Chapter 2808: The Mark Of Time  

The Great Sovereign was so high up that she could look down upon everything. Ants were incapable of seeing the people looking down on them, and in an ant’s mind, humans may not even exist. However, Lu Yin was no ant. He could see the Great Sovereign, which meant that they were both people.

This was simply Lu Yin's stubbornness, much like his state of mind when he had first met the Great Sovereign. At that time, the Great Sovereign had asked Lu Yin if he hated her, and Lu Yin had refused to answer.

He was not qualified to shout at the Great Sovereign, so he had done his best to maintain a bit of his own dignity. That bit of dignity was like a prairie fire, and it would one day set everything in the universe ablaze.

"Great Sovereign, the Tea Ceremony can begin now," Mu Shen stated calmly.

The Great Sovereign’s eyes shifted away from Lu Yin. Her emotionless eyes did not see just the people who were attending the Tea Ceremony, nor even the 9.99 million people listening. Instead, she was looking at the Cyclic Universe, the entire Sixverse Association, and even at the Endless Frontier. She saw the countless people fighting against the Aeternals, or more likely, saw the human heroes and geniuses who were born over the course of time.

One by one, names were spoken by the Great Sovereign. These were the names of people who had made great contributions to mankind and who had dedicated their very lives to humanity.

This was the purpose of the Tea Ceremony. The people invited were not expected to merely taste tea, but also to taste life itself. They were given a taste of time, and a taste of mankind’s long history.

At every Tea Ceremony, the Great Sovereign would share the names of the people worthy of being mentioned and remembered by human kind.

This was the way of human beings. The Aeternals claimed that emotions were humanity’s greatest weakness, but for humans, it was just the opposite. Without emotions, how could one even be human?

The bonds and feelings that formed between people were the foundation that gave meaning to the human race’s continued existence. Emotions were the source of humanity’s power.

Listening quietly as the Great Sovereign savored human history, Lu Yin felt as though he was trapped in the river of time. He watched as talented heroes rose up, one after another, to fight for mankind. Always, they fought for humanity. The thought made his blood boil, and all he wanted to do was raise his head to the sky and roar.

Lu Yin was not alone, as everyone else was experiencing the same emotions.

Even people like Lord Xu and Great Elder Shan Gu were affected by the visions of the heroes who had fought to the death. Something stirred within them, something about the fighting and the battles that had taken place. At this moment, everyone, even the Great Sovereign, was fighting with those heroes. They cheered, and there was no hierarchy or seniority. Strength and weakness did not matter at this moment.

At every Tea Ceremony, some of the attendees would be missing limbs or could no longer speak, but these cripples had all served mankind. These were the ones who deserved the greatest respect.

Sequence particles shot towards the Endless Frontier, carrying with them the series of voices and names that were being spoken here. Like a miracle, hearing the names caused a resonance to ring out within the heart of humanity.

Lu Yin's eyes opened, as he fully understood what was happening. They were not only being affected by the deeds of the people whose names were being spoken, but also by the fact that the Great Sovereign was touching upon sequence particles. Most likely, she was using some law to cause these tragic epics to appear, as well as cause everyone’s heart to pound.

Lu Yin understood that this was the true purpose of the Tea Ceremony.

While humans felt emotions, they were also forgetful. At every Tea Ceremony, the Great Sovereign would use this method to remind everyone of humanity’s history so that it would never be forgotten. Only in this way could the Sixverse Association be united, and only in this way could mankind continue to fight against the Aeternals as one.

The Aeternals had no need for such unity, as they were all loyal to True God Wei Yi, fighting at his command. However, humans were different.

They also had negative emotions. Positive emotions served as the motivation for human cultivation, but negative emotions could also cause people to become spies and traitors.

This was the Great Sovereign’s way of uniting mankind as much as possible.

At this moment, Lu Yin suddenly felt admiration for the woman. Regardless of how she had treated the Lu family or whatever grudges existed between her and Lu Yin, what she was doing at this moment served all of humanity.

It was no wonder way Lord Xu and the other rulers of the various universes were willing to cooperate with the Great Sovereign.

For several continuous days, the Great Sovereign spoke without ever stopping. The names that flowed from her mouth seemed to be imprinted onto the hearts of all who heard them.

It took a full five days for her voice to finally stop.

Mu Shen stood up and slowly bowed. "Thank you, Great Sovereign."

Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, Lord Wei, and all of the others stood and slowly bowed as well. "We thank the Great Sovereign."

They were not bowing because of the difference in strength or cultivation, but because of the Great Sovereign's respect for human history and for those who had sacrificed their lives for mankind. They were showing respect for her actions.

The Great Sovereign’s Tea Ceremony erected a monument in the hearts of people, and each name that had been spoken was engraved on that monument to be put on display so that humanity would never forget the deeds of its heroes.

"We thank the Great Sovereign." "We thank the Great Sovereign."

"We thank the Great Sovereign."

...

Lu Yin bowed low. "We thank the Great Sovereign."

Across the Sixverse Association and the Endless Frontier, countless people bowed low. "We thank the Great Sovereign."

There was no way to know if it had merely been an illusion, but everyone saw a vision of the people whose names had been spoken by the Great Sovereign. They rose up from the river of time when they were acknowledged and returned the greetings.

At this moment, the heart of the entire human race had been truly united into one, and they were all eager to rush to the enemies’ lair and kill the Aeternals, completely eliminating their ancient enemy.

Once everyone was seated again, the Great Sovereign spoke up. "Tea will have to wait a while. If you have any questions, ask them."

Immediately, someone stood and bowed. "Excuse me, Great Sovereign. This junior is often troubled by distractions while cultivating. My energy does not circulate smoothly within my body, and my cultivation is no longer advancing, but receding. Is there any solution?"

The Great Sovereign replied, "Experience various aspects of human life by living as a mortal."

"Thank you, Great Sovereign."

"Excuse me, Great Sovereign. This junior has cultivated the Great Apocalypse battle technique to great perfection, and is no longer able to make any progress. How can this be resolved?"

"Kill a powerful enemy on the Endless Frontier, and in return, I will grant you a technique."

"Thank you, Great Sovereign."

"Great Sovereign..."

All who spoke up were Progenitor-level powerhouses. Lu Yin looked around, only to find that he did not recognize most of the people.

There were quite a number of peak powerhouses in the Sixverse Association. Even if each member universe only had five such experts, that still meant there were thirty Progenitor-level cultivators. Adding in the experts from the parallel universes of the Endless Frontier and other such universes, there were even more.

Among the people who asked questions, Lu Yin saw several Progenitor-level powerhouses who were dressed rather strangely.

One person wore what looked rather like a gourd, and Lu Yin had no idea where he came from.

Another person had only a single eye that took up almost their entire face, which was quite bizarre.

These were either people from the parallel universes of the Endless Frontier, or people from outside of the Sixverse Association.

He did not see Jiang Qingyue. Did he not attend the Tea Ceremony?

Sovereign Shao Yin was growing restless, and he was occasionally glancing at Xia Shenji, wanting to say something. However, Xia Shenji never once looked at the Sovereign, which was so infuriating that Sovereign Shao Yin felt the urge to slap the Progenitor.

"Dao Monarch Lu, do you not have anything you wish to ask Master?" Sovereign Lotus suddenly asked.

Lu Yin looked over. "Were you speaking to me, Sovereign Ninth Lotus?"

The woman calmly replied, "Yes."

"No."

The Sovereign stared at the young man for a moment before looking away without saying anything further.

People were quite relaxed and casual during the Tea Ceremony. When a question was asked, the Great Sovereign was not obligated to answer it, but this was a rare opportunity to receive guidance for improvement, which was precisely why countless people wanted to attend the Tea Ceremony.

Lu Yin turned back to look at Sovereign Shao Yin, who was sitting behind him. "It’s been some time, Sovereign Shao Yin."

Sovereign Shao Yin stared at Lu Yin for a moment before quietly stating, "You are Xuan Qi."

Sovereign Lotus overheard, and was taken aback by the comment. "Who is Xuan Qi?"

A smile stretched across Lu Yin's face. "The power of Extreme Yin is quite impressive."

Sovereign Shao Yin clenched his fists. "You dare play tricks on me?"

At this moment, the Great Sovereign called out, "Xia Shenji." Everyone instantly fell silent. No one dared to make any noise when the Great Sovereign spoke.

Xia Shenji quickly rose to his feet. "Senior Great Sovereign, this junior is here."

The Great Sovereign's eyes landed on Xia Shenji. "Why are Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan standing outside the Heavenly Gate and requesting an audience?"

Sovereign Shao Yin's heart dropped. He stared at Xia Shenji and kept winking at the man, but Xia Shenji acted as though he did not see anything at all, and answered respectfully, "There is something that we have that we wish to report to Senior Great Sovereign. It..." He glanced at Lu Yin. "It concerns Dao Monarch Lu."

The Great Sovereign was intrigued. "In that case, allow them to come in."

At the Heavenly Gate, Evergreen Sage stepped aside.

Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Luo Lao'er passed through, followed by another person. It was Jiu Yao.

Luo Lao'er's heart trembled. This was the real test. Was he going to face the Great Sovereign? He had never dared to even imagine that such a day would come for him.

Just the thought caused his legs to shake.

Looking up at the stairs that rose into the clouds high up in the sky, he was no longer able to walk.

Bai Wangyuan frowned. "Xuan Qi, don't be nervous. As long as you present this evidence, Lu Xiaoxuan will not be able to be saved. He is a spy, and by testifying against him, you will be doing humanity a great service, for which the Great Sovereign will reward you."

Luo Lao'er swallowed.

Jiu Yao was more excited than anyone else. Sovereign Shao Yin had promised the man that so long as the descendant of the Lu family was verified to be a spy, Jiu Yao would become a Sage. Becoming a Sage meant reaching the same level as a Progenitor, simply the Cyclic Universe’s equivalent of a Progenitor. Jiu Yao would instantly reach the pinnacle, and would even acquire a status that far surpassed that of the Progenitor of Combat, or anyone at all from the Sixth Mainland.

This was why Jiu Yao had agreed to betray Lu Yin. Truthfully, it was not even betrayal. The Sixth Mainland and the Fifth Mainland had long been enemies.

The Progenitor of Combat had personally gone to the Fifth Mainland to participate in the invasion in order to eliminate the Fifth Mainland’s geniuses and ensure that they would never threaten the Sixth Mainland. However, with the Progenitor of Combat’s death, Jiu Yao had inherited his father’s will, and was determined to first eliminate Lu Yin.

At this thought, Jiu Yao took a deep breath and followed Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan up the stairs that rose into the sky. At the top, he would find the opportunity to become a Sage.

All of the people attending the Tea Ceremony waited quietly.

It was not long before Bai Wangyuan and three other people arrived.

Before the Great Sovereign could say a word, Sovereign Shao Yin shouted, "Master's Tea Ceremony is of the utmost importance! If you do not have important business here and have the gall to disturb Master, I will make you pay the price!"

Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan glanced at each other. Clearly, something was wrong. The Sovereign’s behavior made that very clear.

He seemed to be trying to distance himself from the two Progenitors and treat them as strangers.

Shan Gu grew irritated. "Sovereign Shao Yin, the Great Sovereign personally allowed them entrance. Whether they cause trouble or not is none of your concern, so why are you jumping in?"

Xu Wuwei lazily agreed, "Exactly. Sovereign Shao Yin, if not even the Great Sovereign said anything, why don't you shut up?"

Sovereign Shao Yin gritted his teeth, staring at Bai Wangyuan.

More and more, the Progenitor was certain that something had gone very wrong.

"Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, why did you approach the Heavenly Gate?" the Great Sovereign asked. Her question was accompanied by a tremendous surge of pressure.

Bai Wangyuan's mind spun. He quickly decided it would be best to simply retreat, and opened his mouth to speak.

However, Xia Shenji answered first, "Senior Great Sovereign, they wish to accuse Lu Yin of being a spy."

The moment the words were heard, the Tea Ceremony erupted.

Everyone stared at Lu Yin in surprise and with a great deal of suspicion.

Sovereign Shao Yin glared at Xia Shenji. That idiot!

Lu Yin looked confused. "Accusing me? Of being a spy? Xia Shenji, is this a joke?

"I was the one to drive the Aeternals from the Origin Universe. I risked my life to fight against Aeternus. How could I be a spy?"

Xia Shenji replied, "I do not know what Brother Bai and Brother Wang have to say, but they have brought witnesses."

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