Chapter 3172: Invincibility
"What are his abilities?" Forgotten Ruins G.o.d asked, intrigued by The Abandoned. Anyone qualified to be accepted into the Heavens Sect on a cloud bridge was powerful enough to serve as a true deterrent against Aeternus, and they would all become key targets for the Aeternals to eliminate.
Arrow G.o.d’s eyes narrowed. "He’s always one step ahead."
Everyone was puzzled by her answer.
Arrow G.o.d continued, "The Abandoned"s sequence particles ensure that he always remains one step ahead of his opponent, no matter if it’s in regards to time, speed, or s.p.a.ce. It makes it impossible to outmaneuver him, which is precisely why I’ve struggled so much to eliminate him."
Blackless G.o.d asked, "Not even time can get ahead of him?"
Arrow G.o.d said nothing, remaining as cold and indifferent as ever.
"A truly troublesome opponent," Forgotten Ruins G.o.d remarked with a smile.
Di Qiong mused, "I remember now. When we attacked the Heavens Sect, he’s the one who faced off against Ji Luo."
Progenitor Xi indifferently commented, "There are many formidable outsider powerhouses. The current Divine Commandment was issued too late."
The Abandoned had arrived in the Heavens Sect. "The Abandoned is here."
Lu Yin stated, "I know that your civilization was destroyed by Aeternus. Today, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. Join us in fighting against our common enemy to prevent such tragedies recurring."
The Abandoned’s expression grew complicated. Prevent it from recurring? His own tragedy had already pa.s.sed.
"I will do everything to eradicate Aeternus," he vowed with steely resolve.
He then ascended the Stairway to Heaven.
E" Ji observed The Abandoned, noting the deep hatred he carried in his eyes.
Lu Yin looked out into s.p.a.ce. "Ye Wu."
The crowd observing the Heavens Sect exchanged glances again. Could another powerhouse be hidden among them?
A cloud descended and formed a bridge that connected the Heavens Sect to the crowd. The people were left speechless. Had such formidable individuals been hidden among them all along?
Ye Wu stepped out from the crowd. His face was as pale as a ghost’s, and it created an unsettling contrast, even with the gentle glow of the cloud bridge.
He took a moment to gaze at the Heavens Sect before taking a step forward and entering it.
He was being forced to join Heavens Sect. While someone like The Abandoned might reluctantly change their position because of the sect"s impressive power, Ye Wu would not. He was a drifter without any ties, and his only desire was to live a peaceful life with Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao, free from the agony of war.
For the moment, his wish would remain fulfilled.
On the other hand, Ye Sheng’s thoughts had completely transformed. He was young and ambitious, and he yearned to explore and reach broader horizons than a life spent in the shadows of corpses beside Ye Wu.
If Ye Sheng had once felt hatred and resentment for Lu Yin, then he currently felt only awe and admiration. At this moment, Lu Yin"s image had been etched deep into the young man’s heart.
Even if Ye Wu could break free from the Heavens Sect, Ye Sheng would not want to leave. He wanted to stay and see the vastness of the megaverse.
"Ye Wu is here," the man announced as he stepped into the Heavens Sect. He was unaccustomed to receiving so much attention, and he had always been more comfortable interacting with corpses than with living people.
The current situation made Ye Wu feel even more uncomfortable than The Abandoned.
Lu Yin spoke to the man, "I know that you feel homeless and that you aimlessly wander about, but humanity is a single ent.i.ty. Should the day come when there are no humans left alive in this megaverse, you will no longer enjoy solitude, but rather the silence of the dead."
Ye Wu"s gaze quivered, but he did not respond.
"Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. I hope that you will stand together with the rest of humanity to face our enemies as one."
Ye Wu took a deep breath. "I understand."
With that, he started climbing the Stairway to Heaven.
Once Ye Wu had taken his place, Lu Yin looked into outer s.p.a.ce. "Shang Huang."
On one of the clouds stood a number of ma.s.sive mechas from the Infinity Empire.
Just due to their size, the mechas were intimidating to see, and Supreme was the largest and scariest of them all, and it stepped forward.
When Lu Yin called out for Shang Huang, Supreme stepped forward to enter the Heavens Sect.
The people of the Infinity Empire who had been left behind by their emperor stared in awe. Only at this moment did they finally comprehend the overwhelming power of the Fifth Mainland that they had once sought to conquer. Finally, they understood the insignificance of their own empire. At this moment, they felt relieved that they had never launched an all-out invasion to conquer the Heavens Sect’s universe. If they had done so, the Infinity Empire would have been doomed.
All the powerhouses who had accompanied Lu Yin to the Infinity Empire in the past had been appointed as part of the Inner Eight Paths. Above them stood the Three Suns and Six Rulers, as well as the Three Realms and Six Daos. Any of those experts on their own could completely crush the entire Infinity Empire.
Shang Huang also felt that his people had been quite lucky, but he could not help but let out a sigh upon realizing how far he had strayed down the path of being nothing more than a subordinate.
Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng exchanged glances, and they could each see the bitterness in the other"s eyes.
When they compared their Infinity Empire to the Heavens Sect, how was there any compet.i.tion? The Infinity Empire had endured solely at the mercy of others.
Compared to Lu Yin, they were nothing.
"Shang Huang is here."
Lu Yin stared at the towering figure of Supreme, and a smile touched his lips. "Today, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. May you wield your sword to slay our enemies and use your impressive size to protect our people."
Supreme gave a respectful bow. "As the Dao Monarch commands."
Theoretically, the Outer Eight Paths were only allied with the Heavens Sect and were not officially within the hierarchy. However, Shang Huang demonstrated a clear sense of servility, which suggested that the Infinity Empire was far from Lu Yin’s equal.
Due to the mecha"s immense size, Shang Huang had to step out of the mecha to ascend the Stairway to Heaven.
Lu Yin had already antic.i.p.ated this, and he had made arrangements in advance. Without that, Shang Huang would have never been able to climb the stairs.
With Shang Huang in place, the Outer Eight Paths were finished for the time being.
"From this day forth, more outsider powerhouses will be invited to join the Outer Eight Paths, until all positions have been filled."
The new structure of the Heavens Sect had been established. In addition to the original Three Realms and Six Daos, the Three Suns and Six Rulers, the Inner Eight Paths, and the Outer Eight Paths had all been added.
Every last one of the positions could only be held by a sequence powerhouse. This meant that people like Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Shao Chen, and Mu Xie did not qualify. While they were all powerful Progenitors, they had not yet managed to reach the level of comprehending sequence particles and the laws of the universe. While they each possessed tremendous strength, it was still insufficient.
Mastering the laws of the universe was a certain threshold.
The Heavens Sect’s current framework was not based on relationships, but rather on cultivation levels. Only if people such as Shao Chen were able to greatly surpa.s.s the power of a sequence powerhouse would they qualify to be given one of those positions.
During the Daosource Sect era, people like Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku had been regarded as peers with Xia Shenji and w.a.n.g Fan, which was truly an injustice.
Lu Yin looked out beyond the Heavens Sect. "The megaverse is teeming with countless creatures, and humanity stands at the forefront. We have countless heroes, and they have all risen up along the length of the River of Time, from the distant era of Heavens Sect..."
As he slowly narrated the history of humanity"s power, Lu Yin continued speaking, sharing the greatness of mankind.
As he spoke, more and more people stepped onto the clouds and entered the Heavens Sect from every direction possible.
These people were all peak powerhouses. Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Shao Chen, Mu Xie, Lu Qi, Qing Ping, Xia Shenji, Xia Zhen, w.a.n.g Jian, Bai Sheng, Nong Yi, Xi Wei, the Arboreal Realm’s Mu Tao, and the Voidforce Universe’s Xu Heng and Xu Ling. Each of the peak powerhouses arrived by stepping across clouds to enter the Heavens Sect.
The audience watching were left awestruck and amazed. Never before had anyone witnessed so many peak powerhouses gathered in a single place.
In the past, the reputation of the Cyclic Universe’s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had caused their universe to be regarded as unparalleled. No one had ever imagined that a single universe could gather so many terrifying experts.
At this moment, the Cyclic Universe could not come close to comparing to the Heavens Sect.
The arrival of more and more peak powerhouses rendered everyone watching speechless.
Even in the First Scourge, there was a stunned silence.
While the Three Pillars and Six Skies typically looked down on ordinary peak powerhouses, it was still a fact that only individuals with exceptional talent and potential could reach that level of cultivation. Their mere existence implied significant possibilities.
Who could predict where even ordinary peak powerhouses might stand in the future?
The people entering the Heavens Sect might one day join the Inner or Outer Eight Paths, the Three Suns and Six Rulers, or possibly even the pinnacle to stand alongside Lu Yin.
No one could say for certain.
At this moment, the true strength of humanity was on full display.
The entire Heavens Sect was surrounded by countless, multicolored clouds.
In the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Ninth Lotus was watching in awe. If the Heavens Sect decided to move against the Cyclic Universe, victory would be effortless. Even if the Great Sovereign herself returned, it would be useless.
At this moment, the Heavens Sect was reminiscent of Aeternus in how the Aeternals had once brought a sense of despair to humanity.
Sage Bodhi, Food Sage, Bai w.a.n.gyuan, and many others watched in silent wonder at the Heavens Sect"s grandeur.
The thirty-six Ascendants of the Cyclic Universe stood in stunned silence, their mouths hanging open.
In Whitecloud City, Jiang Feng stood with his wife beside him. Even Liu Pianran, who was known for her gentle demeanor, was awestruck at this moment. "Does Lu Yin really need to put on such a grand spectacle?"
Jiang Feng was impressed. "While he and I are quite similar, he has pushed further than I ever could."
In the Five Spirits Alliance, the Ice Lord marveled. This was truly a monstrous ent.i.ty. There were so many sequence powerhouses and legendary experts. At this moment, the Aeternals had to be struggling.
In the parallel universes beyond the known civilizations and alliances, numerous beings were communicating between themselves. They all understood that a monster had risen up above them all.
The days when the Heavens Sect had dominated the megaverse had returned.
The Star Devourer immediately fled. He had already sensed that something must have happened to the Purple Emperor. Things were looking grim.
The coins that hung around Astral Anura’s neck jingled as he muttered to himself, "I can"t let Lu Yin find out that I once plotted against him with Daheng. This kid... how did he pull this off? There are so many powerful beings, and there’s even an Ortuser like Lu Yuan. It"s too risky to play with them anymore. I can’t afford the losses. It’s best not to get involved with either him or Yong Heng."
Even Astral Anura was intimidated by the strength of the Heavens Sect, let alone other outsider powerhouses.
The moment the Heavens Sect fully exposed its strength, many of the outsider powerhouses who had previously allied themselves with Aeternus fled. It was not that they no longer wanted to help the Aeternals, but that it was impossible to do so. Their enemy had become too powerful.
Lu Yin stood above the Stairway to Heaven, looking down at the Heavens Sect. He felt both proud and exhilarated at this moment.
What about the Aeternals? The despair that humanity had once felt upon thinking of their ancient enemy was being shattered. Lu Yin had already succeeded. He could lead humanity to rise up. He could achieve anything he set his mind to.
There were so many powerhouses. This was the power of humanity, and it was glorious.
Humans were the leaders of all living beings, in the past and forever.
Stretching out his arms, Lu Yin met the gazes of countless people as he declared, "From this day forward, humanity shall be invincible! We are the rulers of all reality!"
Countless people roared with excitement, "Lord Lu is invincible!"
"Lord Lu is invincible!"
"Lord Lu is invincible!"
...
The chorus of voices merged to create a powerful current that seemed to stir up the ancient, ever-flowing River of Time. It was as though countless eyes from across the eons had suddenly focused on Lu Yin.
He closed his eyes, and his mind expanded in an instant. At this moment, Lu Yin was able to perceive the entire Fifth Mainland, but then his perception extended to the Sixth Mainland and the Perennial World, followed by the Arboreal Realm, the Lost Clan’s universe, the Voidforce Universe, and many more parallel universes.
He did not even realize that the universe inside of him had suddenly expanded. While no one could see his inner universe, it was perfectly clear to him. In his mind, he stood at the center of his own universe, and the stars that surrounded him each represented a different aspect of his power.