In the Innerverse, at the Lockbreaker Society’s headquarters, Casanova was idly flipping through his gadget. He was bored and was hoping to find a beautiful woman to chat with.
Somewhat nearby, Liu Ju was casually browsing through the Lockbreaker Network and looking at lockbreaking videos.
Across the room, there was a man squatting on the ground and playing video games, which was an oddity among cultivators.
Even further away, there was another young man leaning against the wall. His entire body was shrouded in the shadows so that his face was not visible.
There were silent Lockbreakers everywhere, and some of them would occasionally get up and look for a lockbreaking room.
No one spoke, and it was very quiet, but the silence was suddenly broken as someone called out, “Hey, this person, is this Lu Yin?”
The name “Lu Yin” meant little to those in the Neoverse, but he had long become famous throughout the Outerverse and Innerverse.
The person who had spoken up was a middle-aged man who enjoyed a high status within the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society. He was even a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, but at this moment, he was being incredibly disruptive.
Casanova and others all looked at the man.
The middle-aged man adjusted his gadget to display a video in front of everyone. It was of Lu Yin unlocking the stone bridge sourcebox.
The people there could barely comprehend what they were seeing.
The middle-aged man solemnly explained, “This video is a livestream from the Neoverse. He’s taking a ranking exam.”
Although some people still did not understand what they were looking at, most people were petrified by the explanation.
Everyone knew that Lu Yin was Seventh Bro, and they all knew that when Seventh Bro had last taken a ranking exam, he had jumped from being the one star Perceptive Intermediate level to a five star one. This massive jump had caused a great deal of confusion within the Lockbreaker Society, and many were still shocked by his results. But at this moment, it was obvious that Lu Yin was taking the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker exam.
Lu Yin was already qualified to become an Advanced Lockbreaker?
Everyone gasped. No, this is too fast!
Casonova pursed his lips. Freak.
Liu Ju was stunned; her chance to challenge Lu Yin had already disappeared. Even though Lu Yin had not successfully passed the Lockbreaker ranking exam yet, for some reason, everyone thought that he would succeed.
The other two young people nearby were also staring at the image. They were both members of the Lockbreaker Society’s Distinguished Five. One was named Mi Wen, who was a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and the other was Qing Zhiyu.1 He was the leader of the Distinguished Five, and just the day before, he had become a five star Intermediate Lockbreaker, which was something that not even Wu Dan had learned of yet.
However, even if Wu Dan had learned of such a thing, he still would not care. As he had told Lu Yin, there was only a difference of one word between an Advanced and an Intermediate Lockbreaker, but that difference was also the difference between heaven and earth.
“Lu Yin, what a legend.” Mi Wen smiled as he looked over at Qing Zhiyu. “If he joins my Innerverse Lockbreaker Society, he can take your place.”
Qing Zhiyu silently leaned back against the wall and ignored her.
At that moment, a lockbreaking room off in the distance opened, and someone exited. If Lu Yin was present, he would be surprised, as this person was an old acquaintance of his.
Dao Bo was the one who emerged.
Qing Zhiyu spoke to him, saying, “Congratulations on becoming a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. You’re one of the Distinguished Five. No, sorry, it’s the Distinguished Four now.”
The Innerverse Lockbreaker Society used to have the Distinguished Five, but unfortunately, two of them had died during the Sixth Mainland’s invasion. Otherwise, even though Dao Bo had become an Intermediate Lockbreaker, he would not have qualified to receive such a title.
It was supposed to be a happy occasion for a new member to join the Distinguished Five, but at this moment, everyone was focused on the displayed stream. It would be a major event if Lu Yin was promoted to a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.
Lu Yin represented the Outerverse, and his success would mean that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society had surpassed the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society. The Neoverse Lockbreaker Society had always stood at the top, and this would mean that their Innerverse Society would fall to the bottom.
Dao Bo nodded to Qing Zhiyu and then looked at the image that everyone was focusing on. He was surprised to see Lu Yin.
“You have a good student.” Mi Wen looked at Dao Bo with a smile, but then she continued with her video game.
Everyone silently stared at the image of Lu Yin lockbreaking.
…
Lu Yin spent an entire day in the Lockbreaker World unlocking the sourcebox. With his current lockbreaking speed, it would not take him long to understand an intermediate sourcebox and unlock it. However, this Boundless Advanced sourcebox was clearly in a different realm, and it would take him more than a few days to do so.
Once it became clear that Lu Yin had managed to successfully start the actual lockbreaking process, everyone knew that his success was just a matter of time. Unless he ran out of energy, he would be able to succeed no matter how long the process took him, and no one even considered the possibility of him giving up due to exhaustion.
Two more days passed, and most of the people in the Lockbreaker World stopped watching since the final result was already clear. Many of them would want to see the video after everything was finished, but that was only because they were curious as to what the sourcebox held.
There were many sourceboxes throughout the universe. Each had a unique form, and no two sourceboxes were identical.
Sourceboxes could take any shape and form, but the form of a stone bridge was very unusual. Many people had tried to unlock it before, so they were even more curious as to what the sourcebox contained.
…
Lu Yin’s expression was solemn as he seriously observed the sourcebox. He had already unlocked most of it, and he was on the verge of finally succeeding. He was also anticipating finding out what the sourcebox contained.
With a gentle sound, the final bits of condensed energies that formed the sourcebox’s blockages disintegrated, and everyone stared on expectantly; what would happen next?
The stone bridge sourcebox was truly ancient, and it was clearly something of great significance for a bridge to be sealed into a sourcebox.
The successful unlocking of any Boundless Advanced sourcebox would draw a great deal of attention, and this was where most Lockbreakers would stop their recording in order to prevent anyone else from discovering what the sourcebox contained.
Although Lu Yin was too inexperienced to stop the recording, fortunately for him, Gui Junheng took action and stopped the video at the moment that the lockbreaking finished. Otherwise, everyone would know what Lu Yin had gained.
When the video suddenly stopped, many people throughout the Lockbreaker World were stunned. If Lu Yin had succeeded, then he had just become a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.
There was a huge difference between a Perceptive Intermediate and a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and these two different ranks held completely different statuses.
Every Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker enjoyed privileges that far surpassed what regular Lockbreakers received. The moment that an Advanced Lockbreaker died, their death would invariably be investigated, which was the same as having ten Honor points.
In the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society, everyone stared at the blank screen in shock. Even after the video cut off, they all remained silent.
Dao Bo let out a long breath. He could still remember when Lu Yin had been a student in the Astral Combat Academy and how he had ended up butting heads with the Blaze Realm. Dao Bo had helped Lu Yin out at that time, and even back then, Lu Yin had possessed many different statuses and positions. But now, the accumulation of everything that Lu Yin had gained made him a truly unique existence.
Among their peers, who else was capable of the same?
In the Neoverse, on top of Mt. Microcosms, Highsage Wudi sighed. “What a pity. If he had joined our Eversky Island, then Master definitely would have raised this kid with all his strength. None of us can inherit the mantle of Grandmaster, but this kid might have been able to. What a pity.”