Chapter 161: Opportunity and Crisis (2/2)
Lu Yin replied, “Tutor, that sourcebox had no intrinsic danger.”
Master Wusheng snorted disdainfully. “No danger? Who told you that? The person who gave you the sourcebox? What the hell do they know? A sourcebox’s danger cannot be understood by simple laymen. The dust sealing the sourcebox’s surface starts in equilibrium, but if it is manipulated carelessly, then it can lead to a disastrous chain reaction. Watch the Sourcebox Catalog videos that the Lockbreaker Society sent you and remember these words: Lockbreaking is holding firm to one’s determination to risk their life to Lockbreak. That is the Lockbreaker’s motto.” And with that, he ended the call.
Lu Yin could feel the gravity of Master Wusheng’s lecture, and he quickly opened the Sourcebox Catalog video that he had just received from the society.
In the darkness, a young woman was gripping a fist-sized stone with her eyes closed as she began unlocking the sourcebox. That stone was very similar to Lu Yin’s sourcebox in that it seemed completely harmless. She spent almost ten hours to barely smooth out the energy sealing the sourcebox. She then rested for a while before continuing. Suddenly, the material on the sourcebox’s surface distorted strangely and then violently exploded without any sign, causing the space to distort and nearly collapse. The woman’s entire body was swallowed without even a trace being left behind.
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank and his scalp turned numb. During her lockbreaking process, the woman in the video had failed to ensure the stability of the energy equilibrium on the sourcebox’s surface, which was the underlying reason behind this accident. This was a classic example of a failed attempt.
This video was very similar to Lu Yin’s lockbreaking attempt, but the difference lay in that he had succeeded while she had failed. One lived, and the other had died.
The energy on the surface of the sourcebox could be seen as an unconventional ecosphere in a delicate balance. Once that balance was lost, the entire equilibrium would collapse at once, and the resulting explosion of the materialized energy would be undoubtedly terrifying. Even a Limiteer might not be able to withstand it.
Lu Yin’s fear of lockbreaking grew even larger after viewing this video. Fortunately, his Cosmic Art had simplified the delicate energy system, or else he would have been in serious danger. He thought about it some more, and then decided to watch the rest of the videos that he had been gifted.
The second, third, and every video up to the seventeenth were all failures. The eighteenth was even more shocking to Lu Yin than the seventeen failures, however.
He saw a pair of hands that seemed to be lockbreaking yet another innocuous sourcebox. After dozens of hours, there was only a thin layer of energy left atop the sourcebox. But then, a strange snake with a bizarre appearance shot out from the sourcebox, past the pair of hands, and plunged into the Lockbreaker’s body. There was a tragic cry, and then the scene faded.
Lu Yin’s scalp turned numb once again. His view of sourceboxes had been turned upside down yet again. Evidently, what lay inside sourceboxes was not guaranteed to be an inanimate object; it could also be a living creature… Such creatures had purposely sealed themselves, and with the passing of time, had been gradually covered in dust. It was easy to imagine the terrifying power of these primordial creatures from ancient times.
There were a total of twenty Sourcebox Catalog videos, all of them failed lockbreaking attempts, and all of them resulting in the Lockbreaker’s death. A cold shiver ran down Lu Yin’s back. These cases made him acutely aware of just how dangerous lockbreaking could be. The Lockbreaker Society had sent him these videos the moment he had become a one-starred Lockbreaker both as a gift and as a warning about what being a Lockbreaker truly meant.
More often than not, opening sourceboxes did not lead to marvelous outcomes. Lockbreakers carried a responsibility, and while they could embrace the glory that came with the title, they also faced death with every attempt.
Lu Yin contacted Master Wusheng again.
“Finished?” Master Wusheng stared at Lu Yin through the display solemnly.
Lu Yin’s brows knitted together in consternation as he solemnly replied, “Yes.”
“Your thoughts?”
Lu Yin muttered underneath his breath for a moment, and then raised his eyes to meet Master Wusheng’s gaze. “Intense pressure, but compelling.”
Master Wusheng’s lips twitched upwards. “Compelling? Few would think that lockbreaking is a compelling profession. The Lockbreaker Society may be made up of hundreds of thousands of Lockbreakers, but the number who can truly unlock sourceboxes is much lower. And even within that select group, a portion of them have utterly shut lockbreaking out of their lives due to caution. I hope that you don’t become someone like that.”
Lu Yin’s brows rose and he slowly bowed. “Thank you, Tutor, for your guidance.”
Master Wusheng nodded and a hint of praise shone out from deep within his eyes. “When you make a lockbreaking attempt, you’ll occasionally be able to rely on external objects. There are some mysterious objects in the universe that can greatly aid us Lockbreakers. For example, these-” Master Wusheng took out two dark green leaves and stuck them onto his head. Under Lu Yin’s questioning gaze, he continued, explaining, “These leaves focus my thoughts and enhance my reasoning ability. You’ve successfully completed a lockbreaking attempt, so you should understand why enhancing one’s reasoning ability can be very beneficial to the lockbreaking process.”
Lu Yin’s eyes shone and he immediately nodded; this was something that he had learned the hard way. If his calculating ability had been upgraded by several-fold during his previous lockbreaking attempt, then he might not have needed to waste twenty seven whole hours on it. These types of items were precious treasures that would vastly improve his lockbreaking efficiency.