Mister Mu's eyes flashed with admiration. "If you don't win the Sovereign Tournament, you'll be expelled from the sect. This punishment is very severe, but the rewards for winning the tournament are also very high." He then raised his hand and gave Lu Yin an intelligence root.
Lu Yin blinked. "Master, you have a lot of intelligence roots?"
"I like to drink tea," Mister Mu replied. "Have you thought of a reward?"
Lu Yin thought about it and then answered seriously, "I want to break through to the Enlighter realm."
Mister Mu was not surprised. "Sure."
Lu Yin felt troubled. "Master, it might be difficult for me to break through, and there might be obstacles."
"Give it a try," Mister Mu said, always as carefree as ever.
Lu Yin was inexplicably confident, and he nodded excitedly.
"Wait." Mister Mu took out another item. "Break through the three stages first. You've already broken through the Lower Charge stage, so there's still the Middle Finger and Wisdom stages left."
Lu Yin stared blankly at the giant tribulation crystal pillar in front of him. Mister Mu had this as well?
Furthermore, it was much larger than the one Long Ding had obtained when he had broken through the Lower Charge stage, and it was even larger than the one he had obtained in the Sovereign Realm.
"Do you know what it means to break through the three stages? You've already broken through the Lower Charge stage, so this tribulation crystal pillar can help you break through the Middle Finger stage," Mister Mu said.
"What about the Wisdom stage?" Lu Yin looked expectantly at Mister Mu.
Mister Mu raised his hand, and a tree branch appeared. It was not the leaf that Lu Yin had obtained in the Sovereign Realm, but this branch was not unfamiliar to him. It had been this branch that had pushed his physical strength to the limit when he had been a Limiteer, and he had needed the help of Fatesand to suppress it.
"This is … an origin item?" Lu Yin was stunned as he took the branch in a daze.
Mister Mu calmly replied, "That's right."
"You're giving it to me?"
Lu Yin was excited. He had an origin item, and although he suspected that it was fake, that was not necessarily the case. No one would complain about having too many of such items.
Mister Mu looked at him with an intriguing gaze.
Lu Yin was nervous.
"Find the origin item yourself. I can send you to the Sovereign Realm," Mister Mu said before retrieving the branch.
Lu Yin was disappointed, but this was to be expected. It was impossible for the Four Cardinal Scales to not have an origin item, and Mister Mu would not give him such preferential treatment.
"Break through the middle finger first," Mister Mu said calmly.
"Yes, Master." He had obtained two tribulation crystal pillars in the Ruler Realm. The first was from the Spirit Void Temple, which could help one break through to the next stage. Because it was relatively small, it was about the same size as Long Ding's. The second was from the Meditative Ruins, which had been deliberately placed there by those monsters to lure the Junior Ancestor. In the end, it had fallen into Lu Yin's hands. The third was larger, and although it couldn't compare to the one that Mister Mu had given him, it was close enough to allow him to break through the middle finger.
Since Mister Mu had given him the Tribulation Crystal Pillars, he could save the other two.
To be honest, at this moment, Mister Mu's status in Lu Yin's heart had risen to the level of a Progenitor. Even the Four Cardinal Scales would find it difficult to take out so many tribulation crystals, but Mister Mu had been able to easily take out so many tribulation crystals. What else could he be if not a Progenitor?
However, Mister Mu did not know everything. He did not know that not only did Ye Futian have the Calamity Crystal Pillars, but he also had the Origin Item.
He hadn't wanted to pass the three stages because he didn't want to expose himself. But now that Mr. Imaki was here, that problem was solved and he could follow them home.
As Lu Yin's thoughts ran wild, he placed both hands on the Calamity Crystal Pillar and began to refine it.
With Lu Yin's ability, he was able to refine the Calamity Crystal Pillar much faster than Long Ding.
He did not know how long it took him to refine it. It could have been a few hours, or it could have been a few days. Finally, the Calamity Crystal Pillar transformed into Calamity Crystal Threads and was absorbed into Lu Yin's body. Then, as if he had just broken through, an intense pain spread throughout his body. His skin was torn apart, and fresh blood flowed to the bottom of his feet, filling the air with the stench of blood.
Mister Mu stood quietly not too far away. Lu Yin did not know what he was thinking, but he did not even look at Mister Mu.
With a low roar, a powerful aura surged into the sky. Lu Yin successfully broke through the middle finger stage and stood on the same starting line as the four Young Ancestors. At this moment, he was certain that with his current strength, he could defeat a Young Ancestor even without the Reaper Transformation, even if the Young Ancestor used his visualization technique.
"Break through to the Enlighter realm immediately," Mister Mu said.
Lu Yin asked, "What about the Upper Intelligence stage?"
"You can also break through the Upper Intelligence stage after breaking through to the Enlighter realm," Mister Mu said.
"Would it be better if I broke through now?" Lu Yin asked again.
Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. "If you want the Origin Item, find it yourself. Your reward is to break through to the Enlighter realm."
Lu Yin raised his hand, and the leaf appeared.
When Mister Mu saw it, he was stunned. A rare look of surprise appeared on his face, but there was also a rare look of satisfaction in his eyes. "Break through the Upper Intelligence stage. Just like the Tribulation Crystal Threads, you need to focus your mind and calm your qi before absorbing the Origin Item into your body. This step is called taking root." He then turned to Lu Yin and seriously said, "You're not bad."
Lu Yin sighed in relief. Fortunately, it was not fake. After thinking about it, he realized that it made sense. After all, how could a fake Origin Item fool those Young Ancestors? As expected, using the Origin Item would require one to break through the middle finger stage. When Lu Yin had tried to absorb it earlier, there had been no reaction at all.
Mister Mu must have praised him, but Lu Yin didn't recall being praised by Mister Mu before. This praise had made him a little carried away. "Master, this disciple can defeat the Fourth Young Ancestor of this universe." Just like a child who wanted to be praised by an elder, Lu Yin would occasionally show off and then begin to absorb the leaves.
Mister Mu smiled, a rare smile that had never appeared before. "Young Ancestor?
You're just deceiving yourself. "He then looked at Lu Yin and watched as he slowly absorbed the leaf into his body.
Unexpectedly, this step was not painful, and the leaf smoothly entered the Upper Intelligence stage. It stayed there as if it had taken root. The only difference was that Lu Yin's body glowed with a radiance, but it was not the kind of radiance that came when one's physical strength was raised to its peak. Instead, it was a type of vitality that was indescribably surging.
This step was quickly completed.
Lu Yin opened his eyes and looked at his hands in confusion. Had he changed?
He did not think so. It still felt like he had broken through the middle finger stage, but there also seemed to be something different.
Suddenly, the void split open and Lu Yin's abdomen was cut open. He did not even have time to react; Mister Mu had attacked.
Lu Yin was stunned, not understanding why Mister Mu had suddenly attacked him. Then, a strange scene occurred. The cut on Lu Yin's abdomen rapidly healed, and in a few seconds, it was completely healed. Aside from a tear in his clothes, there were no other injuries on his body. It was as if the wound had never existed.
"Master, what's this?" Lu Yin was stunned.
Mister Mu explained, "This is the change that comes from breaking through the Upper Intelligence stage. There's a seed in your body that will bring about vitality and the beginning of a change."
Lu Yin did not understand.
"Those who have broken through the three stages are completely different from those who have not. You can challenge those who are a higher realm than you in the other realms, but you cannot do so in the Progenitor realm. No matter how strong a Half-Ancestor is, they will never be able to challenge a Progenitor.
A Progenitor can fight against a Progenitor. You have the qualifications to become a Progenitor, "Mister Mu explained.
Lu Yin was excited, and his injuries healed in an instant. Wasn't this because he had the Withering Secret Symbol with him?
Who would be able to defeat him in future battles?
At the very least, he could not think of anyone who could be his opponent in the same realm.
Lu Yin wanted to return to the Sovereign Realm and go to the Meditative Ruins to challenge the Four Young Ancestors. No, he wanted to challenge an Emissary.
An Emissary and an Enlighter had the same level of difference, but the difference was huge. It was the difference between astral sources and star energy. An Emissary could travel through the Astral Source Universe, and an Enlighter would not be able to see the difference. Even so, Lu Yin was confident that he could challenge an Emissary with his current strength.
The changes brought about by breaking through the three stages were too great, and it allowed him to soar.
If only he had this kind of strength during the Sovereign Tournament, then he would have been able to defeat anyone with a single finger. He would not have needed to use the Death God Transformation at all.
"You've only just stepped through the threshold of cultivation. You don't have the qualifications to become a Progenitor, which means that you don't have the qualifications to cultivate," Mister Mu said.
Lu Yin asked, "Master, can this disciple break through to the Enlighter realm?"
Mister Mu nodded. "Go ahead."
Lu Yin took a deep breath, as he had completely ascended today. He took out a pile of star essence and melted it with a Heavenfire Stone's high temperature before circulating it throughout his body. He had already reached the peak of the Hunter realm, and now, he was only one step away from becoming an Enlighter.
This single step was easily crossed, and Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes as the formcast model in his body melted. He had never heard of anyone using a formcast model to break through to the Enlighter realm; he was the first.
Mister Mu was astonished.
When the formcast model melted, Lu Yin began to break through to the Enlighter realm. Star energy surged through his body like a flood, and Lu Yin could even hear the sound of it rushing through his body. His body once again felt the pain of being crushed and reassembled, but it was still slightly less painful than when he had broken through the lower and middle finger stages.
Mister Mu quietly watched as Lu Yin broke through to the Enlighter realm. Waves of valiant auras emanated from him as the star energy was quickly absorbed into his body.
Not long after, a complete cycle was completed, and Lu Yin could be considered to have broken through to the Enlighter realm.
His breakthrough to the Enlighter realm was not obstructed by the seal, and it went smoothly. Lu Yin had not expected it to go so smoothly, and his momentum did not slow down at all.
Cultivating as an Enlighter was not very different from cultivating as a Hunter. The reason there was a threshold for the Enlighter realm was that after breaking through, the human body would undergo a qualitative change and sublimate. However, the cultivation method was the same, which required the absorption of star energy into the body to complete the cycle.
Every cycle was equivalent to an increase in a normal cultivator's power level by 10,000. If one wanted to become an Emissary, they would need to complete fifty cycles. What was different from becoming a Hunter was that after breaking through to the Enlighter realm, one's body would undergo a qualitative change, and the rate at which one could absorb star energy would greatly increase. Even so, most cultivators would never reach the threshold for becoming an Emissary, let alone break through.
Back then, the Ten Arbiters and the others could have broken through to the Enlighter realm long ago, but they had not done so because they wanted to accumulate a deeper foundation. After breaking through, the gap between them and the others would grow wider.
When Obscurer and the others broke through, they immediately completed twenty-four cycles, which was equivalent to breaking through three cycles. When Prime Qing had broken through to the Enlighter realm, he had completed twenty-seven cycles, and when the Four Young Ancestors had broken through to the Enlighter realm, they had completed thirty cycles. If they were a normal cultivator, they would be equivalent to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000.
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Thank you for your support! I'll be updating at 3 PM!
I'll be updating for the third day!