Chapter 261: Powerful Innate Gift   Timestop’s usefulness needed no explanation.

Gift Copy was not often utilized since he did not dare to roll the die where there were people nearby. The ten seconds he had to find someone were too short, but the roll did have a remarkable effect when used properly.

Possession was often surprising and could allow him to improve his power by leaps and bounds, and it even had the possibility of providing unexpected results.

And yet, others could use their innate gifts in the trial zones, but he could not use his die. Was this only in the trial zones, or did it also hold true in other, similar areas? This was important to find out.

“Hey monkey, I’ve got a question for you.”

The Ghost Monkey was pleased. “So you’re finally realizing this monkey’s importance! Go ahead and ask, as long as you don’t seal off my senses for no reason.”

“You’ve mentioned that the trial zones are the ruins of the Rune Technology legacy, so how can people use their innate gifts in there?”

“An innate gift is a part of the body, so they can naturally use it in there. Why? Do you want to analyze it? It’s not just you, but even your Human Domain can’t analyze it.”

“Then are there any innate gifts that can’t be used there?”

The Ghost Monkey paused. “That’s unheard of. The Runemasters’ powers were absolute, and they could duplicate anyone, any technique, and any innate gift bloodline without exception. There was never a recorded case where they were unable to duplicate something.”

“What if there is?” Lu Yin continued his line of questioning.

“Then that means that that person’s innate gift is simply too powerful and that it has exceeded their Rune Technology’s scope and abilities.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, as he did not doubt this explanation; he was fully aware of how powerful his die was.

“Wait, does the innate gift that’s unusable in the trial zones belong to you?” the Ghost Monkey asked probingly.

“Not me, but someone else.”

“Who?” The Ghost Monkey was shocked. “That’s impossible. There’s nothing that the Runemasters couldn’t duplicate. They could even clone the universe’s stars.”

“How do you know so much about all this?”

“I’ve mentioned this before—I like to investigate history, and I’ve studied records of these events.”

“Is that so...” Lu Yin found this hard to believe. The Ghost Monkey knew too much for his status, but he avoided Lu Yin’s questions about how he had gained his knowledge every time Lu Yin asked. Lu Yin did not trust the Ghost Monkey, although the Ghost Monkey did not ask anymore questions about the strange innate gift either.

Not much later, a set of coordinates was sent to Lu Yin’s gadget. It was from the Sandmaster, with the following message. “Head to this location and participate in the Outerverse trial.”

Lu Yin stood up; it had finally begun. This trial was already unfair to the other participants even before it started; all he had to do was make it back alive. However, things would be different if his aim was to hinder the Daynight clan.

Lu Yin had a plan, though it possibly required using Wu Xia’s identity.

Lu Yin quickly arrived in the treasury and started looking for Old Cai.

“Old Cai, I’m headed to the Outerverse trial. Can I borrow a personal spacecraft?” Lu Yin was embarrassed to make the request, as his personal spacecraft had vanished at the pirate port, and he did not know where it had gone.

Old Cai wasn’t happy with the request either. “You can’t even protect your items, so be careful to not lose your life as well. Go on, but remember that you’re just borrowing it and that you must return it later.”

Lu Yin did not mind, as an average personal spacecraft only cost a few tens of thousands of star energy crystals, which was an amount that he could afford.

When the spacecraft entered outer space, Lu Yin checked to see about how long it would take to arrive. He had visited the Darkmist Weave once before, but the universe was an unpredictable space, and routes often had to be recalculated. This time, it would take him nineteen days to travel from Astral-10 to the location of the coordinates, which wasn’t too long.

He thought for a moment and then took out the Giant Emperor’s third eye, grasping it in his palm. He stared at the passing outer space as battle force shrouded his body and he started silently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

Time slowly passed in this manner, with eighteen days flying by as the personal spacecraft sailed across six regions.

Lu Yin initially wanted to find somewhere to rest and roll his die, but in the end, he decided against it. He would use it in the Shenwu Continent so as to prevent any possible accidents from occurring.

Another day passed, and Lu Yin finally reached an isolated area of space that matched the coordinates that he had been given. A strange ripple swept through on occasion, as this area of space had been severed from the universe.

Lu Yin passed through after his identity was successfully authenticated, and he entered without any trouble. Upon entering the isolated space, he saw a giant space station that was made entirely out of metal, such that it looked like a steel fortress floating in the heavens. It was many times bigger than a super-large spacecraft.

Many terrifying auras filled the region, every last one belonging to a space-exploring powerhouse. There were also many more hidden auras, and they also caused Lu Yin to feel numb, as those auras belonged to the powerhouses beyond his imagination.

This was the front line of the universe’s invasion into the Shenwu Continent, and it was this space station that prevented the Shenwu Continent from connecting to the rest of the universe.

A middle-aged man, Cang Yu, greeted Lu Yin. He was an Explorer.

“I never thought that I would be able to see Student Lu, one of the top four fighters in the Astral Combat Tournament. It is my honor,” Cang Yu said with a smile at Lu Yin, acting very courteously. The man was only an average Explorer and had originally been from the Darkmist Weave. He had never been to the Innerverse and had had no chance to enter a top tier institution such as the Astral Combat Academy. When greeting a top student like Lu Yin, this Explorer even sounded as if he was trying to win the youth’s favor.

Lu Yin smiled. No matter how strong the average cultivator was, the difference between them and a person of status would become obvious when they came face to face. Even though Lu Yin himself was not Cang Yu’s match, he still had to be very accommodating towards Lu Yin. What’s more, Lu Yin had absolute confidence that he could defeat an average Explorer such as Cang Yu. After all, he had even held his own against an astral beast Explorer like Zi Tie, who prided itself on its defense.

“Sir Cang Yu, you don’t have to be too courteous. However, could I trouble you to give me a brief introduction to the Shenwu Continent?” Lu Yin smiled and spoke politely as well.

Cang Yu nodded and smiled brightly. “Student Lu, you must have done some general research before arriving, so I will not overly elaborate on the general situation. There are a few matters, however, that you should take note of.” He paused, and when he saw that Lu Yin was listening attentively, he continued, saying, “The first is your attire, as the Shenwu Continent’s culture still has ancient outfits. We will provide Student Lu with an outfit that you can change into. The next, is its technology.” As he spoke, Cang Yu unfolded his hand.

Lu Yin looked and blinked, but he did not see anything.

Cang Yu smiled. “There’s a dust-sized camera in my hand. This tiny item can be installed into a person’s muscles and avoid all forms of detection. During the trial period, all advanced technology such as gadgets must be removed, because the Shenwu Continent is antagonistic towards the greater civilizations. Anyone who’s discovered to be colluding with us will die without exception.”

“I’ve heard of this before.”

Cang Yu nodded and continued. “The third is star energy, as the star energy that we use to cultivate is different from the martial power that is cultivated on the Shenwu Continent. Upon arriving, it’s best that you first hide in the countryside for a bit so that you can ensure your safety by dispersing your star energy and then recultivate using martial power. Otherwise, the Shenwu Continent’s specialized organization will quickly track you down and instantly kill you.”

Lu Yin knew that Cang Yu was referring to the Ming Constables, but why did he not directly reference the name? Lu Yin understood it more as he thought about it. This was a trial, so it was not possible to explain everything. The meaning of a “trial” lay in separating the strong from the chaff, and a true training experience was always accompanied by many deaths.

“The fourth point is that the trial’s outcome will be judged based on the video recorded by the dust-sized camera. It’s up to the individual trialtakers to think of various ways to improve their results. However, I believe that Student Lu must know about the two permanent missions for any trial on the Shenwu Continent. Completing either one of them will naturally be a great merit,” Cang Yu said, with a tone that hinted at his expectations. “I believe that Student Lu has great hope of completing those missions.”

Lu Yin grimaced. “Sir Cang Yu thinks too highly of me. I’m only a Limiteer.”

Cang Yu marveled, “Ever since the Shenwu Continent was discovered, the trialtakers have arrived continuously, but no one has ever managed to complete those two missions. I believe that Student Lu will be able to do it, as your wonderful battles during the Astral Combat Tournament were truly stunning.”

Lu Yin smiled, but spoke no more.

“In a bit, we will ask someone to tear open a spatial crack in order to send Student Lu to the Shenwu Continent. The descent point will be at one of the thirty six islands in the Shenwu Empire. As we are unable to completely control where you arrive, you must be fully prepared for all kinds of events. Historically, there have been situations where trialtakers were discovered upon landing.” Cang Yu was solemn.

Lu Yin nodded before asking, “How do I return?”

“I will provide a few locations to you, and they are all very hidden. We will have powerhouses appear there and retrieve all the trialtakers.”

“Then why not directly send us to those points?”

“The locations change sporadically and cannot be reused. The people of the Shenwu Continent may discover them as well, so the main goal is to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Lu Yin understood; this was a war. He silently reminded himself that although this was a war between humans, to the people of the Shenwu Continent, he was an invader. There was no real difference between this war and the war between the Human Domain and Astral Beast Domain.

At that moment, Cang Yu’s gadget made a beeping noise. He looked at it and was shocked. “There’s actually someone from the Blaze Realm here as well. They sent trialtakers too?”

Blaze Realm? Lu Yin’s heart jumped as he asked, “Who is it?”

“Someone named Arikar. Right, wasn’t he defeated during the Astral Combat Tournament by Astral-8’s student leader?” Cang Yu had only just remembered this, and he profusely apologized to Lu Yin. “Please wait here a moment as I bring him here. We’ll be sending a few trialtakers into the Shenwu Continent together since tearing open the spatial crack is extremely difficult.”

Lu Yin nodded and watched Cang Yu leave. His eyes flickered, as he didn’t expect someone from the Blaze Realm to actually come here. He wondered what Arikar’s expression would be when he saw Lu Yin.

It was not strange for someone from the Blaze Realm to participate in the Outerverse trial, and Arikar was the strongest among the Blaze Realm’s younger generation. Him coming here was very normal.

He was much more arrogant than Lu Yin and was not very courteous to Cang Yu. In his eyes, an average Explorer such as Cang Yu wasn’t worthy of his notice as this sort of person needed to curry favor with the Flowzone Envoy if he wanted to enter the Innerverse.

Cang Yu could sense Arikar’s arrogance, though he paid no heed to it. During every trial, he would bump into geniuses from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Actually, receiving courtesy from top geniuses like Lu Yin was a strange occurrence.

“Student Arikar, another student had arrived before you. We’ll wait for a few more and then we can send you all to Shenwu Continent,” Cang Yu smiled.

Arikar grunted in assent. “Who else is here?”

“You should know him since he’s also a student from the Astral Combat Academy: Lu Yin.”

Arikar stopped walking and stared at Cang Yu in astonishment. “What did you say? Lu Yin? He’s here?”

“Yes, he arrived about ten minutes before you.”

Arikar’s expression soured as he did not want to be grouped with Lu Yin. Everyone participating in a trial was an enemy, and Arikar would rather be lumped in with unknown Explorers than provoke Lu Yin. He already knew of the animosity between the Blaze Realm and Astral-10, so he considered things carefully. After a moment, he said, “I’ll wait for a few days before entering the Shenwu Continent. You can arrange for Lu Yin to enter first.”