Chapter 3002: Parallel To Time
Once again, Lu Yin experienced the sensation of being out of phase with the universe. He fundamentally lacked the ability to perceive the Seven-Star Mantis’s speed. So, Lu Yin could only try to adapt to it while enveloping himself with stellular energy and keeping a firm grasp on its wings.
The entire universe flew by as the Seven-Star Mantis zoomed about.
Elsewhere, blood was flowing from the corners of Jiang Qingyue’s mouth. Her white sword was stained with the Progenitor-level mantis’s green blood.
The Progenitor-level mantis had witnessed the battle between the Seven-Star Mantis and Lu Yin, and it was not stupid. It also wanted to escape, but it lacked the Seven-Star Mantis’s speed. Every time the weaker mantis tried to leave, Jiang Qingyue would stop it. Even without the sourcebox array, escape was impossible for the beast.
“Human, you can’t defeat me. Just give up. Your target is the leader over there, which has nothing to do with me. I promise to never attack humans ever again in the future,” the Progenitor-level mantis spoke in a sharp, grating voice.
After fighting for some time, both Jiang Qingyue and the Progenitor-level mantis were injured. This was the reason behind the mantis’s confidence. From its perspective, it was impressive that Jiang Qingyue had managed to endure for so long, but victory was impossible for her. Still, the mantis knew it likewise be very difficult for it to defeat the woman.
“Young Mistress, let me take over,” Dragonturtle requested from within Jiang Qingyue’s sleeve.
Jiang Qingyue’s response was icy. “It’s my opponent.”
Dragonturtle’s expression looked torn. “Young Mistress, you aren’t planning to use that move, are you?”
Jiang Qingyue did not answer, but her long sword slowly lowered.
Seeing this, the Progenitor-level mantis sighed. “Human, that’s a wise choice.”
It prepared to tear through the void and leave.
Suddenly, in the endless darkness of outer s.p.a.ce, snowflakes started to dance about. It was impossible to tell where they had come from, but they were accompanied by a bone-chilling cold.
The Progenitor-level mantis was terribly confused, but it felt a sinking premonition. It hastily tore through the void, only to discover that all of its movements were slower. A white sword had appeared behind Jiang Qingyue at some point in time. It was identical to the one in her hand, but this second sword emanated an inexplicable sense of sadness.
Dragonturtle sighed. This sword had belonged to Kong Tianzhao, though the deceased one.
Jiang Qingyue had two masters, and one had defeated the other, killing them. Their final battle had become an unforgettable scene for Jiang Qingyue, and it had shaped her path. The memory of that battle and her own mastery of aura energy allowed the woman to receive the support of her fallen master.
This sword represented a different Kong Tianzhao, and it symbolized that formidable man.
The white sword slowly fell down, overlapping with the one in Jiang Qingyue’s hand. The Progenitor-level mantis stared blankly at the human before it. Something about the human had changed. The mantis seemed to see another figure, one dressed in pure white who was isolated from the world amidst the dancing snowflakes. One step brought the figure right in front of the mantis.
Instinctively, the Progenitor-level mantis raised its blades to attack.
Clang.
A gentle sound rang out as both of the mantis’s blades were simultaneously severed. The cuts were smooth and even. At that moment, the white figure flashed by.
Jiang Qingyue remained where she was, staring at the mantis with an indifferent expression.
The Progenitor-level mantis stared at its severed blades in confusion. What had just happened?
Green blood leaked from its head. Suddenly, its entire body split in two. Behind the dead creature, the void had also been sliced apart by the white figure.
This sword contained an invincible edge.
Jiang Qingyue relaxed her grip, and her sword fell to the ground. The battle that she had witnessed in the Ice Spirit Tribe’s universe filled her vision, as she would never be able to forget this sight. That unforgettable scene had traumatized her, and she could only overcome that heart demon on her own.
It was also why she had taken this journey to unknown universes.
No one else could help her.
She looked up into outer s.p.a.ce where the Seven-Star Mantis was flying about, unseen. This universe had already been severed.
Lu Yin was tightly holding onto the Seven-Star Mantis’s wing as he focused on the sensation of moving at the speed of time. Time pa.s.sed, and his feet started to move. Progenitor Chen had taught him an improved version of Inverse Step, but he still needed to incorporate those changes into the technique.
The Seven-Star Mantis was struggling internally. Its favorite pastime had always been to manipulate human desires, and it had created a ma.s.sive game of life and death to entertain itself. But now, it was being forced into such a game as a partic.i.p.ant.
It feared death and wanted to escape, but escape was impossible.
The human clinging to its back was capable of killing the mantis at any time, but he refused to do so. Despair was crushing the mantis, much like the humans that it had manipulated in the past.
This was just a game, a game of survival.
The mantis did not want to play this game anymore. The word “game” had already become a nightmare to it.
For Lu Yin, the sense of disharmony slowly disappeared. His Inverse Steps gradually became smoother as he adapted to the mantis’s speed and incorporated the changes into the technique.
Lu Yin was now able to see his surroundings, and even the fluttering wings of the Seven-Star Mantis were visible. He slowly comprehended what it meant to move at the speed of time. He might not be able to infuse his newfound comprehension into Inverse Step quite yet, but he had finally laid the foundations. Success was not far away. In fact, it could appear at any moment.
At the same time, the Seven-Star Mantis’s mind was about to shatter. It knew that, no matter what it tried, it was impossible to escape from this human. The feeling of a blade hanging above its head was terrifying, and it needed to find a way to escape.
The mantis had witnessed too much human nature, and it knew that humans’ greatest weakness was not selfishness, cowardice, or even the fear of death. Rather, it was their emotions.
Its narrow eyes suddenly focused on the distance as it looked at Jiang Qingyue. The mantis slowed down and raised its blade. It dropped down and then rose again, attacking both Jiang Qingyue and Arch-Elder Zen.
The Seven-Star Mantis was giving Lu Yin time, which was why it had deliberately slowed down. The mantis was giving the human enough time to save the two people, which would give the mantis enough time to escape.
These two attacks were powerful enough to kill both humans. The mantis was forcing Lu Yin to make a choice: either save the two humans, or watch them die to kill the Seven-Star Mantis in return.
The mantis refused to believe that Lu Yin could hinder it while also saving the two people. The human had limits, no matter how strong he might be.
However, the mantis did not know that there were other creatures present from Lu Yin’s group.
When the Seven-Star Mantis attacked, both Dragonturtle and the jiao reacted. Dragonturtle shielded Jiang Qingyue, while the jiao’s claws were aimed at the attack directed towards Arch-Elder Zen.
Both of the attacks were thwarted at the same time.
The Seven-Star Mantis was badly startled. More enemies?
“You’re seeking death!” Lu Yin roared as he slammed the slipper down, instantly shattering a pair of wings.
The Seven-Star Mantis howled as it writhed about. But now, its speed had dropped.
Its wings were the key behind its speed, and losing two wings meant that the mantis could no longer maintain its former speed.
“Human, I’ll fight you to the death!” The Seven-Star Mantis’s body suddenly shrank down just as Lu Yin slapped the slipper down again. The mantis’s back shattered, but as that happened, a much smaller mantis crawled out. This was the Seven-Star Mantis’s true form. The ma.s.sive body had been nothing more than a sh.e.l.l, and shedding that protection was its final resort to save its life.
The much smaller version of the Seven-Star Mantis also had six pairs of wings, and the moment they unfurled, the mantis moved at the speed of time. It needed to escape, and after that, it could think about revenge.
Determination steeled Lu Yin’s gaze. He used Inverse Step, trying to move parallel to time.
At that moment, the universe froze. Only Lu Yin and the Seven-Star Mantis were moving. Lu Yin observed the mantis’s movements and chased after it. As he did so, his Inverse Step grew smoother.
The Seven-Star Mantis turned to look back, stunned by what it saw. How was this possible? How had the human caught up?
In the past, Lu Yin could only prevent the mantis from escaping by reversing time, but at this moment, Lu Yin was moving at the same speed as the mantis itself. How was that even possible? What had Lu Yin done?
No matter how hard the Seven-Star Mantis racked its brain, it could not understand what it was seeing.
More than once, Lu Yin had been amazed by Progenitor Chen’s unparalleled talent at creating battle techniques. As he chased after the Seven-Star Mantis at the speed of time, Lu Yin was made even more aware of Progenitor Chen’s impressive abilities than before.
He could finally follow the Seven-Star Mantis, and Lu Yin had already had the means of intercepting the beast and even killing it.
Champions’ Stage.
One, two, three... ten, eleven, twelve. The Seven-Star Mantis stared in a daze when it was completely surrounded by various Progenitors. This was too confusing. Just where had all these peak powerhouses come from?
Summoning Progenitors, especially so many of them, was not easy for Lu Yin. Fortunately, his stellular energy reserves were far beyond what most people could even imagine. Even after summoning all these Progenitor-level champions, Lu Yin still had some stellular energy leftover.
His vast reserves of stellular energy ensured that he could summon a large number of Progenitors.
Ultimately, seventeen peak powerhouses were summoned, and they moved across the entire universe. While the Seven-Star Mantis could move at the speed of time, it was unable to break free from Lu Yin, who was capable of both chasing the beast and even catching up to it. The summoned champions were not needed to deal with the Seven-Star Mantis. Lu Yin just wanted them to stall it a bit.
The mantis’s blade swept out, splitting a Progenitor in two. Right after that, more summoned champions were cut down and reduced to nothing.
The Seven-Star Mantis wanted to tear through the void and make its escape, but the sourcebox array was still present, which meant that the mantis needed a full second to tear through the void. The beast lacked that one second of time.
One after another, Lu Yin’s champions were cut down. He continued to move closer to the mantis, a rising threat. The mantis wailed, “Lord Lu, I surrender to you! I will never fight back! You also need powerful allies like me to fight against Aeternus, right? I can help you! I can even work with Aeternus and uncover their secrets for you. Lord Lu, please spare me! I don’t want to die!”
Lu Yin remained silent. The Seven-Star Mantis needed to die, as it had already lost its last bit of value.
Its death would serve as a memorial to the humans it had slaughtered.
If species were taken into account, Lu Yin could not say that the Seven-Star Mantis had been wrong in its actions, but as a human, Lu Yin needed to pursue revenge. That was in line with his own principles.
The Seven-Star Mantis saw that Lu Yin was still closing in on it. Nearly half of the Progenitor-level champions remained, and if the mantis was delayed just a bit more, Lu Yin would catch up. The mantis’s only means of dealing with Lu Yin was pure speed, and its speed was also the only reason why it had attracted the Aeternals’ attention. Without that advantage, the mantis was not much stronger than other peak powerhouses who had not yet touched upon sequence particles.
“Lord Lu, I can help you a lot! You humans need me!” The Seven-Star Mantis continued its begging.
Lu Yin stared at the beast. “The last one dies.”
The Seven-Star Mantis trembled. This was the rule of its own game that it had played across the seven continents; only the last human to escape in a group would be killed. At this moment, the Seven-Star Mantis was the last one to escape, and Lu Yin was going to kill it.
“Lord Lu, are you really going to leave me without any choice?” The mantis’s tone suddenly changed, and it gained a level of sharpness as its eyes glinted with a vicious light.
Another champion appeared in front of the mantis, only to be cut down by a blade. The mantis turned back to face Lu Yin, and then it charged at him.
Lu Yin was taken aback. Was it actually charging him? No, was it...?