Chapter 4545: The Limit Of Potential

Were all of those white skeletons beneath the Abyss other test subjects?

No. The ones that were able to move were test subjects, while the ones that were unable to move had faced the cycle of life and death and ultimately failed to endure it. Over the course of countless years, there had been far too many failures.

The Death Megaverse only saw the greatness of those who emerged from Thousand Machinations’ Abyss, never caring about all the creatures who had perished there. To the Death Megaverse, with its Bone Script, the entire Aevum Inch could become a part of its civilization. There was no need to care too much about such losses.

Fifteen cycles.

Lu Yin had surpassed Old Sixth.

Thousand Machinations was very eager to see just how many cycles this human skeleton could endure. This represented the limit of what his body could withstand, and yet his consciousness was clear throughout the entire process. Would this method even be effective in helping him reach the limit of his own potential? On top of that, why could he retain his consciousness? All of these variables caused Thousand Machinations to be both curious and highly expectant.

It needed the results of this experiment.

Sixteen cycles.

Thousand Machinations stared intently at the shattered yet intact skeleton within the black sphere. Humans were so weak when they were born, but some of them possessed endless potential. It seemed that the bear had encountered one of those humans.

Seventeen cycles.

Eighteen cycles.

Nineteen cycles.

Twenty cycles.

Thousand Machinations' gaze abruptly sharpened. Twenty cycles was second only to that being. Throughout all of history, this Chen was the second creature to have ever possessed such exceptional potential. I want to see exactly how many cycles you can withstand and whether staying clearly conscious will have any other effects.

Lu Yin's consciousness remained clear, but he could no longer tell whether he was awake or dreaming. He saw Thousand Machinations’ figure blur, but the world that Lu Yin saw was radiating light. Darkness swept over him again and again. Could he already be dead? But if so, how was he still conscious?

Twenty-one cycles.

Twenty-two cycles.

Lu Yin felt as though he were freely swimming through a black ocean. He had fully merged with that black ocean. Freedom. Complete freedom. It was like fully releasing his sense of self with the music of Joy City. He seemed to hear Withered Requiem's song coming from the distant shore. No, that was not Withered Requiem's music, but rather Lu Yin’s true self. It was a version of himself who was emerging from nothingness, newly born. It was the sound of his first cry.

Is it a cry? Then why does it sound so much like music? So beautiful and pure...

Thousand Machinations stood in place, staring at Lu Yin just the same as before. He had already completed twenty-five cycles. He has surpassed that being.

That should not be possible. That being's talent was rare throughout all of history. Even at the greatest height of human civilization during the Nine Ramparts era, virtually no one could compare to that being. Could a random human skeleton that Thousand Machinations had encountered actually rival that being? During the Nine Ramparts era, would this be considered the very pinnacle of talent?

The bear did not think that its luck could be that good. If this human truly possessed such immense talent, how could he have been granted Bone Script? Had it happened because he had not had enough time to cultivate?

Or perhaps the bear was wrong. Perhaps when one retained a clear consciousness, this method became useless. Could that be it? How else could this human possibly possess such immense potential?

Twenty-six cycles now.

Exactly how many cycles can he endure?

Twenty-seven cycles.

Twenty-eight cycles.

Thousand Machinations took a few steps forward, still staring intently at Lu Yin. It urgently wanted to obtain the result of this experiment.

Twenty-nine cycles.

The black sphere contracted and then expanded for the thirtieth time.

Inside the black sphere, Lu Yin moved again. He had just regained complete clarity. He had been dragged from that dreamlike feeling of freely swimming through the black ocean back into reality. Death approached once more, but this time, it was not merely death approaching, but rather true death.

Lu Yin knew that, if he stayed inside the black sphere any longer, he would truly die.

At that moment, his thoughts became crystal clear, so he walked out and fell to the ground.

Thousand Machinations stared in shock at Lu Yin where he had collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Thirty times. A full thirty cycles. This had never happened before. Did this human truly possess such immense potential? Or had the entire process failed the moment that his consciousness woke up? Still, why had his body managed to withstand thirty brushes with death within the black sphere?

The black sphere slowly condensed, forming a black dot. Thousand Machinations opened its mouth and swallowed the dot.

It circled Lu Yin again and again, occasionally crouching down to examine the skeleton’s body. The bear pinched the white bones.

Crack. They broke. Lu Yin's skeleton clone was already on the verge of death, and its bones were covered with cracks. Forget it.

At this point, even an ordinary human could shatter the bones with a gentle kick. Nothing at all could be learned from this state. Only after Lu Yin fully recovered and Thousand Machinations saw how much his strength had improved could the results be determined.

Thinking of this, Thousand Machinations grabbed Lu Yin and threw him back underground. He could slowly recover there and emerge whenever he recovered. Without Dark Prisonbone’s power obstructing his recovery, as long as Lu Yin woke up, he would be able to immediately recover.

An unknown amount of time passed before Lu Yin slowly woke up and looked around. He was back underground.

He lifted his head and looked up at the dark dome above. He also saw the ray of light shining down from where he had pierced through before.

He let out a deep breath and proceeded to examine himself. He was in a truly miserable state at this moment, even worse than when he had been attacked by Dark Prisonbone. His entire body had basically been shattered. However, these injuries were not serious. He immediately absorbed Stillness and restored himself.

Not long after, the cracks disappeared from his white bones. He had already recovered.

Lu Yin clenched his fist. Things had changed. There was a sense of unfamiliarity regarding his own body. It was clearly his, and yet it also seemed to not be. There was an indescribable sense of power and control.

He was not unfamiliar with this sensation, as he had experienced it before. This was the power that his true body had possessed as an Aberrant.

No way. Does this skeleton clone now possess the same level of strength as my real body when I was an Aberrant? What about its durability? That seems to be about the same as well.

It seemed that, aside from his innate gifts like his ability to teleport and his die, this clone’s basic abilities felt about the same as what his true body had possessed as an Aberrant. He was far, far stronger than before.

If he were to fight Great Golden Wings again with this body, he would not struggle much at all. His physical strength alone would be enough to beat the bird senseless.

Is this what it feels like to reach the limits of one's own potential?

His true body must have also reached the limits of his potential as an Aberrant, but that had been the limits of a flesh-and-blood body with innate gifts, battle techniques, cultivation arts, and more. This time, it was just a skeleton of bones reaching the limit of potential at the same cultivation stage.

Lu Yin found this amusing. So it was actually possible to cultivate in this manner.

After cultivating himself to the limit of his potential, he had taken out his bones and re-cultivated them. If his original body had not broken through to the Immortal realm yet and fused with this clone, his strength would rise to yet another level.

At that level, even if he were thrown back to when the Trio had faced a calamity, he would be able to contend with the likes of Death's Dominion. At the very least, he would not be overwhelmed to the point where he was unable to even damage his opponent. In fact, at minimum, he would be able to ensure that the giant Abyssal could not harm him either.

Of course, he still lacked the strength necessary to be victorious in that scenario. No matter how much he improved the skeleton clone by, it still would not reach the same level that his true body had achieved after breaking into the Immortal realm.

Still, this was the right path.

Given this clone's current abilities, once it broke through to the Immortal realm, even if it still could not compare to his true body, it would not be lacking by much. At the very least, fighting against a peak two-law Immortal one-on-one would not be a problem. Whether he could win was another matter, but he would at least be qualified to put up a fight.

If this clone then fused with his true body...

Not even Lu Yin could predict what level his strength would reach at that time.

Additionally, this was only a single clone.

He took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed his excitement. He was still in the Death Megaverse. No matter how powerful this clone became, it could not surpass an Abyssal. He could not allow Thousand Machinations to see the truth.

If Lu Yin had been reluctant to allow his skeleton clone to die before because he wanted to walk this dark path while yearning for the light, then at this moment, the clone absolutely could not be allowed to die because this clone had carved out a true path. The next step would be to try to break through to the Immortal realm.

As long as this clone succeeded in doing so, then once his true body fused with this clone, Lu Yin would be confident in fighting against even a three-law powerhouse.

He would shatter everything that Obscura thought they knew about him.

But the more true this was, the less he could afford to be impatient.

Lu Yin calmed himself and reviewed everything that he had done in the past, especially what he had felt and seen while conscious within that the black sphere. He had to provide an explanation for what had happened to Thousand Machinations. There had to be a standard when it came to reaching the limits of one's own potential.

Withered Requiem was definitely one of the outstanding successes, but Thousand Machinations had already determined that Lu Yin could surpass that Abyssal. But just how much was reasonable? That was something that he had no way of knowing because he did not know the standard to which he could compare himself.

While still inside the black sphere, Lu Yin had seen Thousand Machinations initially move away, only to later move close. The bear had appeared to be somewhat incredulous. Why incredulous? Had Lu Yin done something surprising?

Lu Yin needed to think through things step by step, perfecting each step as much as possible while also keeping himself as concealed as possible.

This was very difficult because Thousand Machinations was very clever.

Not long after that, Lu Yin emerged from the underground area and saw Thousand Machinations standing by the river. The bear seemed to greatly enjoy standing by rivers.

Seeing Lu Yin appear, Thousand Machinations looked over, sized him up, and then raised their thumb. "Impressive."

Lu Yin was speechless. "Senior, does this count as this junior reaching the limit of his potential?"

Thousand Machinations scratched its head. "It should count... How do you feel? Have you become stronger?"

Lu Yin nodded and clenched a fist with great excitement. "I have indeed become much stronger."

"How much?"

"I can’t clearly tell. My physical strength and the toughness of my bones are both much better. This junior originally thought that he would never be able to grow stronger again. Thank you, Senior."

Thousand Machinations continued to study Lu Yin. "You were still conscious while inside the black sphere, were you not?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "I’m not sure. It felt like I was awake but also like I was dreaming. My whole body felt weightless."

"What did it feel like to you?"

"I just felt weightless."

"Could you control your body?"

Lu Yin nodded. "I could."

Thousand Machinations grew visibly more excited. "What did that moment feel like?"

Lu Yin thought back. "Comfortable."

Thousand Machinations. "?"

They had guessed many things, but they had never considered comfortable to be a possibility. Comfortable? How could it have been comfortable? That was being pushed to the verge of death.

"You were comfortable?"

"Yes, comfortable. Swimming felt very comfortable."

Thousand Machinations grew confused. "Swimming?"

Lu Yin described what he had felt. He had really felt as though he were swimming in a black ocean. He told no lies. When facing someone clever, a lie would be easily seen through, so Lu Yin told no lies. He truly had felt weightless, and later, he truly had not been able to tell whether he had been awake or dreaming. Furthermore, the feeling of swimming through a black ocean had been the clearest impression of all.

He did not know how Thousand Machinations judged creatures’ potential, but everyone's feelings would be different. It was very difficult to judge anything based off of sensations alone.

Thousand Machinations pondered.

They had asked every creature that had undergone this process about what they had experienced, and each being had indeed given a different answer, as different creatures had different behaviors. Some beings could never swim, so naturally, they would not have the same sensations as Lu Yin. Some were born in water, so swimming was as normal as walking to them and would not be considered anything special.

To humans, swimming was merely a kind of pastime.

So, he felt comfortable?

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