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Lu Yin sat down. “How was your trip this time? It looks like you didn't encounter any danger.”
Wendy Yushan hesitated a moment, but then she slowly exposed her shoulder. There was a wound on her shoulder that had recently started recovering, but it was obvious that her entire arm had been nearly severed. The wound didn’t just stop at her arm, and it continued, snaking down to her chest and further beyond. Lu Yin couldn’t see exactly how far it extended.
Lu Yin could feel the danger she had met just by looking at the wound. Almost—this woman had almost died.
“Who did it?” Lu Yin asked, his eyes suddenly ice cold.
Wendy Yushan didn’t answer.
Lu Yin stared into her eyes. “Who did it?”
Wendy Yushan focused on her tea and said, “I bumped into Nightking Zhenwu at the Budding Terrace after entering the Daosource Sect. If one of the territory's top seeds from the Sixth Mainland hadn’t shown up to fight him, I wouldn’t have been able to return.” She then looked at Lu Yin. “You were right—the ruins of the Daosource Sect truly are incredibly dangerous, and I was injured on my very first day there. I found a place to hide for more than ten days and didn’t dare to expose myself. Lu Yin, am I completely useless?”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. Wendy’s wound was still so severe even after she had rested for more than ten days. This showed just how serious her initial injury had been.
Wendy Yushan was a proud person who wouldn’t retreat even in the face of death. However, she had ended up hiding for more than ten days, which revealed just how seriously Nightking Zhenwu had injured her.
“How’s your injury doing now?” Lu Yin asked.
Wendy Yushan calmly answered, “I’ll need half a year to fully recuperate.”
Lu Yin’s gaze sharpened. “Did Nightking Zhenwu realize who you were? What about the secret technique? Did you not use it?”
Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin and then seriously answered, “Don’t rely only on that secret technique. Other people might have one too.”
Lu Yin was shocked. “Nightking Zhenwu has a secret technique too?”
Wendy Yushan shook her head. “I’m not sure, but even my secret technique wasn’t enough to make up for the difference in power. As for whether or not he recognized me, what do you think?”
Lu Yin’s gaze was glacial. Wendy Yushan had joined the Myriad Swords Peak through White Knight’s recommendation, and she was also an Outerverse Youth Councilor. Lu Yin didn’t believe that Nightking Zhenwu hadn’t recognized her, and since he had attacked her despite knowing her identity, his intention to kill Wendy was clear.
The Daynight clan seemed to be Lu Yin’s natural enemy. From Nightking Qingyu back on Earth to Nightqueen Yanqing in the Astral Combat Academy, the Daynight clan had always been Lu Yin’s greatest obstacle along his cultivation journey. Arbiter Zhenwu had been the reason why Lu Yin hadn’t initially been allowed to join the Council of Astral Academy, and the Arbiter had also issued orders that allowed Nightqueen Yanqing to deal with Lu Yin with the Daynight clan’s resources. Furthermore, Arbiter Zhenwu had also been the person who had appointed Liu Shaoge to the Outerverse Youth Council as a councilor.
Although Lu Yin had never actually met Nightking Zhenwu, he had caused Lu Yin tremendous difficulties. That Arbiter was truly Lu Yin’s nemesis.
Perhaps the decision regarding the massacre of those with the Lu surname had also been made by that Arbiter.
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered when he looked at Wendy Yushan’s pale face. This incident was yet another strike against Arbiter Zhenwu.
“What are you thinking about?” Wendy Yushan asked.
Lu Yin’s expression softened. “Nothing much. Rest well, and don’t go back to the Daosource Sect for now.”
“Lu Yin!” Wendy Yushan called out. Lu Yin turned around and saw a gentle look on her face. She softly said, “I thought that I was going to die at that time, and the only person I thought of was you. Promise me that you won’t go up against Nightking Zhenwu until you are absolutely certain of defeating him.”
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at  Wendy Yushan’s vulnerable side. He instinctively hugged her as her scent filled his mind. “Alright, I promise you, but I’ll also guarantee that I’ll never forget this incident.”
A servant nearby shattered a tea cup, and Wendy Yushan quickly shoved Lu Yin away. She turned around and calmly said, “You can go now.”
Lu Yin felt dejected, as he had just discovered that he held special feelings for this woman.
“Oh, alright.” He then left the princess’s home.
After Lu Yin left, Wendy Yushan turned back around with a complicated expression on her face.
Lu Yin had no intention of resting after seeing Wendy’s injury. His mind was inundated with the sensation of embracing Wendy. He had felt like he had been hugging a relative, which was entirely different from what he felt when he held Ming Yan, but it was still a very memorable experience for him.
Lu Yin shook his head to clear his mind. He returned to the palace courtyard and took out the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox that he had received from the Nalan family for winning the Astral Combat Tournament and immediately started unlocking it.
“Seventh Bro, are you sure that you should be lockbreaking right now? Do you even know what you’re doing?” the Ghost Monkey teased.
Lu Yin snapped back, “Shut up! Otherwise I’ll screen you off again!”
“Ha, you disloyal person,” the monkey sneered.
Lu Yin ignored the monkey and took a deep breath. He exhaled slowly and sharpened his focus onto the sourcebox. He saw the complex energies surrounding it and could instantly tell that they far exceeded the level of five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes.
“Seventh Bro, don’t say that I didn’t warn you. Accidents are more likely to happen when you’re not focused during a lockbreaking session,” the monkey warned.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “I know.” He closed his eyes and remembered the scene of when he had entered the Daynight clan’s inheritance corridor. There had been a stone tablet outside the corridor covered with the names of the powerhouses of the Daynight clan and Nightking clan. The name in the highest position had been Nightking Zhenwu: an imposing and arrogant man.
Lu Yin grew furious as soon as he thought of Nightking Zhenwu, but he was still too far away from the Arbiter.
He opened his eyes and cleared his mind so that he could focus on his lockbreaking. He didn’t have the right to think about such matters with his current strength.
Although the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox didn’t hold any formless dangers, it was still very difficult for Lu Yin, whose degree of star energy control was only in the Intricacy realm. Unravelling such complex energies was very tiring.
Lu Yin was unlocking this sourcebox purely to gain more experience in lockbreaking.
Although there was a low chance of finding any sort of treasure inside a harmless sourcebox, the mere experience of unlocking this sourcebox wasn’t something that could compare to what might be inside a normal Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.
Ten hours later, Lu Yin was feeling giddy and had developed a headache. He felt like he was lost in the middle of a boundless ocean without a way to return to the shore.
After twenty hours had passed in total, Lu Yin had gone pale, and his hands were shaking. Fortunately, the monkey yelled at him to keep Lu Yin awake; otherwise, he would have already fainted.
Huo Qingshan, Xueshan Auna, Wendy Yushan, and Peach all appeared outside the courtyard and left one after another.
By this time, the sourcebox had shrunk to two thirds of its original size.
Lu Yin felt like his soul had left his body and that his vision had gone blurry.
The energy surrounding the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox was too complicated, and it was very hard to remove the energy. The convoluted conglomeration of energy resembled an endless maze, and it completely crushed Lu Yin’s spirit.
Perhaps this was the true threat of a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and it might also explain why Dao Bo was so much stronger than Charon. Although they were both five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers, it wasn’t easy to unlock a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.
Ten hours later, Lu Yin had reached the point of collapse. He really wanted to take a break, but he also didn’t want to stop.
He hadn’t realized that the lockbreaking had become simpler compared to when he had first started working on this sourcebox. By continuously lockbreaking for an extended period of time, he had slowly integrated lockbreaking methods into his instincts, which showed that he was gaining experience in lockbreaking.
“Seventh Bro, don’t give up! You just need a few more hours,” the monkey encouraged.
Lu Yin opened his eyes wide and continued staring at the sourcebox.
Two hours later, the energy surrounding the sourcebox finally shattered, and a bit of rusty metal fell out with a clang.
Lu Yin’s eyes gleamed as he carefully picked up the metal piece. He had finally obtained his reward after thirty two straight hours of lockbreaking. He had nearly fainted during the process, but he had finally gotten his first treasure from a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.
Lu Yin suddenly felt dizzy as he stared at the piece of metal in his hand. He steadied himself as he sat down on the ground, and a moment later, he was asleep.
He was too exhausted. Although lockbreaking wasn’t the same as fighting, it could sometimes be even more tiring than fighting as lockbreaking exhausted one’s spirit. Thus, overexertion during lockbreaking attempts could cause a person to faint.
There were stories of lockbreakers who went crazy or committed suicide after lockbreaking for too long. Generally, most Discerning Elementary lockbreakers would make plenty of preparations before trying a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. Lu Yin had unlocked a Discerning Elementary sourcebox shortly before he had started on this Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and he was actually very fortunate to have survived.
“Don’t die from this without even getting to fight Nightking Zhenwu,” the monkey teased.
People came and left the entrance of the courtyard.
Lu Yin slept for three days and only woke up on the morning of the fourth day.
When he opened his eyes, it seemed that the air around him had become much fresher.
“Seventh Bro, how are you? You’re not crazy right?” the Ghost Monkey joked.
Lu Yin kneaded his temples. “I’ll remember to kill you even if I do go crazy.”
“Nah, I want to enjoy my life a while longer,” the monkey said. He then reminded Lu Yin, “Check out the piece of metal that fell out. It’s probably something good!”
Lu Yin suddenly remembered that he had received a piece of corroded metal from the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.
The piece of metal was under his foot. He picked it up and carefully studied it, but there were no words or images on it. “Is this thing something good?”
“Yeah, it took me quite some time to remember what this thing is, but let me test you first: do you know what this thing is?” the monkey asked with a sneer.
Lu Yin gripped the fragment tightly and scratched at it. There was not a single mark on the piece of metal, and not even the corroded bits were affected.
This metal felt like the cauldron in the ruins of the Daosource Sect. The metal of that cauldron had been indestructible despite being almost completely corroded.
“So what is this?” Lu Yin asked.
The monkey answered, “Normal metal.”
Lu Yin frowned. “Tell me the truth.”
“That is the truth—it’s just a normal piece of metal, though there is something that’s been added into it. Seventh Bro, look at the green spots on the metal that look like rust,” the monkey explained.
Lu Yin carefully looked at the fragment and saw the green spots. “Keep going.”