Star Odyssey

Chapter 3048: Recapturing The Sixth Mainland

Jiang Dongjian clenched his teeth, determined not to fail. This was the first time the ninth princess was witnessing him fight in a battle, and there were also countless eyes from the empire watching him. If he failed, whatever the reason, he would lose face and be unable to propose for some time. There was no telling what might happen if he waited any longer.

This thought caused his attacks to grow increasingly fierce. Earlier in the fight, Jiang Dongjian had been cautious around Fei Yan’s Blue Mountain, coordinating with the other mecha, but that changed. The younger man’s eyes were focused solely on the jiao, and he pushed his mecha to its full potential. The sudden change startled Fei Yan into hastily retreating as he avoided getting caught in the crossfire.

The jiao kept bringing up its claws to protect itself, and the area echoed with the sound of the enormous collisions.

Lu Yin was watching from the distance, and he realized that it was nearly time. He could see the Infinity Empire’s hesitation, but he could not allow them to abandon this universe. It was time to reclaim the Sixth Mainland.

The mecha fiercely thrust a blade forward, and Jiang Dongjian slashed downwards to produce a loud clang. The jiao staggered back while letting out a deep growl.

Jiang Dongjian was gasping for breath, and sweat dripped from his head. He wondered, just how could a creature have such incredible toughness?

Shang Cheng exchanged another look with Shang An’an. “We should retreat first and discuss this.”

Jiang Dongjian snapped, “Wait! I have one more move. If it doesn’t work, then we can retreat.”

Shang An’an warned, “Don’t force things. The empire has encountered powerful creatures before, and there are precedents for retreat. The megaverse is vast, and it’s filled with countless bizarre creatures.”

Jiang Dongjian still insisted, “Just one more attack.”

Shang Cheng remarked, “Truly the empire’s best talent. Despite being as old as us, you are able to face such a creature. Brother Jiang, what you’ve already demonstrated is very impressive. Alright, show us what else you can do. Bring out the brilliance that you revealed during the tournament.”

The Infinity Empire had encountered many cultivation civilizations over the years, and they had collected countless battle techniques. However, because of how it conflicted with ring energy, the people of the Infinity Empire did not cultivate and actually avoided doing so.

Even so, they could still make use of battle techniques. Many battle techniques had become inspiration that guided the development of the empire’s mechas, and even ordinary people like those in the Infinity Empire could enhance their combat ability with such techniques, setting themselves above other people.

Every five years, the Infinity Empire held the Infinity Combat Tournament, which was open to everyone. Jiang Dongjian had stood out in a tournament, utterly dominating it and defeating all the other semi-finalists, which had included famous individuals like Fei Su, who had used well-known battle techniques.

His victory in the tournament had led Jiang Dongjian to experience a meteoric rise, and he had even gained the emperor’s favor. He was naturally sensitive to battle techniques, and his senses were completely peerless.

Rumors claimed that the Sublime Sword mecha had been designed to complement the battle techniques the young man used, but no one had ever seen them used in battle.

Sublime Sword stood before the jiao in outer space.

Fei Yan’s Blue Mountain had moved away from the battle long ago, but he had not raced away yet. The jiao had made sure to prevent Blue Mountain from escaping. Fei Yan felt powerless, but he was also increasingly convinced that the jiao was under the command of some powerful hidden individual. There was a good chance that this parallel universe was much more than what it appeared to be.

Jiang Dongjian focused on the jiao. He took a deep breath, calming himself.

The jiao did not launch an attack of its own, but simply stared at the formidable Sublime Sword in open curiosity. While the mecha had been unable to breach the jiao’s hide, the beast had also failed to penetrate the Sublime Sword’s shield with any of its attacks.

The jiao was reminded of Ancestor Tortoise and its tough shell.

Inside the Sublime Sword, Jiang Dongjian regained complete calmness. He reached out with the mecha and grasped a sword. The long blade slowly rose. The man’s breathing quickened and then slowed. Soon, he saw nothing but the sword. Not even the jiao entered Jiang Dongjian’s sight. The sword was all that existed. It was as if he was back in the final match of the tournament, surrounded by all the semi-finalists with their prominent backgrounds. All of them had known each other, and they had looked down on him, an outsider.

They had intended to eliminate him first.

At that moment, just like in the present, Jiang Dongjian had held a sword while disregarding everything else. The sword rose, and he struck. This strike was a blending of heaven and earth, and the blade seemed to tear through space. If not for someone interfering in the tournament, Jiang Dongjian would have killed all the other contestants.

That same scene was playing out once again.

Shang Cheng’s expression grew solemn. This was it. The prince had witnessed the end of the tournament when Jiang Dongjian’s attack had gained the attention of everyone and his status as the empire’s greatest talent had solidified.

This was that attack.

The Sublime Sword raised its arms, and the mecha suddenly transformed into a sword as the arms fell. The attack appeared to be perfectly ordinary, but the sight of it caused the hearts of countless onlookers to tremble.

Far away, Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. Not bad for a normal person to use that kind of sword technique.

It was clear to Lu Yin that Jiang Dongjian was just as talented with the sword as Liu Shaoqiu or Li Zimo. However, Jiang Dongjian was unfortunate to be a normal human. That meant that, no matter how powerful his attack might be, it would not be enough to change the situation.

However, the attack did give Lu Yin the opportunity he needed.

“This is the chance! Run, you fool.”

The jiao’s eyes darted about as it watched the mecha’s sword fall. The attack looked intimidating, so the jiao turned tail and fled, tucking its tail between its legs as it made a rather disgraceful escape.

As the sword fell, it sliced through the void in a testament to the mecha’s strength with the boost it received from ring energy. Under Jiang Dongjian’s control, the ring energy surged a second time, and the destructive power of his previous attack extended endlessly, crossing the distance in a manner that left Fei Yan’s eye twitching.

There was no doubt that this attack had been at the level of eleven rings. Jiang Dongjian had unleashed a truly formidable attack.

The strike had been quite powerful, but the jiao had escaped, and Jiang Dongjian had missed his target.

He was unwilling to give up, and he quickly gave chase.

“Brother Jiang, don’t chase it!” Shang Cheng warned.

Jiang Dongjian’s voice was transmitted through the communication channel, “Beasts act on instinct. It fled because it knows that it can’t endure that attack. Your Highness, I will definitely conquer this universe!”

Shang Cheng’s eyes flickered as he watched Sublime Sword chase after the jiao. Jiang Dongjian might possess exceptional talent, but personality wise, he was rather shallow. Suddenly being elevated to the empire’s top prodigy had caused the young man to lose sight of himself.

“After it,” Shang An’an ordered.

Fei Yan had wanted to go search for his son, Fei Su, but he could not allow anything to happen to Jiang Dongjian.

Shang An’an stared at the general. “General Fei Yan, this universe is not at all simple. If anything happens to Jiang Dongjian, you might not be able to handle the consequences of being responsible for it.”

Fei Yan’s heart sank. “I understand. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

The man then chased after Sublime Sword.

After that, a number of mechas appeared from the spatial rift. Some of them had participated in the earlier battle against Yao Di, while some of the others had clearly experienced a great deal of war.

Nearly half of the twenty-some newly arrived mechas chased after Jiang Dongjian.

The distant astral beasts watched, still wary of Shang An’an and the group which remained behind.

“Little sister, we should go take a look as well,” Shang Cheng suggested.

Shang An’an looked over. “Aren’t you afraid of danger?”

“I am, but it’s safer for us to follow Jiang Dongjian. If we encounter any sort of unknown danger, staying here will be more dangerous,” Shang Cheng reasoned.

Shang An’an nodded and her mecha followed the others. Shang Cheng joined her.

Ahead of all the mechas, the jiao made its way towards the spatial passage that connected the Sixth Mainland and the Astral Beast Domain. The Extreme Path had been sealed off, but it was now time for it to be reopened.

The Sixth Mainland was also a part of the Origin Universe. The Sixverse Association had reclaimed the entirety of the Endless Frontier, so it only made sense for the Origin Universe to reclaim the Sixth Mainland as well.

The jiao soon arrived at its destination. The Extreme Path was opened with exquisite timing, and the beast charged forward.

Jiang Dongjian was undoubtedly arrogant, but he was not foolish. The sight of a spatial passage leading to an unknown place caused him to hesitate.

It was at that moment that the jiao grabbed Fei Su and the others, who had been left on a nearby meteorite. The beast did not so much as glance backwards as it shot into the Extreme Path.

Jiang Dongjian was startled. Were those the pilots from the Infinity Empire who had been captured? One of them had been another participant in the tournament that had been Jiang Dongjian’s claim to fame.

The Sublime Sword mecha remained standing in outer space. It did not pursue the jiao any further. Instead, Blue Mountain chased after them.

Fei Yan had also seen the jiao seize Fei Su and the others before racing through the Extreme Path. Upon seeing his son again, Fei Yan no longer cared about anything else, and he felt compelled to attempt a rescue.

Blue Mountain plunged into the Extreme Path. Behind, the group of mechas arrived, led by Shang Cheng and Shang An’an.

The prince frowned. “General Fei Yan is too impulsive. We have no idea what might be on the other side, but he just rushed in.”

Jiang Dongjian explained, “The people who were captured before were taken by the beast.”

Shang An’an was taken aback. “Bu Qing and the others? No wonder General Fei Yan was so impulsive.”

“What should we do?” Jiang Dongjian asked, not wanting to blindly rush forwards.

“We wait,” Shang Cheng advised.

That was the end of the debate. If there was some undefeatable danger on the other side of the spatial passage, then at least they had ensured their own safety.

A host of mechas waited outside the Extreme Path.

Lu Yin was also waiting, as he did not know what was happening on the other side. All he knew was that the Extreme Path was connected to the Sixth Mainland.

Still, Lu Yin was certain that the jiao was in no danger. The First Scourge was not currently capable of waging a war against the Heavens Sect, and that would not change until the surviving Seven Skygods recovered.

Two of the Seven Skygods were dead, and one had been severely injured. It was unlikely that the Seven Skygods would make an appearance any time soon.

Before long, the Blue Mountain mecha returned. Fei Yan’s tone was grave. “Your Highnesses, you had better come see this.”

...

Blue Mountain reappeared in the Sixth Mainland, and this time, it was followed by Sublime Sword, Emperor’s City, Angel, and all the other mechas.

An army of giant mechas had appeared. In the distance lay an Aeternus Kingdom.

Shang An’an and others observed the area. “Where is the beast?”

Fei Yan shook his head. “I don’t know. It disappeared as soon as I arrived. However, I saw a different type of creature in this universe.”

His mecha opened its hand to reveal dozens of corpse kings that had been captured.

“Are they human?”

“Close.”

“What does that mean?”

“To be precise, they are some kind of transformed creature that is similar to humans...” Fei Yan shared his mecha’s analysis with Shang Cheng and the others. In addition to combat, the empire’s mechas were also capable of scanning and analyzing things. It was not rare that, when other scouting methods fail, the empire would send mechas out as scouts.

Fei Yan shared his analysis of Aeternus’s corpse kings. Shang An’an and the others were puzzled by what they heard.

There was no telling if the Infinity Empire had been lucky or unlucky, but they had never encountered any Aeternals before. There were simply too many parallel universes in the megaverse.

“A species that resembles humans, and can also cultivate, but all of these creatures are dead. They’re useless,” Shang Cheng stated. He then looked up towards the distant Aeternus Kingdom. “Let’s get a better look.”

It was at that moment that the corpse kings in the Aeternus Kingdom spotted the mechas. Among the corpse kings were ones with the strength of Semi-Progenitors.

Every Aeternus Kingdom was protected by powerful individuals. In the past, Lu Yin had believed that the Aeternus Kingdoms were merely locations where Aeternus fostered a false sense of harmony between corpse kings and humans, but after exploring other parallel universes and fighting again Dai Hui, Lu Yin had realized Aeternus’s true purpose for the Aeternus Kingdoms. They had been established to destroy humans’ dependence on their own kind and to erase humanity’s very own sense of unity.