Chapter 1629: Formidable Clone

Chapter 1629: Formidable Clone

The ringing of the bell was indiscriminate, and it instantly affected everyone, leaving the entire battlefield silent.

Most people started swaying and falling into the sea. Their eyes were filled with nothing but fear and despair. The sensation they had just suffered from had felt like the universe collapsing upon them.

Ji Qiang’s spear shadows hesitated for a moment and he looked over at Lu Yin and commented in a deep voice, “The Chief Justice’s emblem… You’re Lu Yin, aren’t you?”

Lu Yin met Ji Qiang’s eyes. “I already know who you are.”

Ji Qiang was caught off guard. “Oh, really?”

Lu Yin’s voice grew solemn. “You’re the one who started this whole mess. From the moment Jin He accused those with the Lu surname of being criminals by using his status as an Arbiter, all the way until now, I already know everything you’ve done.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one manipulating this war. You are as well,” Ji Qiang said rather indifferently. His eyes swept over the battlefield as he continued, “The Sword Sect wasn’t able to get here in time because of the Wen family’s interference, and Smoke-Eater Peaks and Gods’ Origin both showed up here unexpectedly. That all was your doing. You’re also why Leon’s Armada managed to summon so many pirates.

“I can’t help but commend you for being able to accomplish such a feat despite your young age. Never before has someone to compare to you appeared in history. However, for you to have the courage to face me, you must be one-hundred percent confident that I can’t kill you, no?”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed in irritation.

Ji Qiang scoffed, “Since you already know who I am, do you really believe that I don’t dare to kill you?”

Lu Yin’s pupils instantly shrank, and he felt all the hair on his body suddenly stand on end. Ji Qiang’s eyes burned with killing intent. It was clear that he absolutely meant what he said, and he truly intended to kill Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had never actually believed that there would be no one who would dare lay a finger on him. So what if he would eventually become a Progenitor or that he had incredible powerhouses standing behind him? None of that would matter to any opponent if they were pushed too far. All that Lu Yin could hope for at this moment was that the Chief Justice’s Emblem could save him, or Mister Mu.

“Whoever or whatever’s behind you can’t pose any threat to me! Since you’ve managed to guess who I am and what I’ve already done, you should also already know that I don’t care about what happens to anyone else.” The moment he finished speaking, Ji Qiang raised his spear and thrust it forward. His only target this time was Lu Yin.

Highsage Leon and the others all shouted in shock, “Stop!”

Lu Yin rang the bell again, and this time he brought out his die into his hand. His face was growing more pale by the moment. He had already crushed the jade talisman he had received from Mister Mu in the Perennial World, which meant that Lu Yin was down to his last resort.

Any of Lu Yin’s battle techniques or attacks would be pointless against Ji Qiang’s spear. All that Lu Yin could do was pray that his bodysuit armor and the Chief Justice’s emblem would be enough to keep him alive.

Everyone else on the battlefield was only able to watch as well, as Ji Qiang was currently the strongest powerhouse on the entire battlefield.

Lu Yin endured the same experience as Highsage Leon and the others had gone through earlier. The attack was just a spear thrust, yet the spear tip seemed to cover the entire universe and overshadowed everything else in his perception.

Lu Yin was barely able to suppress the urge to detonate his own body due to the overwhelming sensation of despair and suppression that had struck him.

The moment when the projection of the spear was just about to pierce Lu Yin, a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed hold of the spear, halting its action. The hand completely crushed the spear, leaving nothing more than specks of light.

The hand looked to belong to someone quite young.

Lu Yin stared in front of himself in a complete daze before finally catching sight of a boy. “Elder Jiu Shen?”

The person who had appeared in front of Lu Yin was indeed the Cosmic Sect’s Elder Jiu Shen. Despite his youthful appearance, he was actually incredibly old, and his strength had nearly reached the level of a Semi-Progenitor, as he was an expert with a power level of more than a million.

Elder Jiu Shen’s arrival left Ji Qiang’s face contorting in shock. He was Xia Ji’s clone, and though his power level was impressive, he still fell far behind the level of a Semi-Progenitor. As for Elder Jiu Shen, even if he was not a Semi-Progenitor, he was terrifyingly close. He was completely capable of dealing with Ji Qiang despite the gap still between Elder Jiu Shen and a Semi-Progenitor.

“It seems the brat’s information he shared is right; this man might truly be Xia Jia’s clone,” Elder Jiu Shen commented, and his words sent shudders through the hearts of everyone who heard him.

Gu Laogui turned to stare at Ji Qiang in disbelief; Xia Ji’s clone? Xia Ji was the mighty protector of the Seven Courts! He was a Semi-Progenitor and the Xia family’s ancestor. This person had always been a Semi-Progenitor’s clone? No wonder Ji Qiang was so terrifying.

Gu Laogui then shot a glare at Lu Yin. The older man was just about to crush his own teeth from grinding them in his rage. That little bastard! How dare he lie to me? He said this war was only going to be fought between the Four Pirate Crews; he never even mentioned the fact that even Semi-Progenitors might get dragged into it.

Lu Yin had even given the Cosmic Sect advanced warning regarding this detail, and both Leon’s Armada and Eversky Island would absolutely have been informed as well. In fact, Gu Laogui instantly realized that he had been the only one left ignorant, and yet he foolishly charged into the battle without any reservations.

He had even nearly died just a moment before, all because of that little bastard.

Gu Laogui had never been so angry before in his entire life, not even when Gu Xiao’er had lost the Cosmic Art those years ago.

Gu Laogui had not been the only victim, as Gods’ Origin’s Purple God was also confused, as was Cang Zhou. Even though Cang Zhou had been part of the initial plan to defeat Leon’s Armada, he had only ever been a small part and had possessed no right to be given access to the truth of the matter. Who would have thought that the commander of the Longevity Brigade would be a Semi-Progenitor’s clone?

Wasn’t Xia Jiuyou supposed to be the only member of the Xia family who had managed to cultivate the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

Elder Jiu Shen’s words set the entire Cosmic Sea ablaze, as even those who had been spectating the battle and people like Da Qiu who had not yet gotten dragged into the fighting were startled. They had followed orders and traveled to the battlefield, but had been left on standby to await further orders. None of them had ever expected to learn such earth-shattering news.

The information that Lu Yin kept concealed had just been viciously revealed by Elder Jiu Shen.

Ji Qiang heaved a sigh and met Elder Jiu Shen’s gaze. “So you all really already know about everything.”

He then looked back at Lu Yin and asked, “Were you the one to tell them? How did you manage to discover such a thing?”

“Divination,” Lu Yin replied.

“There’s no longer any need to hide. Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster are already on their way to the Seven Courts. You’ve already lost,” Elder Jiu Shen declared.

Ji Qiang’s expression turned grim, and at this time, yet another figure appeared on the battlefield: Highsage Wudi.

Both Elder Jiu Shen and Highsage Wudi possessed power levels of more than a million, and they were each powerhouses who surpassed even Yuan Shi. Their appearance had already brought about the end of the war in the Cosmic Sea.

Lu Yin let out a huge sigh of relief.

He had won this round. Leon’s Armada would be safe, and Xia Ji’s secret had actually been exposed.

Even though Ji Qiang was unable to defeat either Elder Jiu Shen or Highsage Wudi, they would each also struggle to defeat Ji Qiang. After all, he was the clone of Xia Ji, who was a Semi-Progenitor. Defeating such a person would not be easy.

Xia Meng took this moment to escape, and she took Xia Yi with her. There was no longer any need for them to keep fighting.

Nightking Dijiang also left the battlefield.

Since Highsage Shenwei and Gu Laogui had both been injured, they were unable to prevent their opponents from escaping.

Jin Mie also tried to escape, but Purple God had been keeping a close eye on him. There was no way that Gods’ Origin would let the Ignition Crew escape so easily.

Cang Zhou wanted to escape, but Sister Fei Hua kept him behind.

With Xia Meng and the others escaping, the curtains were slowly being closed on this war that had dragged in practically the entire Fifth Mainland. Chaosgod Mountain, the Ignition Crew, and the Longevity Brigade had all suffered terrible losses, especially the Ignition Crew and the Longevity Brigade. There was no chance that either crew would last much longer.

Cang Zhou coughed up blood as he glared at Fei Hua with an expression of indignation. A burst of sword qi brushed past the man. It came from Liu Feng.

The battle had already reached a conclusion, so Liu Feng stopped being so fixated on wanting to fight Cang Zhou one-on-one. Instead, he worked together with Fei Hua, and they beat Cang Zhou into a truly pathetic state.

Cang Zhou’s hair was a total mess, and his eyes were bloodshot as he glared at his two attackers and roared, “I won’t let things end like this! It’s taken ten years of planning; how could I just fail? I won’t let this be the end!”

Without any hesitation, the man charged straight for Lu Yin. Even if Cang Zhou was about to die, he would make sure that he dragged Lu Yin to hell as well.

Liu Feng quickly moved to stop Cang Zhou, but an astral chessboard suddenly appeared beneath Lu Yin’s feet, and he moved himself in front of Cang Zhou. The youth confronted the older man, which absolutely enraged Cang Zhou, and he let out a growl of rage. Energy exploded from his fists, and the attack shot straight for Lu Yin. The target of the attack stopped Liu Feng and Fei Hua from interfering, as Cang Zhou had already been badly injured, and was actually even weaker than he had been on Chaosgod Mountain. At best, at this moment Cang Zhou could unleash attacks with power levels of just over 500,000, which was only a bit more powerful than what Leader Hong had been capable of when Lu Yin had faced the leader of the Blaze Realm. This level of strength was nothing much in Lu Yin’s eyes.

Lu Yin raised a hand, and a golden battle force enveloped it. He unleashed a Vacuum Palm, and his first attack pierced straight through Cang Zhou’s punch. The palm attack sent Cang Zhou plunging deep into the Cosmic Sea. He looked up and spat out a bit of blood before pulling a power vessel out of his cosmic ring. However, before he ever had a chance to use it, it was taken away from him by the Yu Secret Art.

Lu Yin took a few quick steps and almost instantly appeared in front of Cang Zhou. Lu Yin unleashed repeated Vacuum Palms, leaving Cang Zhou without even a moment to recover. Palm prints started to appear across Cang Zhou’s body, until at last, a hole pierced the Envoy’s body, again smashing him down to the seawater below

Blood spread along the surface of the sea.

Lu Yin placed a hand atop Cang Zhou’s head, and said coldly, “It’s over.”

He then released a great deal of force from his palm and attacked Cang Zhou’s head. A crazed light entered the Envoy’s eyes, but then they changed to the color of scarlet. A few veins appeared before the eyes grew lifeless before finally closing.

The Champions' Stage appeared by Lu Yin, and he commanded, “By my name, I appoint you as my champion.”

As his voice echoed, Cang Zhou’s image appeared on the Champions' Stage. This was the third image to appear, and Cang Zhou was by far the strongest of Lu Yin’s champions.

Given the power Cang Zhou had possessed during his life, the amount of star energy Lu Yin would need to use to summon the Envoy as a champion was something unimaginable to an ordinary cultivator. No, it was possible that star energy would not even work. It was possible that Lu Yin would have to use stellular energy to summon Cang Zhou.

As he watched Cang Zhou’s corpse fall to the sea, many thoughts ran through Lu Yin’s mind. To think that the life of a man who had controlled one of the Innerverse’s eight great flowzones had ended just like that. Cang Zhou had been a powerhouse with a power level of more than 700,000. The man had been someone who stood at the top of the Innerverse, who Lu Yin had once thought he would never be able to compare to, and yet the man had still died at Lu Yin’s hand. There would surely be a day in the future when Lu Yin would be able to eliminate Semi-Progenitors, and even Progenitors.

Lu Yin leaped up from the surface of the sea, only to see people hunting down the survivors from the Ignition Crew. Some people had already surrendered, among them was the stutterer who Lu Yin had met before. With his domain, Lu Yin also managed to notice Zi Jun’s corpse floating in the water, which was shocking. The woman had once fought in the Tournament of the Strongest, and yet she had met her end in this battle.

Lu Yin himself had no confidence that this war had fulfilled any purpose at all.

Had the war been triggered because he had discovered the truth about the past, or had Xia Ji already been planning on this war from the beginning? Lu Yin was no longer certain.

Lu Yin’s most pressing question at this time was why Xia Ji even wanted to go after Highsage Grandmaster via Leon’s Armada. At this moment, a war was also starting in the Neoverse that involved Xia Ji, Highsage Grandmaster, and Elder Gong, which meant that Lu Yin and the others in the Cosmic Sea still needed to wait for an ultimate victor to be decided. Once all of the fighting was ended, they would learn the motivation behind Xia Ji’s actions.

Was it possible that even Highsage Grandmaster was one of Xia Ji’s clones? That would be similar to how Xia Luo had been one of Xia Jiuyou’s clones. Or could Eversky Island have been holding one of Xia Ji’s clones hostage? Or…

While Lu Yin became lost in senseless speculations, Ji Qiang’s body fell into the sea off in the distance. His body had been sent flying, and it tore through the void from the speed, and blood dripped from his body as well. The stars that Elder Jiu Shen had simulated filled the entire Cosmic Sea, and Highsage Wudi released a domineering aura. It was completely impossible for Ji Qiang to even escape with the two of them working together to fight him.

Even though Xia Ji had been dictating the flow of events leading up to the war from the very start, he had never considered the possibility that his involvement would end up complicating things so much and pulling in so many powerhouses to the point that his clone could not even escape.

There were only three people fighting on the battlefield in the Cosmic Sea at this moment, while everyone else was only able to watch.

Lu Yin went and helped Highsage Leon up, earning a smirk and a light scolding from the older man. “Get lost! I’m not so bad off I can’t even stand up.”

“Cut your bullshit! You nearly died just now! If it weren’t for Little Yin here pulling in so many allies, we would have been dead before we even realized what was happening,” Big Sis scolded. She was still suffering from the fear induced by her own near-death experience on the battlefield, and so she turned to glare fiercely at Highsage Leon.

Nearby, Gu Laogui heard her words and his face twitched. What could he say in the current situation? Admit that he had been duped into participating? There was no way he would ever admit to such a thing, so he might as well pretend that he had come specifically at Lu Yin’s request in order to force the youth to owe a favor.

Gu Xiao’er blurted in surprise, “Old man, you knew about this all along? Why didn’t I know anything?”

Gu Laogui slapped his son’s cheek quite hard. “Don’t go sticking your nose in my business!”