The disciples already in line were not surprised by this treatment, as the true disciples would soon leave for the Astral Tower while they would not. Thus, they could continue to wait.

Yao Ji did not even say anything to the other disciples.

Mu Ziying did not mind either.

Some distance away, Lu Yin stepped out of the cave.

Mu Ziying looked over, and his expression instantly changed. Lu Yin had only been in there for a bit over ten days; had he finished already? That was impossible!

“Brother Lu, you-?” Mu Ziying hesitated, but Lu Yin simply smiled and revolved the Cosmic Art, causing eight stars to appear around him.

Mu Ziying was surprised. “You’ve already succeeded?”

Lu Yin nodded. “Of course. I wouldn’t have come out otherwise. Brother Mu, is it my turn?”

Mu Ziying was overwhelmed. This was the level of Lu Yin’s talent. When Mu Ziying had first heard how long Lu Yin had been cultivating for, it was already abundantly clear just how talented Lu Yin was. However, Mu Ziying had not been overly concerned at that time. But now, he was witnessing it for himself as he had watched Lu Yin casually shattered the Cosmic Sect’s records one after another. First, he had gone through the third promotion method to become a true disciple, and then, just ten short days later, Lu Yin had broken a second record. Mu Ziying was left completely speechless.

Mu Ziying was not the only one. When Lu Yin emerged from the cave and revealed his comprehension of the Cosmic Art, quite a few of the Cosmic Sect’s older powerhouses were also stunned.

Sect Leader Yuan Qiong’s eyes burned with a fervent light; if this child truly belonged to his Cosmic Sect, then it would be so much better.

Hold on. The sect leader suddenly thought of something, and he immediately called Highsage Shenwei.

Outside of the Skystar Jade Wall’s valley, both Lu Yin and Mu Ziying suddenly appeared. “There are still six people? Eh, isn’t that the fourth true disciple? When did he get in line?” Lu Yin was puzzled.

Yao Ji similarly noticed Lu Yin, and although he stayed quiet, he inwardly felt disgusted. He could do nothing but quietly wait.

Before Mu Ziying could say anything, Lu Yin walked over next to Yao Ji, looked at the disciples lined up behind the true disciple, and then smiled at Yao Ji.

Yao Ji was stunned. “What are you doing?”

Lu Yin smiled. “I’m a guest from far away. Bro, please let me cut in line.”

After Lu Yin spoke, Yao Ji did not even have a chance to respond when a disciple flew out of the valley and Lu Yin shot in. Before Yao Ji had even spoken, Lu Yin had already disappeared underground, which was where the Skystar Jade Wall was hidden.

Yao Ji was infuriated. “Lu Yin, you’re cutting in line! Get back here!”

However, Lu Yin was already gone.

The five disciples in line behind Yao Ji stared in stunned silence.

Yao Ji looked at Mu Ziying in indignation. “Brother Mu, this Lu Yin is too shameless!”

Mu Ziying was completely speechless. “Just wait a bit. It’ll only be about ten days.”

Yao Ji was furious. No one had ever cut in front of him in his entire life. This was too infuriating, and it was completely illogical! He wanted to curse.

The other disciples stifled their laughter, as being cut off in such a manner was indeed infuriating. However, when Yao Ji was the one being cut, they were all somewhat delighted. This person was fine with cutting in line if he did it, but when he was cut, he was insulted?

Lu Yin had also thought of this, and if Yao Ji had not been the one at the front of the line, Lu Yin would have been too embarrassed to cut. However, since Yao Ji had clearly done it to all these people already, Lu Yin felt that his actions were acceptable.

Right when he arrived underground, Lu Yin was greeted by a heavy aura, and it caused him to frown. He had never experienced such a sensation before, and it was indescribable. It was as if the aura in the air was… Grieving? Emotional? Lu Yin could not think of an appropriate word to describe the ineffable sensation.

There were actually remnants of some intelligent being’s emotions in the air.

Lu Yin moved forward, step by step, as he ventured deeper underground. He eventually arrived at a place where water dripped onto the floor with a soft sound and a faint blue light shone in front of him.

Lu Yin picked up his pace and moved further underground.

Soon, he saw the Skystar Jade Wall.

He had originally expected it to be a magnificent object that matched its reputation, so he was a little disappointed when he finally saw it. The so-called “Skystar Jade Wall” was just an enormous mirror that emitted a faint blue light. It was framed with ancient wood, and it looked completely ordinary. There was no intimidating aura coming from it, and at best, it had a respectable appearance.

As he slowly approached it, Lu Yin circled around the Skystar Jade Wall once, but it was really just a mirror. This was very strange; this mirror was the foundation behind the grand Cosmic Sect’s prosperity?

“Seventh Bro, is this the fabled Skystar Jade Wall?” the Ghost Monkey screamed, his shrill tone revealing his incredulousness.

Lu Yin felt surprised. “You’ve heard of it before?”

“A powerhouse’s journal mentioned this thing once before. It said that the Cosmic Sect’s ancestor obtained a jade wall that allowed them to comprehend the Cosmic Art. After that, they founded the Cosmic Sect. Who could have known that the fabled Skystar Jade Wall would look like this?!” the monkey exclaimed.

Lu Yin seriously studied the Skystar Jade Wall up and down.

“Seventh Bro, look, up there! Aren’t those things decorative symbols?” the monkey cried.

Lu Yin looked at where the Ghost Monkey was pointing, and he saw a row of diagrams in the upper piece of the wooden framing. The wood was quite old, and although the carvings were somewhat worn, they could still be made out.

“It looks like stars revolving around a flower,” Lu Yin muttered to himself.

The Ghost Monkey cried out, “Are there nine stars?’

Lu Yin counted them carefully. “Nine. Have you seen this before?”

The monkey grew excited. “That’s Progenitor Chen’s symbol!”

Lu Yin was overwhelmed, and his mind quickly descended into chaos. “Progenitor Chen?”

“That’s right! This monkey read in a powerhouse’s journal that Progenitor Chen’s symbol is nine stars supporting a single, pure white flower. Thus, this Skystar Jade Wall must have come from Progenitor Chen! This means that the Cosmic Art was created by Progenitor Chen!” the monkey exclaimed.

Lu Yin fell deep into thought, though he was not surprised. A powerful cultivation art like the Cosmic Art must have been developed by a fearsome powerhouse, so he did not find it strange that Progenitor Chen was the one who had created it. Progenitor Chen had been known as the Progenitor of the Stars, so this actually seemed quite normal.1

The Cosmic Art and the Nine Clones Secret Technique. He had truly been an unparalleled powerhouse, and it was no wonder why the Sixth Mainland did not dare to leave a record of this expert behind in its history. The power of Progenitor Chen had been so overwhelming that he had been able to go up against nine opponents from the same generation.

“I never imagined that the Cosmic Sect would actually be founded on Progenitor Chen’s techniques. That Progenitor really did leave behind too much good fortune for later generations,” the Ghost Monkey said with a sigh.

Lu Yin again started to study the Skystar Jade Wall. There really was not much more to see, so he followed Mu Ziying’s earlier instructions. Lu Yin slowly raised his hand and moved closer to the mirror—no, the Jade Wall. When his finger made contact with it, ripples appeared on the surface, and a moment later, Lu Yin was absorbed into the Skystar Jade Wall. When he opened his eyes again, all he saw was a dark, endless void. It was as though he was in outer space, and there were ninety-nine stars around him. This was the second layer of the Cosmic Art.

The fundamental condition to enter the Skystar Jade Wall and study it was to completely cultivate the first layer of Cosmic Art. Long ago, the Cosmic Sect had hidden away all of the other stars, making it so that one would only be able to see the third layer of the Cosmic Art once they cultivated ninety-nine stars.

The complete Cosmic Art was here, but whether or not Lu Yin could access it all depended on him.

Lu Yin stared at the ninety-nine stars revolving through the space. He took a deep breath as stars emerged from his body. As they sped up, more than eight stars appeared from him, and then, ninety-nine stars suddenly started revolving above his head.

He quickly released all ninety-nine stars, and a moment later, the area around him grew clearer, and it was as if the universe was being reborn. More stars emerged and began to revolve around him until there were more than 700 stars.

Lu Yin quickly counted the stars, and he found that there were 726 stars orbiting him, not one less than 726. This was the third layer of the Cosmic Art.

He had never thought that he would actually be able to learn the third layer of the Cosmic Art; it had been the right decision to visit the Cosmic Sect.

The Cosmic Sect’s second true disciple, Mu Ziying, had only simulated a bit more than 400 stars so far, proving that not even he had completed the Cosmic Art’s third layer. This was enough for Lu Yin for the time being.

As he thought about this, Lu Yin looked up and watched as the stars revolved, entering a cultivation session.

Outside of Skystar Jade Wall’s valley, Yao Ji waited for more than ten days, growing exceptionally irritable with each passing day.

Mu Ziying glanced at the other true disciple before looking down towards the underground region. Lu Yin should emerge soon. Ordinary people were only able to remain within the Skystar Jade Wall for around ten days, and one’s personal aptitude determined how long they could cultivate in that place for. Even those with the best perception could not stay any longer than a month at best.

But Mu Ziying lost a bit of his confidence once he remembered Lu Yin’s abnormal talent and how quickly he had completed the first layer of the Cosmic Art. Would he actually be able to stay in that space for more than a month?

More and more disciples had queued up behind Yao Ji, all of them waiting to visit the Skystar Jade Wall.

These disciples were not qualified to go to the Astral Tower, so they were in no rush.

Only Yao Ji was anxious, and he had become so anxious that he was about to curse. His franticness was made even worse by the fact that Lu Yin had cut in front of him to enter, and Yao Ji had simply been a moment too slow to stop him. Even remembering it caused him to grow more sullen.

[1] His name, Chen, means star(s), so Progenitor of the Stars.