The Ghost Monkey paused for a bit before continuing his explanation. “Those green spots are something known as Ancient Scarlet Copper, and it is an extremely rare material. Any weapon fortified with just a trace of Ancient Scarlet Copper will increase its hardness to an unimaginable level. Just look at this normal piece of metal that you are unable to even scratch. It’s nothing more than an ordinary piece of metal that’s been fused with a tiny amount of Ancient Scarlet Copper.”

“Ancient Scarlet Copper? Is that some kind of metal?”

“You can say that. The idiot who fused the Ancient Scarlet Copper with this ordinary metal must have had a few screws loose,” the monkey said angrily.

Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. “It seems like this fragment has quite a high concentration of Ancient Scarlet Copper.”

“Probably enough to form a piece the size of a fingernail. If you think about how rare Ancient Scarlet Copper is, the one who forged this was incredibly generous since they used this extremely rare material. It’s a shame that it can’t be used anymore. There’s no way to extract the Ancient Scarlet Copper from this piece of scrap anymore. To make you understand just how much of a waste I think it is, let me put it this way: Ancient Scarlet Copper is one of the primary materials required to build items that can withstand an Envoy’s attacks.”

“This metal can be used to create items that can withstand attacks with power levels of 500,000?” Lu Yin asked in astonishment.

“Yep, so you now understand its value and how much of a waste it is to have used it like this. If Ancient Scarlet Copper is used in high concentrations, then the items made from it can even withstand attacks that have reached power levels of 700,000. I’ve read about this material a bunch of times in powerhouses’ journals. The Sea King’s Trident that you grabbed a hold of back then most likely has some Ancient Scarlet Copper in it as well,” the monkey commented.

Lu Yin was all smiles as he stored the piece of metal away. He was glad to have gotten a hold of something so valuable.

“Seventh Bro, why are you smiling? Why do you want to hang on to such a useless object?” the monkey asked disdainfully.

“Even though I might not be able to refine it right now, I might be able to in the future,” Lu Yin said happily. With his die and a roll of two pips, the Blackhole Disassembly would be able to easily refine the metal. This Ancient Scarlet Copper was good stuff.

The monkey replied, “When you have the ability to refine that, you won’t have any more interest in it. To put it bluntly, you might not even live to reach such a stage. Do you want to be buried with that thing?”

Lu Yin immediately screened the monkey off. He did not like the way the beast was speaking to him.

After surveying his surroundings, he saw that there was one more sourcebox that he had not opened yet. Lu Yin was in no rush, so he walked out to the courtyard and met with En Ya, Xueshan Auna, and the others. He had polite conversations with them all, enjoyed a sumptuous meal, and after that, he finally returned to the imperial palace’s courtyard.

He checked his gadget, and to his pleasant surprise, he saw that his Lockbreaker level had been upgraded to five stars.

The two videos of him lockbreaking five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes had indeed come in handy. If he uploaded the video of him unlocking the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox onto the network, then there was even a possibility that he would be immediately recognized as a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. Of course, there was only a remote possibility of that happening, as usually, he would have to unlock at least one more Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox before leveling up again.

But Lu Yin was in no rush. His status as a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker was enough for the moment. It was a shame that unlocking a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox was not a simple endeavor. After all, the sourcebox that he had just unlocked had actually been a harmless one.

He was thankful for his previous experience of lockbreaking in front of the Trialmaster at the Astral Combat Academy. At that time, the Trialmaster had intimidated Lu Yin with the dangers of lockbreaking, and if not for that lecture, his attempt to unlock a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox would have ended badly.

There was still one last sourcebox, and Lu Yin did not want to wait any longer, so he approached it.

According to the description of this sourcebox that Gavin had provided, it seemed to have the ability to repel anyone who drew close to it. Lu Yin opened the Spiritual Thread case, and a strong, repulsive force exploded from within. Lu Yin’s entire body shook for a moment before he managed to stabilize from the blast.

This repelling force was enough to send an Explorer flying, but it was still ineffective against him.

It was time to get started! He exhaled loudly as he activated the Cosmic Art and began the lockbreaking process.

This lockbreaking session felt much different compared to Lu Yin’s previous attempts. Not only was he progressing faster, but he also found that he had an instinctive sense for choosing the most effective way to neutralize the sourcebox’s energies. His actions felt like they had been practiced thousands of times before.

A single Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox lockbreaking attempt had allowed him to make qualitative leaps in terms of advancing his lockbreaking abilities. Even though he had not become a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker yet, he could still be considered a top level Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. Even Dao Bo was no longer a match for Lu Yin.

In the past, the only aspect that Lu Yin had fallen behind when compared to Dao Bo, Charon, and the other elite young Lockbreakers was his experience. He had now caught up with them with just a single sourcebox. That, combined with his Cosmic Art and his transformed eyes, meant that he was confident in being able to unlock any Discerning Elementary sourcebox.

It was a pity that he did not have incredible luck. Charon had obtained the Unveiled Sword from an unlocked sourcebox whereas Lu Yin had only managed to get a small amount of impure Ancient Scarlet Copper which he needed to refine on his own.

The lockbreaking process for this session was smooth sailing for Lu Yin, and it took him an unprecedented mere five hours to successfully unlock the sourcebox despite working on a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox.

However, once the object within the sourcebox touched the outside air, it evaporated away. It was a stone that had an image engraved on it, but Lu Yin wasn’t able to make out the image before it disappeared.

“Seventh Bro, you are so clumsy,” the Ghost Monkey muttered.

Lu Yin stretched his body as he checked the time. He could now head towards Sourcepeak Weave.

Lu Yin had made plans to take a trip to Sourcepeak Weave a while ago, but he had decided afterwards that he wanted Aden to accompany him. Aden had finally arrived at the Great Yu Empire two days ago, while Lu Yin had been sleeping, and so, the two had not managed to see each other yet.

When Lu Yin finally saw Aden, he could feel that the older man had grown stronger.

“It looks like you’ve already absorbed all your gains from the battles in Ironblood Weave,” Lu Yin said with a laugh. During the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion, Aden had been in the vanguard of every battle. A large bulk of the credit for the successful defense belonged to the Hunter, and he had subsequently redeemed his Ironblood Points for resources and easily boosted his strength.

Aden sized Lu Yin up with astonishment. “Your strength has grown considerably.”

“Of course, I’ve already broken through and become an Explorer.”

“No, I’m not referring to that. It’s not like I haven’t seen you after you became an Explorer. Your strength has increased remarkably after you left Ironblood Weave.”

Lu Yin chuckled, as he had constantly been absorbing star energy after his breakthrough in cultivating the Cosmic Art, and that wasn’t even mentioning how he had improved his fine star energy control. He had unwittingly gone through huge transformations.

“How is it for you to be back in the Great Yu Empire? Are you used to it yet?” Lu Yin asked with a smile. The two men towered high in the starry sky as they waited for the spacecraft that would take them to Sourcepeak Weave.

Aden laughed. “I’m not the one who wanted to come back. You wanted me back here.”

“I’m sorry about that. There’s simply no one that I can count on here in the Great Yu Empire. Leaving someone as strong as you in Ironblood Weave is just a waste. However, I promised Elder Lohar that I would let you go back to Ironblood Weave if war erupts there again,” Lu Yin said.

“You should know that I am a free man with no connections. The Hall of Honor has no hold over me either, so I can go anywhere I please,” Aden declared.

Lu Yin nodded and gave him a serious look. “It’s indeed your choice. You can choose to either leave or stay.”

Aden stared at Lu Yin for a moment and then turned his head around. “What do you have planned for me?”

“I want you to be the captain of the Great Yu Empire’s Fourth Imperial Squadron,” Lu Yin told him seriously.

“Alright then, but let me make myself clear on one thing: I can leave as easily as I came, and at any time I want,” Aden said.

Lu Yin nodded. “That goes without saying.”

Very soon, a radiant-grade Aurora arrived that both men boarded.

There were still ten days left before the Lockbreaker Competition, and the journey to Sourcepeak Weave would only take five days, so Lu Yin was in no rush.

***

At this same time, on a distant planet, a fashionably dressed man had a dejected expression on his face. “What a bummer! We actually encountered a place where the void was unstable. The spacecraft’s ruined, and it will be too exhausting to fly directly to Sourcepeak Weave on my own. Besides, the competition will most likely already be over by the time I get there. Who can give me a lift?” the man muttered as he looked around.

By a stroke of luck, he suddenly saw a distant spacecraft traveling swiftly through outer space.

The fashionably dressed man’s eyes lit up, and he stepped out. He next appeared right in front of the spacecraft as he foolishly sped straight at the spacecraft.

In the control pit of the vessel, everyone stared on in astonishment as the man rushed over. This man had to be nuts!

With a whoosh, the man vanished the exact moment the spacecraft was about to smash into him. Following which, the people aboard the spacecraft heard the sound of someone knocking on the hatch.

Everyone on the vessel looked at one another. The captain of the spacecraft gritted his teeth. “He’s a space-exploring powerhouse, so let him in.”

The fashionably dressed man entered the spacecraft, and he excitedly gave the captain a hug of gratitude. “Thank you so much! You must be the captain—thank you so much for letting me in.”

The captain was embraced with enough force that it hurt. This stranger had a steel-like grip. “You are most welcome, brother.”

The man released the captain, and he again thanked the man. “Captain, you are such a good man. Not only did you let me in, but you even offered to take me to Sourcepeak Weave! You are a great man!”

Everyone around was confused. Sourcepeak Weave? When did we say that we’re heading there?

The captain replied, “Brother, are you headed to Sourcepeak Weave? Unfortunately, we are-”

There was a loud boom as the entire spacecraft jolted. The man had just slapped the hull of the spacecraft with a great deal of force, even leaving a deep palm print. “There was a bug.” After that, he looked at the captain. “What were you just saying?”

The captain swallowed his saliva. “Nothing. Sourcepeak Weave just happens to be on our way as we were headed nearby.”

The fashionably dressed man grinned from ear to ear, and he slapped the captain’s shoulder hard. “Thank you brother, you are such a good man. Hahaha! My name is Ku Wei. Everyone calls me Big Brother Wei, but there’s no need for you to be so formal with me. Hahaha!”

Everyone fell silent.

***

In the Astral Wilderness, there was a spacecraft headed back towards the Outerverse at top speed. A middle aged man was inside the craft with closed eyes.

Suddenly, an alert sounded from the spacecraft. The middle-aged man opened his eyes to look ahead, and he saw a beast-like figure with its claws raised high, ready to swipe down. The middle-aged man shouted in fright, “No!”

With a bang, the entire spacecraft exploded, and the middle-aged man was sent flying from the impact, after which he helplessly floated in space. He looked straight ahead, and being an Explorer who had comprehended a domain, he could accurately sense the power of the beast-like figure.

Is that a modified machine? The middle-aged man rubbed his eyes to take a closer look and saw that it was indeed a mechanical beast.

The large, beast-like machine once again swiped its claws down at the middle-aged man. He grit his teeth and tried to escape, but he was captured in an instant. The beast-like machine then released two metal chains to tie up the middle-aged man before a giant bolt of electricity shot out and lit up the entire sky, which also caused the middle-aged man to faint from the shock.

The beast-like machine moved closer to the middle-aged man’s body and then released some mechanical probes. The probes quickly removed the middle-aged man’s brain and replaced it with a chip.

***

In the Great Yu Empire, in the classified Technology Department, a dozen people burst out in cheers. Ban Jiu excitedly looked at the simplified control core that was in front of him. He had finally succeeded.

The most challenging technical problems had been resolved, and they had again obtained another batch of resources from some of the eastern weaves. He could now start modifying the androids a month ahead of schedule and would be able to use the available materials to upgrade his research subjects. It was all wonderful news.

Shalosh, the Twelfth Imperial Squadron’s second in command, hurriedly offered his congratulations to the captain. Everyone in the Technology Department who was involved in the development of the androids broke out in raucous cheers.

Only those who had first hand experience in the design knew that these particular androids allowed for infinite possibilities. This was a landmark moment for weapons manufacturing.

Ban Jiu drew closer to the control core as he watched it absorb star energy. He broke into a hearty laughter and then locked the doors of the research department. He could not allow anyone to get close. He wanted to complete the other components for manufacturing an android as quickly as possible.

That night, a figure entered the research lab and sneakily placed explosive devices at various strategic locations throughout the research center. A proud, sinister smile spread across the figure’s lips as they sneaked back out.

Right as the figure just left the underground of the Technology Department, a hand landed on the figure’s shoulder.