Chapter 284: Domain (1/2)

“Alright, I’ll agree to your terms.” Han Chong was the first to agree.

Lu Yin found this situation strange. Why was this guy being so nice?

Yue Xianzi also found it very strange. “Are you trying to stall for time, Han Chong?”

The others all glanced at Han Chong with strange looks in their eyes. Han Chong was being way too nice and friendly to Lu Yin, and it had actually reached the point where it was too much.

Han Chong smiled. “When you meet new people, there will be some who you instantly feel like you could very well be good friends with, and then there are some who you’ll seemingly never be able to communicate with during your entire life. Lu Yin and I seem to be fated.”

“Does this guy like you or something? Gross.” The monkey’s voice rang in Lu Yin’s mind.

Lu Yin was rendered speechless by Han Chong’s explanation, and he surveyed the rest of the trialtakers. “What about the rest of you? You need to answer quickly—there’s no telling when Ming Hao and his men will show up, and when they do, not even an Explorer will be able to stop them.”

“I’ll do it,” Yue Xianzi resolutely replied.

The rest exchanged gazes and then, one by one, agreed.

Lu Yin nodded. “Good. Make an oath, though I’ll also need it to be written down.”

“Written down? What kind of people do you think we are? Since we promised, we’ll definitely follow through on our word!” Xun Jiong from the Ascension Flowzone was furious.

Lu Yin merely shrugged in response. “Sorry, but I don’t believe in verbal promises.”

“A bastard like him isn’t worth your friendship. Are you really saying that someone like him is a friend of yours, Han Chong?” Xun Jiong looked very uncomfortable.

Han Chong smiled. Without saying a word, he took out a piece of paper from his cosmic ring as if it was the most natural thing to do. The rest were left with no choice but to follow suit and write down their oath on paper.

Lu Yin was very satisfied when he saw this. The universe was a very practical place, and for the organizations behind these people, profits outweighed everything else. They wouldn’t even hesitate to give up on one of their most elite disciples if necessary. At worst, they could just nurture another. An oath would only bind the person in question and not the organization that they belonged to, and Lu Yin had no desire of being made a fool of. Of course, even if a promise was written down, it still wouldn’t transform into a binding contract for the organizations involved. However, it was still better than nothing, and he didn’t have any other choice.

With this in mind, Lu Yin’s eyes twinkled. Right, why hadn’t he thought of this before? It would be a good idea to collect some more of these written oaths. They could prove to be very useful in the future.

“Please help me collect them, Han Chong,” Lu Yin said.

The rest flung their written oaths at Han Chong in annoyance.

It actually somewhat looked like Han Chong was Lu Yin’s underling.

The five statues had sealed off the sixth level of the Lightshaking Tower just like how the five planets had sealed off the Shenwu Continent. It was Lu Yin’s first time seeing sourceboxes this unique. He wasn’t very confident that he’d be able to open the seal, but he could still give it a try.

With the Giant Emperor’s third eye in one hand and nine stars revolving around his body, Lu Yin closely observed the materialized energy seal with excited eyes. What he saw was similar to what he usually observed when looking at a sourcebox, which was a vast sea of energy. However, this time, things were different as this sea was actively moving. On the surface, it seemed that this energy seal only had a single layer, but there was actually a circuit of energy snaking between the five statues, forming a unique domain. This was Lu Yin’s first time seeing something like this.

“Usually, only high-ranked Boundless sourceboxes would exhibit a domain like that on the surface. Sourceboxes like these are practically alive and very extraordinary. There have even been cases where the high-ranked sourcebox causes unique phenomena to manifest. Seventh bro, that seal isn’t something that you can deal with,” the monkey grimly commented.

Lu Yin stared intently at the five gigantic statues. “It’s a man-made seal, so it should be possible to make a crack in it.”

On his arm, the adorable monkey tattoo shimmered. “You can’t do it! I’m sorry to say this, but you really don’t have the ability to do this.”

“I should at least give it a try,” Lu Yin firmly replied. He had a lockbreaking tool, his Cosmic Art, and Charon’s experience, so he really wanted to give this a shot. He was slowly becoming a true Lockbreaker, and he now had the urge to unlock any difficult sourceboxes that he chanced upon.

Lu Yin pressed both of his hands against the energy seal as martial power surged out in a series of continuous pulses. At that moment, ripples began to appear on the energy seal!

Everyone looked on excitedly. Their strongest attacks had been rendered useless against this formidable seal, but Lu Yin had managed to garner an immediate reaction after playing his hands upon it. That was a real Lockbreaker: someone with extraordinary methods.

Currently, in Lu Yin’s vision, the huge sea of energy had suddenly been disturbed by huge waves, and these waves were very rough. This was something that no one else besides Han Chong could see, as he was the only one who had comprehended a domain. Even ordinary Lockbreakers might not be able to see this scene. This vision was restricted to only those who had cultivated the Cosmic Art.

Cough

Lu Yin coughed up a mouthful of blood. The five statues had retaliated against his interference by aggravating the vast sea of energy that constituted the surface of this sourcebox. The monkey was right; this was not something that he could handle at his current level. He might be a Bright Eyed Junior Lockbreaker, but even an Imperial Intermediate Lockbreaker might not be able to handle a seal of this level.

“Like I said before, you should just give up. You won’t be able to crack it much less break it. It’s a self-contained system of energy that’s essentially become its own lifeform, which is the signature characteristic of a Boundless Advanced sourcebox. Even if this is a man-made seal, it’s not something that a mere Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker can successfully unlock.” the monkey said.