Star Odyssey

Chapter 354: Zhao Ran

At that moment, another fireball landed down not very far away from Lu Yin, causing him to frown. Yue Xianzi must have done that on purpose. 

He slowly flew into the sky, brushing past the fireball. These flaming hot balls of air posed no threat to him. 

The second spacecraft landed with a boom, causing the earth to tremble as numerous strange life forms fled in every direction. 

The hatch opened. Yue Xianzi exited the vessel, stretched, and lit up at the sight of Lu Yin. 

She really was very pretty and had a stunning body. It was a pity that she was a member of the Frostmoon Sect which was allied with the Daynight clan. Otherwise, Lu Yin definitely would not be treating her so coldly. Unfortunately, the two of them were destined to walk along different paths. 

From Lu Yin’s point of view, the reason why Yue Xianzi was trying to get close to him was to help the Daynight clan gather information on him, though she might not even be aware of such a task. However, this was merely a speculation from Lu Yin at this point. 

“The air here is so fresh! That’s the one good thing about these primitive planets.” Yue Xianzi sighed in praise as a cute grin emerged on her face. Her entire being seemed to radiate an enchanting aura. Lu Yin looked away.

All of a sudden, they heard an enraged roar come from nearby, and a savage ape that was over a hundred meters tall appeared in the distance. Its body was black, and its eyes were scarlet. It had a violent demeanor and charged straight at the two humans. 

Lu Yin frowned. “Are you going to attack it, or should I take care of it?” 

Yue Xianzi smiled. “I’ll handle it. After all, I am your subordinate.” With a flash, her silhouette pierced through the void before she appeared in front of the ape. With a wave of her hand, a spiralling torrent of water appeared and began spreading out from her feet. It quickly covered a region of ten thousand meters. It distorted not only the air, but also the void. 

Lu Yin’s gaze changed; she’d grown much stronger. Back when they fought on the Shenwu Continent, this battle technique of hers hadn’t been this powerful. Now, she was able to use the technique she’d received from Blackwater Lake much more easily. If Yue Xianzi became able to use it perfectly, then she’d definitely be very strong. 

The savage ape charged straight into the spiralling water and unleashed a tremendous punch. However, halfway through its attack, its fist was blocked by the water. The ape let out a miserable howl as blood spurted out from all over its body before it pathetically collapsed onto the ground. 

Although this savage ape’s strength had reached the same level as a Limiteer’s, it lacked any intelligence or battle technique, which caused it to be much weaker than Yue Xianzi. Any Limiteer—no, any Melder from the Astral Combat Academy would be able to defeat this beast. 

“It’s a waste to use such an attack on it,” Lu Yin stated. 

Yue Xianzi smiled. “I used it so that you could see it. Do you think that my use of this technique has improved, Mr. Lu?” 

Lu Yin nodded earnestly. “You’ve improved a lot.” 

“Thank you.” Yue Xianzi smiled back at him. 

But at that moment, another enraged howl could be heard in the distance. It was quickly followed by several cries for help. 

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, and he abruptly disappeared, leaving behind a spatial crack that slowly increased in size where he had just been standing. 

Yue Xianzi’s eyes widened; his speed was incredible. 

It was one thing to watch him compete in the Tournament of the Strongest through a monitor, but now that she was actually next to him, Yue Xianzi could feel the crushing pressure coming from his moves. This person was improving way too quickly, and she couldn’t help but feel bitter at heart. The small bit of improvement that she had made was nothing compared to Lu Yin’s. 

Far in the distance, under a large tree, a small figure cowered, quivering in fear as they stared at the massive savage ape attacking them. 

Lu Yin suddenly appeared, and with a nonchalant swipe, stopped the savage ape’s attack mid-strike. After that, the beast was sent flying by a terrifying force. The sight of a huge, hundred meter tall body hurtling into the distance was rather majestic. 

Under the tree, the small figure sensed that the imminent threat had vanished and looked up to see that the ape was now gone. What appeared instead was a man looking at her in curiosity. 

Lu Yin was astonished. What was an ordinary person doing here? 

He stared at the girl under the tree. No matter how hard he stared at her, she was definitely an ordinary person. He could use his aura-concealing technique to hide his star energy and obscure his cultivation level, but even that would not be able to hide his physical strength. He could not sense any strength in this girl’s body, which meant that she was really just a regular person. 

A regular person had appeared on a primitive planet that Lockbreakers would soon swarm. It was definitely a strange situation. 

“Who are you?” 

“Who are you?” 

Both of them spoke at the same time and then froze. The girl pursed her lips. “M-My name is Zhao Ran. What about you?” 

“I’m Lu Yin,” he answered simply. 

At that moment, Yue Xianzi arrived and looked at Zhao Ran with surprise. “A regular person?” 

Lu Yin appeared to be deep in thought. 

Perhaps it was because she was still in a state of shock due to her close call with the savage ape, but Zhao Ran looked a little dazed. After she saw Yue Xianzi looking at her, she unconsciously took a few steps backwards with the intent of hiding from Yue Xianzi, who was terrifying to the girl. 

Yue Xianzi glanced at Lu Yin and then at the girl. She crouched down and gently asked, “What’s your name? Why are you on the Savage Ape Planet?” 

The girl glanced at Lu Yin before whispering, “My name is Zhao Ran. I’m looking for somebody.” 

“How did you get here?” Lu Yin wondered. 

Zhao Ran licked her lips as her stomach growled. She was clearly hungry.  

Yue Xianzi took out some food from her cosmic ring and passed it to Zhao Ran. The girl hastily grabbed it and immediately started eating. 

Lu Yin looked around. There were quite a number of savage apes on this planet. The two of them had just arrived, but they’d already bumped into two of the beasts. 

All of a sudden, the sky rumbled, and quite a few black dots flitted past, leaving rippling trails in the sky behind them. 

“Someone’s trying to seal the planet. It should be the local organizations,” Yue Xianzi said. 

Is it the Vastdearth Sect? Lu Yin guessed in his mind. 

“Unfortunately, their actions are pointless and will only offend the Lockbreaker Society. This place has already been designated as the location for the society’s internal trading event, and these people’s actions will just be taken as them trying to prevent the event from happening. Who would do such a foolish thing?” Yue Xianzi found the matter baffling. 

“Um, thank you.” Zhao Ran got up, wiped her lips, and did her best to smile. She seemed ordinary, but there was something about her that made her seem very congenial. 

“How did you get on this planet?” Lu Yin asked. 

Zhao Ran found it difficult to answer. “I don’t know either. I just woke up here.” 

“Didn’t you say that you were looking for someone just now?” Yue Xianzi asked. 

Zhao Ran nodded. “Yes. When I woke up, I saw a diviner, and he told me my fortune. He was really good! I was going to pay him, but then he left. He’s such a great person! I don’t want to owe anyone, though, so I want to find him and pay him back.” 

Lu Yin was surprised. “A fortune teller? Was he accurate?”

Zhao Ran nodded resolutely. “Yes.” 

“How did he do it?” Lu Yin asked. After the Tournament of the Strongest, he had become very interested in Starsibyl’s abilities. Her attacks that used the power of divination were very disturbing. If not for the limitations created by the arena, nobody could tell whether Starsibyl or Tian Hou would’ve won that semifinal match. 

Zhao Ran looked up and considered the question. “He said that there’s something wrong with me.” 

Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi both froze. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said. Could you repeat that?” 

“The nice mister who told me my fortune said that there was something wrong with me.” Zhao Ran blinked, looking incredibly innocent. 

Lu Yin turned. The girl must be crazy to not realize that she’d been mocked. 

Zhao Ran patted her head, seeming frustrated. “For some reason, I frequently lose my memories. Most of the time, I have no idea where I am or why I’m there. That mister was pretty accurate when he said that there’s something wrong with me. That’s why I want to find him. I want to ask him what I need to do to regain my memories.” 

Lu Yin turned around and frowned at Zhao Ran. There was a strange look in his eyes. “Did you lose your memories?” 

Zhao Ran nodded while pouting, looking hurt. 

Lu Yin appeared glum. This woman was just like him. He had lost his memories as well, and it did not feel great. He constantly felt like something was missing. 

“What’s wrong?” Yue Xianzi asked Lu Yin. 

Lu Yin sighed. “It’s nothing.”

Then, he looked at Zhao Ran and said, “Let’s go. An ordinary human like you won’t be able to survive here for long, so I’ll help you get out of this place.” 

Zhao Ran was delighted. “Really? I’m so glad! You’re such a nice person. The fortune teller and you are both very nice people—oh, this young lady here is a nice person too! She gave me something to eat.” 

Yue Xianzi gave Lu Yin a strange look, but she did not pursue the matter further. 

Lu Yin merely pitied Zhao Ran because they shared similar unfortunate circumstances. 

The Lockbreaker Society had only specified that there was an event on the Savage Ape Planet, but they had not disclosed the location of the tree-shaped sourcebox. This event was similar to a trial, where the participants were not given all the details. Instead, they had to find the information on their own. 

Lu Yin soared into the air with Zhao Ran and Yue Xianzi as the three of them headed towards the spacecraft that had sealed off the planet. Those people should know the location of the sourcebox. 

The Savage Ape Planet was huge, even larger than Zenyu Star. The space here was extremely sturdy, and Lu Yin’s speed had naturally been reduced. He’d noticed this earlier when he moved to save Zhao Ran. Given his speed as a Limiteer, it would take him some time to search the entire planet. More importantly, searching for the sourcebox would be quite troublesome. 

The next day, Lu Yin and the two women following him found the couple of spacecraft that had sealed the planet off. It was a pity, but the vessels had already been destroyed, and the ripples sealing off the planet had already dissipated. 

“What a bunch of morons. How can these organizations in the Outerverse hope to stop Lockbreakers? They’re just asking to die,” Yue Xianzi disparagingly commented. 

Lu Yin examined the symbol on one of the spacecraft and saw that it did not belong to the Vastdearth Sect. Thus, these people had to be from another Weave. 

Without anyone for them to question, the trio’s only option was to search the planet on their own. 

The Savage Ape Planet truly lived up to its name. The entire planet was filled with savage apes. Every once in a while, a savage ape would appear in front of the group. Some were strong, and some were weak. The strongest one that they had encountered so far had the raw strength of an Explorer. 

A streak of red appeared in the sky as another spacecraft landed. 

Not long after, the planet was sealed once more before being unsealed shortly after. It was like a never ending cycle. 

After three full days, Lu Yin and his team still hadn’t found anyone. The Savage Ape Planet was just too massive, and Lu Yin’s domain could not cover such a huge area. The area that his gadget could search was also limited. 

On the fourth day, in a place far away from the small group, a small spacecraft landed on the planet. When the hatch opened, a male and a female exited. 

If Lu Yin was here, he would have recognized them as Dao Bo and Liu Ji, both who he knew. 

“Since we were out in the Outerverse doing missions, this place was on our way,” Liu Ji sighed ruefully. 

Dao Bo stared at the sky. “I wonder how many Lockbreakers will come here for this event.” 

Liu Ji chuckled. “It doesn’t matter who comes. None of them will be as powerful as you.” 

Dao Bo chuckled while shaking his head. “Our society has the Distinguished Five, and every one of them is stronger than me.” 

“True, but they’re all Explorers at the very least. You’re merely unwilling to become an Explorer right now. As soon as you do, you’ll definitely be stronger than them. In terms of status, you aren’t any lesser than them, and you’re a member of the Council of the Astral Academy as well. They definitely don’t match up to you,” Liu Ji praised in a starstruck manner. 

Dao Bo did not reply. After all, Liu Ji was completely correct. He was merely unwilling to break through to the Explorer realm. The moment he did, he’d be able to enter the Ten Arbiters Council right away and would be able to work with the Ten Arbiters. At that time, he’d definitely obtain an even higher status. In addition, his Lockbreaking ability would also improve along with his cultivation, and he’d be able to reach the Perception Intermediate stage right away.