Chapter 1988
The truth of the matter was that regardless of the person or the place, the teachings of one’s master created a unique bond. It was invisible, but carried tremendous weight.
Betraying one’s master was not a crime, but it was a terrible disgrace. Anyone who did such a thing would become a universal outcast when others learned of their actions.
The bond one had with their master was very similar to the bond one had with their own family, and both relationships could be used to judge a person’s character.
The relationship with one’s master also formed the very foundation of the existence of a sect. Without a master teaching their disciples, how could a sect even start? How could traitorous disciples even exist?
An elite family was bound by their shared blood, while a sect was bound together by the shared teachings of a master. Both carried equal weight.
"By providing training and teaching people techniques and providing them with inheritances, it’s really not too much to see you as a half-master to anyone who benefits from the Tower of the Fifth. Unless they are pushed into a corner, those people also won’t be willing to become your enemies, and even if they do try to cross you, they’ll be sneaky about it. This gives us an absolute advantage,” w.a.n.g Wen continued. “Don"t underestimate people’s sense of righteousness. Everyone has their own drive and ambitions, whether they pursue power, wealth, or something else. Still, everyone also has lines that they won’t cross, even though those lines are different for everyone. Regardless, being seen as a half-master is enough for a great number of people to feel morally bound to not betray you."
Lu Yin understood what w.a.n.g Wen was saying. The Astral Combat Academy’s mentors were not true masters to the academy’s students, but also teachers who were considered half-masters. However, if Lu Yin was ever asked to attack the mentors, he would not be able to force himself to do it. Unless the mentors betrayed humanity, Lu Yin would never be able to attack them.
Furthermore, if Lu Yin was able to force himself to attack the mentors, his reputation would be permanently ruined. No one would ever willingly follow such an untrustworthy person, as no one would be willing to even a.s.sociate with someone who had betrayed their teacher.
Dealing with people was simultaneously both complicated and simple.
"Is it possible to set me up as a half-master to the people to receive inheritances from the tower?" Lu Yin asked.
w.a.n.g Wen scratched his head. "It"s more tricky than impossible. So long as no one objects, it’s easy enough to handle, but if some powerhouse speaks against it, things become very difficult. After all, this would be making you a half-master to potentially countless cultivators, not just one or two. In particular, powerful sects and families are not very likely to allow their youths to admit to such a thing, as it would place too many restrictions on them.
"Building the Tower of the Fifth will already ensure that your name goes down in history forever, and there are other benefits you’ll reap from it as well. If you also try to be recognized as a half-master to those who gain inheritances from the tower, there will be people who aren’t able to accept it."
Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "Whether or not they can accept it, let’s go for it and get this done before anyone has a chance to object. We won’t need to deal with everyone’s objections."
w.a.n.g Wen nodded. "That was what I was thinking as well. Even if someone does try to object, it will take a bit, and during that window of opportunity, the most talented people will already have entered the Tower of the Fifth and gotten their inheritances, and there will definitely be some who pick up your inheritances. Being acknowledged as those people’s half-master will already be enough."
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Lu Yin smiled. "I"m really looking forward to this."
Days pa.s.sed one after another, and soon, half a month had already pa.s.sed. The most important thing that happened during this time was that the first batch of the new universal armors were delivered by Aurora Enterprises.
There were only a hundred outfits in the first batch, but the second batch would be delivered in another half a month.
Aurora Enterprises had actually intended to finish producing all of the armors for Lu Yin before delivering them to him, but Lu Yin was not able to wait any longer. As soon as the Tower of the Fifth was completed, it would be open and the trials for the various inheritances would need to be activated. The Lu Elite Troops with their new equipment were intended to partic.i.p.ate in some of the trials. As w.a.n.g Wen had mentioned, this would provide the Great Eastern Alliance with an opportunity to train their troops while also recruiting new soldiers.
One day, Yuhua Mavis arrived just outside the Abyss of the Sea. She found Lu Yin, and delivered a ma.s.sive amount of money: a total of 105 billion star essence.
"I have no idea why you bothered asking for so much money, but the Great Elder asked me to remind you to not destroy the economy." Yuhua Mavis had a cold expression on her face as she confronted Lu Yin.
Lu Yin replied, "I don’t have any interest in something like that. Also, aren’t you supposed to be in seclusion? How do you have the time to make this trip?"
Yuhua Mavis looked the same as the first time Lu Yin had seen her, and gra.s.s grew everywhere she pa.s.sed, which left quite an impression. “I came to see this Tower of the Fifth and the inheritances you’ve left there."
Lu Yin"s eyes lit up. "Are you interested in one of them?"
Yuhua Mavis expressed her surprise at Lu Yin’s actions, "You’re not exactly a selfless person. Are those inheritances real?"
"Of course they’re real! The Hall of Honor is supervising everything. What? You think I managed to bribe the Hall of Honor or something?" Lu Yin snapped back. It was possible that Yuhua Mavis remembered being crushed by Lu Yin on Zenith Mountain, as she did not sound very friendly towards him at this time.
She stared at Lu Yin in a daze, before frowning. "Bribe the Hall of Honor…?"
Lu Yin was left speechless. "You really think I’d do that?"
Yuhua Mavis"s eyes drifted down to Lu Yin"s cosmic ring. This was actually the only possibility she could come up with for why Lu Yin might need such an incredible amount of liquid a.s.sets. Even though it was well within the Mavis Bank’s means to provide such a loan, that did not mean it was easy to get one. As for those who did qualify for such a loan, people could not spend so much. It was impossible for ordinary people, and even for Semi-Progenitors, so there was no need to even consider Lu Yin. After all, he was an Envoy, and he needed to cultivate with stellular energy, not star energy.
Star energy carried almost no value for Envoys. Furthermore, Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and the Great Eastern Alliance owned Continental Shipping, as well as controlled Giant Consortium and the Outerverse’s four great corporations. This was enough to provide financial security for the entire alliance, so there was no need for their leader to search everywhere for more money.
The more Yuhua Mavis considered Lu Yin’s situation, the stranger she found it.
Lu Yin was amused by the obvious speculations. "Don"t try to be stupid. Would 100 billion star essence be enough to buy off the Hall of Honor? Not even a trillion would be enough."
Yuhua Mavis calmly turned her head away. It had merely been a sudden thought, and not anything she considered actually possible. Even if Lu Yin was able to bribe the overseers, it would be impossible to bribe Arch-Elder Zen.
Three days after Lu Yin received the money from Yuhua Mavis, the Tower of the Fifth was officially completed.
All of the fighting around the Abyss of the Sea had stopped a few days before the tower was finished, and everyone had simply waited for it to open. They were all antic.i.p.ating the mysterious trials that they would face, and so no one wanted to make any trouble or take any risks. Everyone felt as though they were only a single step away from receiving an inheritance.
The Wen family was the group suffering the worst at this moment, as both the World League and the Great Eastern Alliance had worked to make trouble for the Wen family. Almost all of the independent cultivators they had managed to recruit had fled, and the Wen family had been left with no path but that of retreat.
They had not been intimidated by the World League, but the Great Eastern Alliance was a different animal. Even though the people who had targeted the Wen family had only represented a few of the smaller powers in the Great Eastern Alliance, they were still official members of the Great Eastern Alliance.
While the Tower of the Fifth was being built, many people had arrived from the Great Eastern Alliance, including the Giants’ Army and the lesser giants. Man Li was in charge of all of them, and he glared at everyone around the construction site, terrifying many people.
The moment there was news that the Tower of the Fifth was finished, the Abyss of the Sea instantly grew quiet. Everyone stared at the center of the sea with blazing eyes. They could see the ma.s.sive tower that stood there, as well as a statue of Lu Yin that stood in front of it.
Lu Yin stepped out and stood in front of the tower. He looked around the area from high in the sky. "I know all of you have been waiting for the Tower of the Fifth to open its doors so that you can get its inheritances and raise your strength to new heights, but there are a few things I need to say first."
No one dared to make the slightest sound, not even any of the Envoys who were hiding themselves.
Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back and raised his head up proudly. "I am human! The most intelligent species in the universe! We also believe ourselves to be the most powerful, and despite any differing opinions, I, Lu Yin, believe this to be true!. Despite our race’s strength, we face outside enemies. Stepping into the Tower of the Fifth will give you access to information that you would not normally have access to, such as the ident.i.ty of humanity’s enemy. This place will expand your knowledge, as I want all of you to understand why I built the Tower of the Fifth.
"This tower was established to increase the power of all of humanity! This place was not merely built for you, but also for all future generations. The foundation of humanity lies within our inheritances. I, Lu Yin, graduated from the Astral Combat Academy. I have provided an inheritance of all that I have learned to train and raise up anyone who can accept it. My wish is that those who enter this tower will not be selfish and simply take an inheritance away, but that you will also leave an inheritance behind. Not to improve the Tower of the Fifth, but to strength the entire human race.
"I, Lu Yin, swear here and now that even if I want to obtain any of the inheritances within the Tower of the Fifth, I must pa.s.s the trials put in place for them."
Lu Yin then dropped down to the ground.
Many of the people gathered around the Abyss of the Sea glanced at each other. They were expected to leave an inheritance in order to take an inheritance? What was the meaning in that? If they possessed something with the same value as the treasures within the Tower of the Fifth, why would they even think of challenging the tower?
"Hurry up and check the rules and trials! They’ve been released on the Tower of the Fifth’s page!" someone exclaimed. Everyone quickly checked their gadgets and the network.
Elsewhere, Lu Yin returned to the sea. The Tower of the Fifth was officially open.
He stared up at the huge tower. Only half a year had pa.s.sed since he had first conceived the possibility of building the tower, and at that time, had he had any idea of the ma.s.sive impact such a colossal endeavor would have? He had merely intended to entice some talented cultivators and create a final resort that he could use if he was backed into a corner, but as time had pa.s.sed, everything that Lu Yin thought, saw, or experienced told him that the Tower of the Fifth was vitally important.
It was possible that this was the same way that the original Daosource Sect had been established!
Ce w.a.n.gtian had managed to create the Ce Secret Art and Board Manipulation simply because he wanted to brazenly cheat when playing chess with others. Many of humanity’s greatest achievements had been motivated by similarly petty reasons.
This was true of the reason the Tower of the Fifth had been built, it might also be true of the Daosource Sect.
Lu Yin had no idea what would eventually become of the Tower of the Fifth. It might be able to stand for a thousand years, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions of years. As for humans living hundreds of millions of years in the future, they might regard the Tower of the Fifth as the legacy of the current era, just as humanity currently viewed the Daosource Sect era.
Lu Yin might have just created a new era by his own ambition and his own actions.
"Arch-Elder Zen, when will Senior Jiu Chi arrive?" Lu Yin called Arch-Elder Zen to check on this matter.
Arch-Elder Zen laughed as he replied, "Soon! Since that old man agreed, he’ll definitely be there. He hopes to be able to help train some people."
"That"s good."
Arch-Elder Zen continued, "This can only be seen as the initial opening of the Tower of the Fifth, and can even be treated as a test run. Things will only truly start once more and more people start adding their own inheritances to the tower. The day will come when the Inheritance Ranking will hold countless names, and only then will it be a true success. Do you understand?"
Lu Yin answered solemnly, "This junior knows this."
As Lu Yin spoke to Arch-Elder Zen, the people surrounding the Abyss of the Sea had started to move towards the Tower of the Fifth.
Anyone who wanted to enter the tower was first required to swim through the Abyss of the Sea to reach the tower. No one who traveled through the sky would be allowed entry.
Lu Yin lowered his gadget and stared off into the distance. Countless people were swimming towards the Tower of the Fifth from every direction. Because the Abyss of the Sea was filled with vortices, the sea water was chaotic and turbulent. Most cultivators were not able to deal with the power of the currents, and they were either thrown out of the Abyss of the Sea, or sucked under the Tower of the Fifth towards its foundation.
For a time, the air was filled with the screams of countless people.
However, there was a limit to the strength of the currents in the Abyss of the Sea, and soon, the first person managed to step onto the foundation of the Tower of the Fifth. The first person was none other than Ku Lei.
Ku Lei’s entire reason for challenging the tower was to reach the ninth floor and take away the inheritance related to Extremes Must Be Reversed.