STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2201: Conjecture

Lu Yin remained modest after Bai Weiwei spoke. "Student Bai, you’ve already become an Array Master
at such a young age. Honestly, I’m quite surprised by what you’ve achieved."

Bai Weiwei sounded a bit bitter as she replied, "Prof. Hao Yu, if I have trouble with my lockbreaking,
then can I ask you for help?"

"Of course, I'm your instructor. Though, I’ll have to ask you to not be stingy with your credits, haha." Lu
Yin smiled.

Nong Siniang started to cheer loudly, and Qing Feng and many others started to laugh. Even the
stuttering fatty clenched his fists as he cheered.

However, there were others present who felt no joy over the outcome of the game of Stable Zone, such
as Bai Nan and Xia Shenguang.

Wu Taibai stared at Lu Yin for a long time. Yu Hao had changed too much. How could anyone transform
so much over the course of just a few decades? It was no wonder why the Xia family was so concerned
about him.

At that moment, Wu Taibai was reminded of someone that he had known long ago. That person had
only taken about twenty years to rise to the peak from being a normal human. Over that course of time,
not only had that person surpassed all of his peers with a matchless talent for cultivation, but he had
also obtained an invincible combat strength and seized the authority to control the entire Fifth
Mainland. Wu Taibai could not help but see similarities between the two men.

Winning the game of Stable Zone caused Lu Yin’s fame in Virtue Archives to rise even further than
before. Everyone quickly heard about how Prof. Hao Yu was comparable to a Realm Array Master. Many
of the students started taking sourceboxes to him to open, and many of the families of the students
gave up on recruiting Hao Yu. A Senior Array Master could still be recruited, but a Realm Array Master
was too elite to be bought.

In contrast, there were other families who actually started to take notice of Hao Yu. For example, the
Nong family would not make any efforts to win over a Senior Array Master, but a Realm Array Master
was a different story.

This delighted Nong Siniang, as more and more sourceboxes were sent to Virtue Archives from the Nong
family. Besides Discerning Elementary and Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes, there were also
Boundless Advanced ones. After all, even a Realm Array Master might struggle to open Boundless
Advanced sourceboxes.

Furthermore, news that some of Virtue Archives’ faculty members would be leading a team of students
to the Higher Realm had been released. All of the students were already aware that they needed to vote
for the instructors who would be their chaperones and that the academy itself was not making this
decision. This was an exciting development for the students, and each of them had three votes to cast.

"I'm going to vote for Prof. Hao Yu! He’s kind, handsome, and perfect to serve as the face of Virtue
Archives!" one girl happily stated.

Instantly, she was joined by many others.

Nong Siniang instantly stepped forward. "Sisters, I truly hope that Prof. Hao Yu will be able to
accompany us to the Higher Realm and that he will win enough votes to go. Let’s do a count to ensure
that he will receive enough to be one of the chaperones."

"Me."

"Me."
"Me."

"Brother Qing Feng, who will you be voting for?"

"Of course I’ll be voting for Mr. Tang and Prof. Hao Yu."

"Who will be your third choice?"

Qing Feng thought for a moment, but then he shook his head, as he had not made a decision yet. During
his time in Virtue Archives, he had only attended Mr. Tang and Prof. Hao Yu’s lectures so far. He had not
even gone to any of Prof. Zheng’s lectures.

The stuttering fatty raised his hand. "I- I- I’m also going to vote for Pro- Prof. Hao Yu."

"Little Fatty, no matter how bad you stutter, you still only get three votes, hahahaha."

The fatty’s face flushed red.

Bai Nan glared at the crowd of students with cold eyes, and then he whispered to his own little group
that none of them were allowed to vote for Prof. Hao Yu. However, given the current situation, it did not
really matter if they voted or not.

"I’m going to vote for Prof. Wu, Prof. Zheng, and Prof. Bai."
"I’m voting for Prof. Wei! Prof. Wei is very knowledgeable, and no matter what, we are an academy.
Even if we can't beat the four ruling powers in spars, we can still defeat them with our knowledge."

"Who do you want to defeat?" someone from the Wang family demanded.

The student who had spoken instantly slunk away.

Prof. Huai was standing atop a tall tree, listening to the students’ discussions. He felt terribly
embarrassed, as not one student was voting for him. And even worse, he had originally been there when
the group of girls had arrived and started the discussion. Things had blown up, and many students had
gathered to debate the upcoming votes. If the students discovered Prof. Huai in the tree, how
embarrassing would that be?

No, it would be best to just pretend to be sleeping. Prof. Huai promptly dropped his head and fell
asleep.

A month passed, and during this time, the academy remained calm. Aside from the raging debates about
which of the instructors would chaperone the approaching trip, nothing else happened in Virtue
Archives.

Xia Shenguang and others from the four ruling powers all stopped attending, though Bai Weiwei still
frequently attended Lu Yin's lectures, as did Liu Que.

Additionally, the relationship between Lu Yin and Wen Zhao improved a great deal. From Lu Yin's
perspective, Wen Zhao was the sort of person who hated having people close, and she preferred for
people to keep a bit of a distance.

She never took the initiative to approach others, and she seemed to be very comfortable on her own. If
he approached her and breached the space between them, she might have hated it. She had a very odd
personality.
Also, during this month, Lu Yin received no fewer than ten sourceboxes. Practically every three days, a
student would deliver a sourcebox to Lu Yin. In fact, he once spent three days working on a sourcebox,
and he almost missed his own class.

Unfortunately, none of the sourceboxes held anything. Whenever a Boundless Advanced sourcebox was
delivered, Bai Weiwei would calmly observe as Lu Yin worked, and then leave just as calmly.

One day, right after Lu Yin succeeded in opening a sourcebox for a student, he received a notice that the
headmaster was holding another meeting.

"I’ve been studying in the academy for several years already, and there have almost never been any
faculty meetings at all. Why have there been so many lately?" The girl pouted. She had received a
Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox from her family, and she was hoping to use it as an opportunity to
spend some time with Prof. Hao Yu.

Lu Yin smiled at the girl. "Since I’ve already finished unlocking the sourcebox, let’s end things here. Head
on back, and you can return another time."

He then promptly left his pillar and made his way towards the headmaster’s stone pillar.

Upon arriving, the first person that Lu Yin saw was Prof. Wei. He had visited the woman several times
throughout the month, and he had become somewhat familiar with her.

"I wonder why the headmaster summoned all of us." Lu Yin was surprised that another meeting was
already being called.

Prof. Wei appeared perfectly calm. "I don't know, but it’s probably something quite important."

Lu Yin nodded and stared towards the courtyard.

It was not long before the rest of the instructors arrived as well.

When Headmaster Wen appeared, he looked extremely somber. He glanced around at the gathered
instructors, and softly stated, "Recently, some traitors from Star Alliance have entered this Virtue
District, and the four ruling powers have been unable to lock the entire district down. For this reason,
the four ruling powers have asked us to help in capturing the traitor. If necessary, deadly force is
allowed. The traitor is male and a one-tribulation Envoy, so only those of you who are Envoys yourselves
are expected to assist in this mission. Participation will also be rewarded with academy credits."

Lu Yin was taken aback at this announcement. A traitor from Star Alliance? That was absolutely
impossible, as every member of Star Alliance had a seal placed on them, and only the four ruling powers
working together could remove those seals. Lu Yin had only been able to get his hands on the White
Dragon Clan’s piece by Possessing their patriarch. Thus, he was well aware that it was relatively easy to
kill a member of Star Alliance through their seal, so how could there be a traitors?

"Headmaster, this is the four ruling powers' affair, and it has nothing at all to do with Virtue Archives.
Why should we help?" Prof. Zheng asked.

Headmaster Wen glanced over at Wu Taibai and Prof. Bai, and then he quietly reported, "The four ruling
powers have evidence that this traitor is actually a Redback. He escaped because he managed to gather
some confidential information, and he wants to report it to one of his superiors. Supposedly, the four
ruling powers let him escape on purpose, as they hoped to capture a bigger fish, but…"

"But they lost him," Mr. Tang finished.

Headmaster Wen nodded. "The only thing that is known for certain is that the traitor is in the Virtue
District. Nothing about a more precise location is known, but with the four ruling powers’ efforts, it’s
impossible for him to have escaped to another district. If he weren’t here, they would have drafted
other people to help capture this traitor. They simply don’t have the manpower to track him down
across this entire district, so we will lend them a hand.
"This is not merely a matter that concerns the four ruling powers, but all of mankind."

The instructors all remained silent.

"I’ve decided that Mr. Tang, Prof. Zheng, Prof. Bai, and Prof. Hao Yu will all participate in this manhunt.
Your task is to lock down the northeastern region of the Virtue District. I will handle the southeastern
region on my own, and the four ruling powers will handle the other two regions. This traitor cannot be
allowed to escape from the Virtue District.”

"Finally, students are allowed to participate as well, but only the Enlighters. Additionally, they need to
follow one of the four instructors." Headmaster Wen finished giving some additional details.

News of the assignment was quickly shared with the students, though the precise details were altered,
and much of the information was kept deliberately vague. All that was said was that the four ruling
powers were requesting assistance in capturing a one-tribulation Envoy.

Bai Weiwei, Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and Liu Que accepted the assignment, though Qing Feng and
the rest did not. Their combat strength was not enough for them to stand up to an Envoy.

Just half a day later, Lu Yin stood above a red wasteland in the northeastern region of the Virtue District,
staring off into the distance. Behind him stood Bai Weiwei.

Bai Weiwei had decided to follow Lu Yin after accepting the assignment, and thus, she had accompanied
him.

"Why did you decide to follow me? Compared to the other instructors, I have the worst cultivation," Lu
Yin asked in a casual manner.
Bai Weiwei replied, "There’s almost no chance that we’ll actually run into the traitor on this mission, so
it’s really not much of a job. As far as I’m concerned, this is just a chance to spend some time alone with
you."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "Spend some time alone with me? What does that mean?"

Bai Weiwei fell silent for a while. "Should I call you Prof. Hao Yu, or Professor Yu Hao?"

Lu Yin’s head whipped around so that he could stare at Bai Weiwei, and when his eyes locked onto her,
his whole demeanor changed. "How did you find out?"

"You're not going to deny it, are you?" Bai Weiwei asked.

Lu Yin looked away without responding, and Bai Weiwei watched him with open curiosity. "I would love
to know what you’ve gone through over the last few decades."

Lu Yin indifferently asked, "Is this why you decided to follow me?"

Bai Weiwei’s eyes never left Lu Yin. "It's only been a few decades, but you’ve undergone a ridiculous
transformation. Even the Junior Progenitors would struggle to accomplish what you’ve done, and now
you’re even in a position to speak with the Xia family."

Lu Yin laughed. "Speak with the Xia family? Do you really think that I can do that?"

Bai Weiwei said nothing.

Lu Yin continued, "The Xia family is one of the rulers of the entire Perennial World. They have powerful
Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors, while I’m nothing but an Envoy. Even if I have some lockbreaking
abilities, why would the Xia family bother to speak to me? As far as they’re concerned, I’m still nothing
but an ant."

"But you have Grandmaster Gu Yan behind you!" Bai Weiwei protested.

Lu Yin arched a brow. Grandmaster Gu Yan? What was this girl talking about?

Upon seeing Lu Yin’s silence, Bai Weiwei continued. "A few decades ago, Grandmaster Gu Yan visited
the Lower Realm, and after he returned, he had nothing but praise for a young man that he had met
while on his trip. The young man is supposedly an amazingly talented Lockbreaker. That’s the same time
as when you went missing, so unless I’m completely off, you should be the same talented young
Lockbreaker that Grandmaster Gu Yan mentioned."

Lu Yin said nothing, and he kept his expression still. He was trying to understand the implications behind
what Bai Weiwei had just said.

Grandmaster Gu Yan visited the Lower Realm a few decades ago and then praised a young man for his
lockbreaking talent? Could that be me? I did meet Grandmaster Gu Yan in the Lower Realm when I was
pretending to be Long Qi and searching the Lower Realm for the giant anteater with Supervisor Qing
Chen.

Looking back, that was the same time that Yu Hao had gone missing.

It was all a misunderstanding. People were assuming that Yu Hao was Lu Yin—no, they were assuming
that Yu Hao was Long Qi, who had been complimented by Grandmaster Gu Yan. This was a complicated
misunderstanding because, no matter if people believed the young man to be Yu Hao, Long Qi, or Lu Yin,
they were all really the same person.

Also, had Grandmaster Gu Yan ever accepted Lu Yin as an apprentice back then?
Star Odyssey Chapter 2202: Young Master

"While Grandmaster Gu Yan never explicitly stated that he accepted the man as his apprentice, he’s
been in seclusion in the decades since. So, most people assumed that he had a new apprentice.
Professor, you’ve changed so much since you disappeared, especially your mastery of lockbreaking. If
you weren’t taught by Grandmaster Gu Yan, then I don’t know who else in the entire Perennial World
could have caused you to undergo such a transformation,” Bai Weiwei explained.

Lu Yin turned back to look at Bai Weiwei. "Did you come up with this guess?"

"It’s what everyone who knows who you are believes. If I was able to figure out your real identity, then
so can the Xia family," Bai Weiwei replied.

Lu Yin never admitted nor denied being Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice. This rumor was actually a
pretty good background for him.

"I'm curious, what methods did Grandmaster Gu Yan use to teach? How did he raise you to the Realm
Array Master level so quickly?" Bai Weiwei was extremely curious about this particular detail.

Lu Yin laughed. "Does your Bai family reveal their secrets to outsiders so casually?"

"I’m sorry, that was rude," Bai Weiwei said, though she felt that Lu Yin’s response confirmed that he
really was Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice.
This was a very, very big deal. Grandmaster Gu Yan was the most accomplished Array Grandmaster in
the Perennial World, and while his personality was a bit odd and he hated the four ruling powers, his
influence was massive. If not, he would have also been forced to join Star Alliance. Since Yu Hao was
Grandmaster Gu Yan's apprentice, how would the Xia family respond?

"Even if I have an Array Grandmaster behind me, I still can’t warrant the Xia family’s concern. I’m well
aware of just how horrifying your four ruling powers truly are," Lu Yin said.

Bai Weiwei stared at Lu Yin. "Professor, do you want to get revenge?"

Lu Yin stared straight back at the woman. "If you had lived through what I have, would you be able to
just let things go?"

Bai Weiwei thought for a while. "You're right. Not even an Array Grandmaster can cause the Xia family
to hesitate, but my Bai family is different."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered, and he glanced over at Bai Weiwei. There was a hint of a smile on her face. "Your
hatred may not be a big deal in the grand scheme of things, so it all depends on what you are willing to
do to get revenge."

Lu Yin considered her words. Bai Weiwei said nothing more, but there were some things that did not
need to be said out loud.

After all, Bai Weiwei had not actually discovered that Hao Yu was Yu Hao. Rather, she had been
informed of such by the Celestial Frost Sect.

How could the appearance of such a genius Lockbreaker in Virtue Archives not arouse the four ruling
powers’ interest? If the Xia family was paying attention to such a thing, then naturally the Bai family
knew of it as well.
In comparison to Yu Hao's hatred and desire for revenge, the Bai family was far more concerned with
Grandmaster Gu Yan’s teachings. If this situation with Yu Hao could be used to win over Grandmaster Gu
Yan, then did it even matter if the Xia family was offended in the process?

While the four ruling powers appeared to be united, there were endless internal conflicts between
them. This was also still relatively soon after the time when they had ousted the Lu family from the
Perennial World. What would happen in another 1,000, or even 10,000 years when all traces of the Lu
family’s influence had been erased from the Perennial World? Open war would likely erupt between the
four ruling powers.

This was also why all four were working to strengthen their own foundations as much as possible.

Several days passed, and Lu Yin and Bai Weiwei remained in the red wasteland. The conversations
between the two mostly revolved around lockbreaking, and nothing further regarding Yu Hao’s situation
was mentioned.

One day, Lu Yin asked a question as he stared out across the wasteland. "People say that the most
powerful person in the Perennial World aside from the Progenitors themselves is definitely your senior
sister, Bai Xian’er, from the Celestial Frost Sect. Is that accurate?"

Bai Weiwei reflexively lifted her head to look towards the Higher Realm. However, doing so also left her
a bit depressed, as only the soil that formed the foundation of the Higher Realm could be seen from the
Middle Realm. This sight also let Bai Weiwei better understand why the four ruling powers had exiled
the Lu family. Given their arrogance, how could the four ruling powers accept only looking up at the
foundation of another power?

"Probably. Senior Sister is the most talented cultivator in history, which is why she’s so close to the
Progenitor realm herself at such a young age. All of us are waiting for Senior Sister to become a
Progenitor and elevate my Celestial Frost Sect to even greater heights," Bai Weiwei answered.

Lu Yin was very curious about something. "What kind of person is Bai Xian'er? Can you tell me about
her? All I know about her are just rumors."
Bai Weiwei asked, "Why are you so curious about Senior Sister, Professor?"

Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Is there anyone who isn’t curious about Bai Xian'er?"

This was only natural to Bai Weiwei. While Bai Xian'er had never revealed herself publicly, she was still a
legend in the Perennial World. Even if no one mentioned the woman, it was impossible for anyone to
forget that she was the most talented individual in the entire Perennial World.

"Professor, what would you like to know about Senior Sister?" Bai Weiwei asked.

Lu Yin shrugged. "I really don't know anything at all about her. All I’ve heard is that red flowers appear
wherever she goes."

Bai Weiwei replied, "I also don't know much about Senior Sister. We might refer to her as ‘senior sister,’
but in truth, we know even less about her than Sect Master Bai. I can’t tell you much about her, though I
can tell you that there’s been more than one assassination attempt on her while she’s been in secluded
training. Even Aeternus tried to kill her during her breakthrough to the Envoy realm. Her tribulation was
so vast that it practically covered the entire Perennial World, and even a Progenitor came…"

Bai Weiwei only knew a bit more than Lu Yin. Lu Yin was mostly curious about how Bai Xian’er had
cultivated during her time as an Envoy and a Semi-Progenitor while on her way to the Progenitor level.
However, absolutely nothing was known about that. How did she cultivate? What was her current level?

Another two days calmly passed, when suddenly, Lu Yin felt the fluctuations of a void god level domain.

His communication crystal vibrated, and Lu Yin glanced at it. "The task has been completed. The traitor’s
been caught."
Lu Yin then led Bai Weiwei towards Mr. Tang and the others from Virtue Archives.

The traitor had fled towards the northeast, which was not the area that Lu Yin had been responsible for.
Rather, it was where Mr. Tang and Xia Shenguang had been sent to.

Lu Yin and Bai Weiwei arrived at about the same time as the people from the four ruling powers. There
were people from Shenwu's Sky, as well as two Envoys from the Wang family, and they took the
prisoner away.

Lu Yin briefly saw that the captive was an old man. He had clearly been seriously injured. The man was
dragged off by an expert from Shenwu's Sky who was a three-tribulation Envoy. Lu Yin could only see the
prisoner’s back, though there were obvious bloodstains on the ground.

"How boring. Just a one-tribulation Envoy," Xia Shenguang commented dismissively.

The three-tribulation Envoy from Shenwu's Sky gave Xia Shenguang a bow from the distance, and as he
did so, the captive fell to the ground with a cough before rolling over.

Lu Yin’s eyes instantly narrowed when he saw the old man’s face, and he was briefly dazed. He seemed
to hear a voice that addressed him in a kind, yet respectful manner, though it was also clearly full of
affection. "Young Master, you’re here again? What are you doing? Didn’t it hurt the first time you fell?"

"Young Master, this- this is too much to eat! Your servant can't eat all of this!"

"Young Master, please eat slowly! Slow down!"

Lu Yin recovered quite quickly, as he was only dazed for a brief moment. He stared at the collapsed
prisoner who was lying on his back. The old man looked miserable, and his entire face had been cut
open.
Lu Yin’s pupils fluctuated as he looked at the old man’s face. This was someone he should know. This old
man had once called Lu Yin “young master.”

In his brief daze, Lu Yin saw an island covered with food. This captive was someone from the Lu family.
Lu Yin had vague memories of the old man chasing after him with a kind and doting smile on his face.
When Lu Yin had fallen down, this old man would drop to the ground and act as a cushion to prevent Lu
Yin from being injured. When Lu Yin had been punished, this old man had stepped forward and braved
through the torrential scoldings and beatings that followed. He had stolen food for his young master
when he had been hungry. This was someone whom Lu Yin knew he should remember.

Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists as he watched the other person from Shenwu’s Sky drag the old man
up by his hair and then carry him away in an insulting manner. The ground where the old man had fallen
was stained red from his blood.

"Prof. Hao Yu, let's go. Prof. Zheng and the others are already heading back to the academy, and the
headmaster is also on his way," Mr. Tang said.

Lu Yin unclenched his hands and nodded. His voice sounded calm as he replied, "Let's go."

Soon, there were no people left in the area. The people from Shenwu's Sky and the Wang family carried
the old man away, while the people from Virtue Archives returned to the academy.

The place looked quite peaceful.

Suddenly, a pair of golden eyes appeared, and they briefly stared in the direction where the people from
Shenwu's Sky and the Wang family had gone before pursuing after them.

A short time later, at the border of the Virtue District, right when the people from Shenwu's Sky and the
Wang family were about to take the old man away, someone appeared in front of them, and a terrifying
pressure suppressed them. The old man was grabbed, and the attacker started to move away, only for
another person to suddenly appear by tearing through the void. The instant this second person arrived,
the entire situation reversed, and an unfathomable pressure covered the entire Virtue District.

Headmaster Wen looked up. An old monster had also come.

The person who had rescued the old man looked up at the second figure, and choked out, "A Semi-
Progenitor?"

An old man had appeared in the sky. He was Xia Ziheng, a Semi-Progenitor from the Xia family.

"Let’s see just how you try to escape now." As he spoke, Xia Ziheng raised a hand and pressed down to
capture the would-be rescuer.

Naturally, the rescuer was Tong Yu. The moment Lu Yin had seen the old man, he had reached out to
Tong Yu and asked her to save the man. Lu Yin could not allow the old man to be taken away, as his
ending would be beyond miserable.

Tong Yu's strength was more than enough to deal with a three-tribulation Envoy, but who would have
thought that a Semi-Progenitor would actually be hiding and observing the entire ordeal?

Tong Yu was in despair, as there was no way out for her against a Semi-Progenitor.

Suddenly, a strange laugh rang out. "Well, well. If it isn't Xia Ziheng? It’s been a long time, old man,
hahahaha!"

Kui Luo had arrived, and his spiritual force swept through the area without hesitation, instantly attacking
Xia Ziheng.
The old man’s expression instantly and drastically changed. He could do nothing but retreat against Kui
Luo’s spiritual force, and Xia Ziheng’s mind grew hazy. He was merely a Semi-Progenitor from one of the
Xia family’s branch families, and there was no way he could compare to a top-tier expert like Kui Luo. Xia
Ziheng did not even try to fight back.

"You- Kui Luo?" Xia Ziheng shouted.

Kui Luo showed himself and stared at Xia Ziheng, a strange smile on his face. "I’ve really missed you.
When I saw you, I couldn’t help but remember how Lu Qi held your head down and made you drink
horse piss. So many years have passed in a blink of an eye."

"Shut up!" Xia Ziheng yelled in fury. Countless blades swept across the sky, shooting straight at Kui Luo.
This was Xia Ziheng’s inner world. The blades were used to form cages that could trap beasts, and
anyone who was trapped in this inner world would have to force their way past a thousand swords and
be sliced to pieces.

"Wow, that's not bad!" Kui Luo's spiritual force erupted yet again, instantly shattering the countless
blades. "Let’s see if you can manage to climb over the dragon gate!"

Xia Ziheng’s vision completely changed, and he suddenly saw he was at the bottom of a waterfall. He
had entered Kui Luo’s Dragon Gate.

The Perennial World had far more Semi-Progenitors than the Fifth Mainland, but even so, very few could
compare to Kui Luo. He possessed the same level of strength as the gatemasters from the ancient
Heavens Sect era. He had the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra, and after countless years of using it, his spiritual
force had utterly transformed. It was the main reason behind Kui Luo’s exceptional strength.

Forget Xia Ziheng, who was a Semi-Progenitor from a branch of the Xia family, even Semi-Progenitor Xia
Yingxiong from the main family was no match for Kui Luo.

Above his Dragon Gate, Kui Luo looked down on Xia Ziheng as though seeing an ant.
Blades surrounded Xia Ziheng and created a storm. His inner world was composed of endless blades,
and they all started to glow. He tried to climb up the waterfall to escape from the Dragon Gate, but he
failed to even get close.

The man raised his hand up high. As he did so, the countless blades of his inner world gathered together,
and the Divine Martial Armor also appeared around the blades before they released a single powerful
slash.

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2203: The Old Servant

Kui Luo's expression grew slightly more serious, as no matter what else, he was still up against the Xia
family’s powerful techniques.

The Divine Martial Armor condensed on the blades as they swept out, and the waterfall was cut apart.
The sharp aura severed the Dragon Gate, and upon seeing this, Kui Luo instantly released his spiritual
force again. His only advantage over the other Semi-Progenitors was his spiritual force.

The spiritual force seemed to add greater depth to the Dragon Gate, and as soon as that happened, Xia
Ziheng was smashed back down into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.

Xia Ziheng's looked up and let out a roar. He was helpless against Kui Luo's spiritual force.
"Wen Lai, I know that you’re here! This person helped that Lu bastard escape! Every last one of the four
ruling powers wants him dead! If you just stand aside and watch, my ancestors will definitely look into
this matter!" Xia Ziheng roared.

Wen Lai was Headmaster Wen’s name.

The fight was taking place in the Virtue District, so it was quite close to Virtue Archives. How could a
battle between two Semi-Progenitors not be noticed by Headmaster Wen? On top of that, Virtue
Archives actually had two Semi-Progenitors.

Even so, Headmaster Wen did not appear.

Kui Luo warily glanced around. He was well aware of the fact that Virtue Archives’ Semi-Progenitors had
already noticed the situation, but he also knew that they did not want to get involved. As long as Kui Luo
did not truly threaten Xia Ziheng's life, the powerhouses of Virtue Archives would be happy to see the
Xia's family suffer a bit.

Xia Ziheng roared again, but Headmaster Wen still did not appear. The trapped Semi-Progenitor glared
up at Kui Luo, and the image of a massive knife appeared behind him. The endless blades of his inner
world started to shine with the Divine Martial Armor that shrouded them.

Kui Luo's eyes went wide. Clearly this old man was quite diligent, and there was no denying he had
inherited a Progenitor’s blade intent. This had likely come from the Xia family’s Progenitor.

Xia Ziheng's eyes grew bloodshot as he stared at Kui Luo. The knife rose up once more and slashed
down.

Kui Luo hurried to retaliate with more spiritual force

This single attack broke the Dragon Gate, allowing Xia Ziheng to escape from Kui Luo’s inner world. Xia
Ziheng immediately turned to look in a specific direction, which was where Tong Yu was fleeing with the
rescued old man.

The Semi-Progenitor released an enraged attack. He could not allow the old man to escape, as losing a
captive would make him a joke amongst the four ruling powers.

The Semi-Progenitor’s attack fell as a blade dropped.

Tong Yu looked back, and her death energy surged as she did her best to block the attack.

“Stop, just leave.” A calm voice entered Tong Yu’s ears, and Progenitor Smoke moved past the golden-
eyed woman. A hand rose, and fog surged. The blade disintegrated and disappeared bit by bit before
falling down, as soft as a drifting leaf.

Xia Ziheng's pupils instantly shrank. There was another powerhouse present.

However, Xia Ziheng had never seen Progenitor Smoke before, and she had also noticed Headmaster
Wen’s position as well, so she had disguised herself. Given Progenitor Smoke’s strength, no Semi-
Progenitor could see through her.

Xia Ziheng could only watch as the old man disappeared. The Semi-Progenitor’s eyes were bright red as
he turned to look at Kui Luo, who had a creepy smile on his face. "Old man, it looks like all the life-saving
measures that your Progenitors gave you have been used up. So let’s see just how you get out of my
Dragon Gate alive this time!"

Instantly, the Dragon Gate reappeared.

However, Headmaster Wen finally showed himself at this moment. He really could not continue to sit
back and watch, as he would not be able to defend his actions any further.
"Kui Luo, it’s been a long time." Headmaster Wen offered a bland greeting.

Kui Luo’s eyebrows rose high. " Wen Llai, do you really want to help him?"

Headmaster Wen stared back at Kui Luo. "We can't allow him to die so close to my Virtue Archives."

The headmaster then glanced towards Xia Ziheng. "Besides, you are also a criminal wanted by all four of
the ruling powers. It's time to bring you to justice."

Kui Luo laughed loudly. "When did Virtue Archives become the four ruling powers' lackey? You can
continue to play this game on your own, but I’m not joining you."

With that, Kui Luo started to leave.

Xia Ziheng raced over after being freed, and he instantly caught up to the headmaster. "Wen Lai, we
have to capture him! That old man helped that Lu bastard escape, and he has a close relationship with
the Lu family."

Headmaster Wen shook his head. "Even if the two of us work together, we wouldn’t be able to capture
Kui Luo. There’s a reason why he’s managed to survive for so many years despite being pursued by your
four ruling powers."

Xia Ziheng was not willing to accept this outcome, as he had suffered a terrible loss this time. He might
not have been injured, but he had still been forced to use the blade qi that he had been given by his
ancestor, which had been intended to be a life-saving measure. Using it when his life was actually in
danger would immediately alert Xia Ziheng’s ancestor, but he had been forced to use it to escape from
Kuo Luo. Using such a treasure against the bastard was not an equal trade.
However, Wen Lai was also right. With the strength of Kui Luo's spiritual force, even if the two of them
teamed up, they would not be able to stop the old man from leaving.

You old bastard, sooner or later, we’ll ask a Progenitor to deal with you!

Wait, why is Kui Luo here? Didn't he flee to the Forsaken Land through the New Corridor?

Headmaster Wen looked towards the direction where the old man had escaped to. The headmaster did
not care about Kui Luo, as the old man was nothing but a cancer to the Perennial World. However, a
Progenitor’s blade qi had been blocked, which should not have been possible. Who had done that? Wen
Lai had not been able to see anything.

Who could know that person’s identity?

"Wen Lai, why didn't you show up sooner?" Xia Ziheng demanded as he glared at Headmaster Wen.

Headmaster Wen casually answered, "I came when I noticed."

Xia Ziheng was furious, but there was nothing that he could do. He could not act against Wen Lai.

Headmaster Wen turned to look at Xia Ziheng. "That man is not a traitor from Star Alliance, let alone a
Redback. He’s someone from the Lu family, isn’t he?"

Xia Ziheng frowned. "He’s a traitor from Star Alliance."

Headmaster Wen’s voice turned cold. "I've seen that man before. When Lu Xiaoxuan visited Virtue
Archives, he brought a young attendant and an old servant with him. That man is that old servant. You
took advantage of my Virtue Archives, and I will not forget this."
Xia Ziheng had not expected Headmaster Wen to recognize the old man. "So what if he is from the Lu
family? Can’t there be Redbacks in the Lu family? Throughout the history of the Perennial World, no
fewer than ten Redbacks have appeared within the Lu family. On top of that, we all have a responsibility
to destroy any remnants of the Lu family. Consider your actions carefully, Wen Lai."

Headmaster Wen merely let out a contemptuous snort before turning around and leaving. He did not
say another word.

Xia Ziheng's eyes flickered, but he was not concerned about Virtue Archives. They already had the
means to deal with those people.

On the other hand, who had blocked that attack? An unknown Semi-Progenitor?

That should not be possible. While Xia Ziheng was not comparable to the Semi-Progenitor from the Xia
family’s direct line, he was still far above most Semi-Progenitors, and Xia Ziheng’s attack had contained a
Progenitor’s blade intent. That attack was impossible for even Kui Luo to block, so who had done that?
Were there still such powerful experts from the Lu family around?

This possibility caused Xia Ziheng’s mood to drop, as they could not allow any powerhouses from the Lu
family to remain.

It was also a complete mystery as to what had happened to the army that had been sent to the Forsaken
Land.

Far away, Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror, and Lu Yin stored the
mirror back in his cosmic ring. He had Tong Yu keep an eye on the surroundings while Lu Yin personally
went to help the old man.

The old man shook Lu Yin's hand away, and he said in a hoarse voice, "You people have tried everything
to get me to talk, but it’s useless, so just stop trying. I’m already dying, and I have nothing to say to you."
The old man’s body trembled, and he fell to the ground.

Lu Yin quickly checked on the old man’s conditions, and what he found caused his expression to grow
ugly.

The old man’s body was riddled with countless injuries. His organs had been destroyed, and his
meridians had been shattered. Not only had his cultivation been destroyed, but toxins and other
substances had also been forced into his already injured body. While all of this might still be possible to
treat with potent enough medicines, the true tragedy was that the old man’s vitality had been cut off.
He was no different from a living corpse, and there was absolutely no chance of saving him. The only
reason why the man could still speak or move was entirely due to his impressive willpower.

"Who did this to you?" Lu Yin asked quietly. He looked calm, but a terrifying intensity filled his eyes as he
stared at the old man. All kinds of different powerful emotions assaulted Lu Yin at this moment.

The old man just sneered and said nothing. He laid on the ground and stared at the sky. He would never
see his young master again, and would also never be able to seek vengeance.

Lu Yin moved over next to the old man and silently sat down. The various emotions that flitted through
his eyes were a mirror of the old man’s.

"Are you in pain?" Lu Yin hesitantly asked. He kept his voice very casual.

The old man showed absolutely no reaction, and he simply ignored Lu Yin.

Finally, Lu Yin's face crumpled. "I'm sorry that I only came now."
The old man finally looked over at Lu Yin and saw his face. Excitement flashed across the man’s face,
only to be instantly replaced with fury and hatred. "How long are you all going to try to deceive me? Do
you really think that I’d believe that you’re the young master? You won’t succeed! It’s been too long,
and the young master has unmatched talent. He stands above all who have come before, and he will
one day return and bring back the Lu family! You and all the other traitors will be executed, and they will
take back this Perennial World! It won’t be long now."

Lu Yin raised a hand and brought out his Champions’ Stage, and it slowly floated closer.

The old man's pupils constricted sharply as he stared at the Champions’ Stage in pure disbelief.

While the four ruling powers could copy a person’s appearance, they could not copy a Champions’
Stage. The aura that they gave off was unmistakable; this was truly a Champions’ Stage.

"I remember you. When I was a child and I fell, you were the one who caught me and kept me from
getting hurt. When I was hungry, you would steal food for me. Whenever I was punished, you would
accompany me through everything." Lu Yin and the old man stared at each other, and when Lu Yin saw
the old man’s bloodshot eyes, his voice grew gentle and apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I can’t remember your
name any longer! I'm so sorry I’m only here now!"

The old man looked at Lu Yin as tears streamed down the young man’s cheeks. He stared blankly at Lu
Yin, and raised a hand to touch Lu Yin's face. "Young Master… you- are you really my young master?"

Lu Yin reached up to hold the old man's shriveled hand. "I'm so sorry!"

The old man's eyes suddenly flared, and he snatched his hand back, and he even pushed himself away
from Lu Yin. "No, you aren’t my young master! You’re lying! You’re lying to me yet again! You aren’t my
young master."

Sadness welled up from the bottom of Lu Yin’s heart. How many tricks and lies had this old man lived
through over the years? He was unwilling to acknowledge Lu Yin’s identity even after seeing the
Champions’ Stage. Lu Yin had thought that he had struggled and survived through difficulties during his
time in the Fifth Mainland, but he realized that the surviving vassals of the Lu family who had been
trapped in the Perennial World had lived far worse lives. They had been forced into Star Alliance or
narrowly escaped death, while those imprisoned in Crimson Garden had been driven insane. All those in
hiding who supported the Lu family were hopeful but also terrified.

Seeing the hatred and fear etched on the old man’s face, Lu Yin let out a slow breath and then pulled a
piece of paper from his cosmic ring. He unfolded it, and seven handprints could be seen on it. There
were small prints and large ones, but they were the handprints of the Seven Heroes from when they had
sworn themselves to be siblings. "Do you remember ?"

The old man stared at the handprints in a daze and then started to quiver. Tears spilled from the old
man’s eyes, and his face flushed a strange red. Suddenly, the old man’s hand flew out, and he grabbed
Lu Yin's arm. "Young Master? Is it really you?"

Lu Yin pulled the old man into a hug. "It's me! It’s been so many years, and I’m so late!"

The old man’s mouth fell open, but he could not say a word. All he could do was weep, heartbroken.

The old man wept, letting everything out. It was impossible to know how many lies and tricks he had
suffered over the years and how many times he had been betrayed by others. This was the real reason
why the old man’s vitality had been cut off, as his heart had already died.

Upon seeing Lu Yin and understanding who he really was, it was as though the old man had regained
hundreds of years of life.

However, that was nothing more than a facade. The old man’s vitality had already been cut off, and
there was no way for him to keep living. He was completely different from Ming Yan, as while she had
been terribly injured, her vitality had remained intact.
STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2204: Burial

"Young Master, it's really you! Young Master, your old servant worked so hard to wait for you!" the old
man wailed.

Lu Yin tightly embraced the old man, but his eyes turned frigid. "I'm back. You don't need to worry. I
won’t let anyone hurt you again, and I won’t let anyone who hurt you, who hurt those loyal to the Lu
family, or who betrayed us escape!"

The old man grew excited. "Don't let them go! You absolutely can’t! Lu Zhuo, it was that bastard Lu Zhuo
who betrayed your family! Also, that woman Bai Xian’er betrayed you! Young Master, you can’t let them
get away with this! You can’t let the four ruling powers get away with this! Young Master, everything
will be fine now that you’re back."

Lu Yin solemnly stated, "Lu Zhuo’s dead. I killed him myself"

The old man’s head snapped up in shock, and then he started to laugh loudly. "He’s dead?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Dead."

The old man started to laugh crazily once more. "That’s good! He’s dead! That’s wonderful! He thought
that he’d be safe by joining the Celestial Frost Sect, but I told him that the young master would kill him
one day! Cough, cough, cough, cough."

Blood sprayed from the old man's mouth, and Lu Yin quickly hugged him again. "Don't get too worked
up! I'll find a way to save you!"
The old man waved Lu Yin away. "Young Master, you can't save this old man. Still, waiting all these years
was worth it. I never said anything! I never betrayed the Lu family in any way."

"I know! I know that you wouldn’t betray us! You’re a part of my Lu family and always will be!" Lu Yin
cried.

The old man laughed even while panting to breathe. "Young Master, your servant is leaving now. Take
care of yourself, and even if you can't get revenge, you must stay safe! Nothing is worth more than your
life. Young master, you have to take care of yourself."

Lu Yin’s eyes were practically glowing red by this point. This loyal old man’s greatest wish on his
deathbed lay beyond even revenge for the entire Lu family. Instead, he wanted Lu Yin to stay safe and
take good care of himself.

"Smile, Young Master. Food- Food- Food Paradise is on the top of Mount Mei in the Higher Realm. I- I
saw it fall there. Young Master, you need to go there, as there are still some of the things that you hid
there, and they’ll help you protect yourself. This oh- oh- old man never told anyone…” The old man tried
to keep talking, but he could only occasionally get some words out.

Lu Yin held the old man tightly, clenching his fists as he watched the old man die, listening to the old
servant’s mutterings until he finally passed away in Lu Yin’s embrace.

At this moment, Lu Yin's hatred for the four ruling powers rose to unprecedented heights. The people
who had loved and cared for him were being slowly eliminated, but he would make sure to eventually
collect on this growing debt.

Lu Yin’s communication crystal trembled, and he answered the call.

"Prof. Hao Yu, has the sourcebox array been dismantled?" Bai Weiwei asked.
Lu Yin was supposed to have returned to the academy, but he had stopped halfway back. The excuse
that he had given was that he had set up a sourcebox array in the wastelands where he had been
keeping watch for the fugitive and that he needed to return and dismantle it before it captured and
killed someone.

"I wasn’t able to. It was already destroyed before I got there," Lu Yin replied.

Bai Weiwei was surprised. "Someone destroyed your sourcebox array? Who?"

"I don't know," Lu Yin replied. "Why are you calling?"

Bai Weiwei said, "It suddenly occurred to me that if you hadn’t already dismantled the sourcebox array,
you could just stay there a bit longer and allow me to study it, but since it’s already been destroyed,
there’s no point."

"It's the same as the defensive sourcebox array that I set up before. If you want to study it, I can help
you set it up," Lu Yin offered before quickly ending the call. He looked back down at the old man still in
his arms, and then he personally carried the old man’s corpse into Zenith Mountain.

"Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust… I still can’t remember your name." Lu Yin stared at the old man's
body. He had frozen the body instead of burying it, and just looking at it aroused various emotions. "I’ll
only bury you after I remember your name. I’ll offer a sacrifice from the blood of our enemies."

He then left Zenith Mountain and continued on his way towards the academy.

At this same time, inside Virtue Archives, Xia Ziheng was confronting Headmaster Wen atop the
headmaster’s own pillar.

"I won’t pursue the fact that you did not join me to chase after Kui Luo right away. I’m only here because
I want to meet all the members of Virtue Archives’ faculty. That’s no issue, right?" Xia Ziheng bluntly
demanded. He had quickly gone to Virtue Archives after quickly treating his injuries. Only the four ruling
powers and Virtue Archives had known about the old man, so clearly, news of the fugitive had leaked
since someone had appeared to save him. Virtue Archives’ instructors were the first suspects.

Headmaster Wen indifferently replied, "This academy is a place of study, not your Star Alliance. You
have no business coming here and making accusations. If you doubt my staff, then you can forget about
speaking to me again in the future. To put it bluntly, Virtue Archives will not give in to the brazen
demands of someone like you who doesn’t have the qualifications."

Xia Ziheng's eyes flashed with a cold light, but Headmaster Wen showed no sign of weakness or backing
down.

Finally, Xia Ziheng nodded. "Very well. I’ll be reporting this incident to my ancestor, and he will handle
things from here. Last time we spoke, I told you that Yu Hao must be included among the students’
chaperones to the Higher Realm for their training experience with my four ruling powers. I hope that
you don’t disappoint me."

Headmaster Wen frowned. "I already told you back then that the chaperones will be determined by the
students’ vote. If you’re that concerned about it, just send people to take the entrance exam and join
Virtue Archives. That should not be a challenge for your Xia family."

Xia Ziheng stared at Headmaster Wen. "Again and again, you deny my requests. Wen Lai, you’d better
remember this day."

Headmaster Wen calmly took his seat and picked up his teacup. "Be careful on your way out. I won’t see
you off."

"I’m not going anywhere yet. Call Yu Hao here to see me." Xia Ziheng also sat down.

This was not a request that Headmaster Wen could refuse. Xia Zhiheng was Semi-Progenitor, and it was
only natural for him to want to meet with this particular instructor. As long as Yu Hao was not attacked,
there was nothing that Headmaster Wen could do about this matter. No matter what, there was no
denying that, technically, Xia Ziheng could be considered Yu Hao's relative.

At the same time that Lu Yin returned to the academy, he received a message from the headmaster,
telling Lu Yin to report for a meeting with Xia Ziheng.

Xia Ziheng? Lu Yin looked up, his hands clenched into fists. He slowly relaxed them, took a deep breath,
and then made a point of altering his state of mind. He was no longer Lu Xiaoxuan, but Yu Hao.

Lu Yin did not travel quickly, instead slowly walking across the academy. It started to rain, and the water
fell on him.

Some of the students noticed him, and they hurried over to offer an umbrella. It was a given that an
Envoy could easily block rain from falling on them, and realistically, no cultivator actually needed an
umbrella. It was just that some people enjoyed using them.

"Thank you," Lu Yin said with a smile. Yu Hao's handsome face combined with the haziness of the
drizzling rain created a scene that almost made the girl offering the umbrella faint.

In the headmaster’s garden, Xia Ziheng was forced to wait for a long time before Lu Yin finally arrived.
The man could not help but glance over at Headmaster Wen.

Headmaster Wen blandly said, "What's the rush? He’s already on his way."

Xia Ziheng's finger twitched, and ripples spread through the void. They would quickly encompass all of
Virtue Archives, but Headmaster Wen instantly stopped the ripples. "There are other students and
instructors here in Virtue Archives, and all of them are entitled to their own secrets. Don’t you find it
inappropriate to take such actions?"
Xia Ziheng blatantly ignored the headmaster, and in less than a second, the power of a Semi-Progenitor
covered half of the academy. The man instantly noticed Lu Yin walking towards the center of the
academy, clearly going as slowly as possible. Was this Yu Hao’s demonstration of his dissatisfaction?
Whatever. Xia Zhiheng decided to simply wait. Given the status of Grandmaster Gu Yan, it was not
unreasonable for Xia Zhiheng to wait a bit.

Headmaster Wen already knew that Lu Yin was walking across the academy, and he was secretly
amused by the young man’s antics. It was only too clear that Yu Hao was upset with the Xia family,
though not everyone would be bold enough to force a Semi-Progenitor to wait. Yu Hao was doing so
extremely deliberately.

After the two old men waited for a very long time, Lu Yin finally arrived at the base of the stone pillar,
and he slowly announced his presence. "Hao Yu requests to see the headmaster."

Headmaster Wen took a sip of his tea when he heard Lu Yin. He set the cup back down and then casually
said, "Come up."

Lu Yin stepped forward and started to slowly climb up the headmaster’s stone pillar.

Xia Ziheng glanced over at Headmaster Wen. "You should leave, or else I'll take him somewhere else to
speak with him."

"I need to ensure the safety of my academy’s instructors," Headmaster Wen replied.

Xia Ziheng stared at the old man. "Wen Lai, you already know what will happen to Virtue Archives soon.
Don’t push me too far!"

Headmaster Wen was not bothered by the threat. "I do know, but that's also a matter for the four ruling
powers, which has nothing to do with you, Xia Ziheng. What? Do you really believe that you can
represent the entirety of the four ruling powers?"
Xia Ziheng took a deep breath, but he did not argue any further.

By this time, Lu Yin had arrived just outside the garden, and he looked at Xia Ziheng over the top of the
gate to the garden.

Xia Ziheng saw the hatred and killing intent that filled Lu Yin's eyes, and he frowned slightly. Still, this
much was within the Semi-Progenitor’s expectations.

Xia Ziheng had made the trip to the Yinxian District not only because of the old man from the Lu family,
but also to meet with Yu Hao. Xia Ziheng wanted to confirm that Yu Hao was indeed not an imposter
before the ceremony to worship the ancestors. After all, an imposter would turn their family into the
same laughing stock as dozens of years before.

Lu Xiaoxuan had impersonated Long Qi, and he had toyed with the entire White Dragon Clan. Because of
that scandal, Long Laogui had been sent to the rear battlefield for the next 10,000 years. As for Xia
Ziheng, he would not escape unscathed if he made the same mistake.

The Semi-Progenitor stared at Lu Yin, but he was unable to see any flaws or issues. This person was not
an imposter, but the real Yu Hao.

Xia Ziheng was a Semi-Progenitor, so who could maintain a disguise in front of him? Unless the other
person was also a Semi-Progenitor or some absolutely freakishly powerful peak Envoy, it was
impossible. Besides, both of those options were practically impossible.

"Headmaster." When Lu Yin entered the garden, he made a point of ignoring Xia Ziheng, instead offering
a bow to Headmaster Wen.

The old man smiled. "I hope that I didn’t disturb your training."

"There was no problem."

Headmaster Wen nodded and then pointed over at Xia Ziheng. "Do you know him?"

Xia Ziheng had appeared, and both Wu Taibai and Bai Weiwei had revealed to Lu Yin that they knew
about his identity as Yu Hao. It only made sense for Headmaster Wen to be aware of the matter as well,
so Lu Yin made no attempt to hide anything. "I know him. He’s the Xia family’s Semi-Progenitor Xia
Ziheng."

Xia Ziheng stared back at Lu Yin. "What is the proper way for you to refer to me?"

No matter what branch of the family they came from, all descendants of the Xia family should refer to
Xia Ziheng as Ancestor Ziheng. This was not only because of his status within the family, but also
because he was a Semi-Progenitor. This was an honor given to those who reached such heights of
power, and they were shown respect by even the members of the main family.

Lu Yin calmly stared back at Xia Ziheng. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng."

Xia Ziheng frowned. "You should refer to me as ‘ancestor.’"

Lu Yin put on a show of surprise. "You’ve become a Progenitor? Congratulations!"

Headmaster Wen chuckled.

Xia Ziheng's eyes grew cold, and he reflexively let out a bit of a Semi-Progenitor’s pressure, only to be
stopped by Headmaster Wen. "And you asked me to leave? If I were not here, Prof. Hao Yu would have
been badly injured just now."
Lu Yin stared at Xia Ziheng, no sign of fear to be seen. "Why? Does Semi-Progenitor Ziheng want to
attack me? Have you overestimated yourself and underestimated me and Virtue Archives? What right
do you have to do whatever you want in this academy?"

The reaction infuriated Xia Ziheng. "Yu Hao, how dare you speak to me in such a tone!"

Lu Yin sneered. "I am Hao Yu. Yu Hao died long ago, and his story’s already become famous throughout
the entire Perennial World."

Xia Ziheng's eyes flickered as he stared into Lu Yin's face. "As long as you are not dead, you can never rid
yourself of your identity of Yu Hao, let alone the fact that you are a son-in-law to my Xia family."

Lu Yin looked over at Headmaster Wen. "Headmaster, did you call me here to meet with such a useless
person? If there is nothing important that you need, then I’ll take my leave now. I have class in a few
days, and I need to prepare for it."

Headmaster Wen nodded. "That's fine. You-"

Xia Ziheng interrupted, "Yu Hao, there’s a relationship between you and Xia Zhitong. Do you really think
that my Xia family will allow you to ignore that and roam wherever you wish?"

Lu Yin looked back at Xia Ziheng. "What do you want? For me to stay with your family? If it’s because of
my relationship with Xia Zhitong, then your Xia family’s going to have their hands full, given all the
people who’ve had ‘relationships’ with her."

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2205: Intimidation

Lu Yin’s comment caused Xia Ziheng’s eyes to flare, and Headmaster Wen instantly went on guard,
worried the other Semi-Progenitor would not be able to restrain himself.

Lu Yin's words were a slap in the Xia family’s face.

Forget a powerful and dignified family like the Xia family—even someone like Xia Zhitong would not be
tolerated in a common family, as her actions would ruin any family’s reputation.

This was why the Xia family had opted to use Xia Zhitong to deal with the Yu family. Their tactics had
inspired terror in all the other sects and families in the Perennial World, scaring them from helping the
remnants of the Lu family after that. The entire affair had caused many people who had once followed
the Lu family to suffer greatly.

The Xia family had been overly ruthless with the Yu family. Not only had the family been essentially
wiped out, but their reputation had also been permanently destroyed.

However, while the Yu family had been ruined and reduced to a joke, the Xia family was not in a great
situation either. No matter what, there was no getting around the fact that Xia Zhitong was a member of
the Xia family. Even if she was not a part of the main family line and was just from a branch family, it
was still too embarrassing to have such a person associated with the family.

Xia Zhitong had been fully aware that the Xia family was just using her and that this matter would make
her unwelcome to everyone aside from those who warmed her bed. She would never be treated as a
member of the family or given the opportunity to honor her ancestors. She had willingly abandoned all
of that, as she only wanted to enjoy her life. Yu Hao’s return brought many uncomfortable matters back
into the light, but these were not things that would harm the Yu family. After all, the Yu family had
already been reduced to nothing, which meant that the vulnerable party at this moment was the Xia
family, and Xia Ziheng was not willing to let that happen.
"Wen Lai, give me a bit of face and allow me to speak with him alone. Don't worry, I won’t do anything
to him. I swear on the reputation of my Xia family," Xia Ziheng spoke softly.

Headmaster Wen glanced at Lu Yin, who nodded. There was no fear in his eyes.

Headmaster Wen said, "Alright, but I will be keeping an eye on you the entire time. If you dare to attack
him, I promise on my Virtue Archives itself that I will not let you escape unscathed."

Xia Ziheng’s finger twitched. It was unexpected for Headmaster Wen to make such a threat. Had the
man noticed something?

After Headmaster Wen left, Lu Yin made no pretenses of being polite, and he immediately took a seat
and poured himself a cup of tea.

Xia Ziheng looked at the young man. "The matter regarding Xia Zhitong has nothing to do with my
branch of the family. You should understand that her actions have not only harmed your Yu family, but
also my Xia family’s reputation."

"So are you saying that I shouldn’t hold a grudge?" Lu Yin mocked.

Xia Ziheng said, "What I’m saying is that people need to focus on the future. I know of your connection
to Grandmaster Gu Yan. With that relationship, everything from the past can disappear like smoke."

Lu Yin laughed. "Disappear? The reputation of my Yu family has been ruined for years, Yu City has been
made a laughing stock, and even I’ve become an infamous legend in the Perennial World. And yet,
you’re saying that all of that can disappear?"

Xia Ziheng grew serious. "Everything can be erased, just like how the Lu family’s existence was wiped
out."
This statement startled Lu Yin, and he stared intently at Xia Ziheng.

Xia Ziheng sneered at his response. "Do you believe that your Yu family is somehow more famous in the
Perennial World than the Lu family was? We were able to eliminate the Lu family and make it so that no
one even speaks of them. What do you think we can do to your little Yu family? Or, do you think that
your new backing can do a better job? You might have Grandmaster Gu Yan supporting you, but do you
really believe that that’s enough to stand up to my Xia family? Do you even understand the power of my
Xia family or Shenwu's Sky?"

Lu Yin remained silent, so Xia Ziheng continued, saying, "As long as we put in some effort, Virtue
Archives won’t be able to protect you. We can make your Yu family an infamous example for thousands
of years, and no one can do anything to stop us."

Lu Yin clenched his fists and glared furiously at Xia Ziheng.

The old man just shook his head. "You’re still too naive, but that’s not a problem. You clearly aren’t
foolish enough to believe that Grandmaster Gu Yan is enough to protect you, which is why you put on a
little show and hid here in Virtue Archives. While it’s true that Virtue Archives might have been able to
protect you in the past, that’s the past. Both now and in the future, Virtue Archives won’t be able to
save you. Everything you are or ever will be amounts to nothing but the workings of an ant to my Xia
family. Your foundation is too shallow.

"You think it’s enough to be a Senior Array Master or even a Realm Array Master? Even if you become
an Array Grandmaster, my Xia family can just condemn you to the rear battlefield until the Aeternals kill
you. Is that the life you want?"

Lu Yin's eyes were as cold as ice, and they overflowed with endless hatred and bloodlust. "Do you think
that just a few words are enough to make me abandon my revenge?"

Xia Ziheng laughed. "Revenge? Who are you going to go after for your revenge? Xia Zhitong? My Xia
family? Or maybe Shenwu's Sky?"
Seeing the various emotions flitting across Lu Yin's eyes, Xia Ziheng shook his head. "You think too highly
of yourself. Against Shenwu's Sky, you’re less than an ant."

"If I’m nothing more than an ant, then why is a Semi-Progenitor like you here and threatening me so
much? Do you just like to hear yourself talk that much?" Lu Yin shot back.

Xia Ziheng grew earnest as he spoke, "You may be an ant, but your future doesn’t have to be the same
as Gu Yan’s. You are someone whom the Xia family could eventually consider valuable. Now, I’m not
talking about revenge, but rather of benefits. For the moment, if you can convince Grandmaster Gu Yan
to join my Xia family, I’ll help you get your revenge."

Lu Yin gave a sharp laugh. "You’ll help me get revenge? How? Are you going to work with me against
your own Xia family?"

Xia Ziheng's voice grew cold. "Xia Zhitong can die, and we can allow you to do as you wish with her. Even
Xia Yuan can die, as long as you make yourself valuable enough. I will help you restore the Yu family’s
reputation, and I can even get your grandfather out of Star Alliance. Whatever you want, I will help you
get it. The fate and reputation of your Yu family can be completely reversed. Forget your petty hatred!
Which cultivator doesn’t have enemies? Is there really a need to kill all of them? If we did that, humanity
would have been wiped out long ago.”

Lu Yin's expression twisted; hesitation and consideration were clearly warring for control within him.

Xia Ziheng saw that he was starting to convince the young man. "Xia Zhitong was the one who harmed
your Yu family, and she is also the target of your revenge. You can decide the fates of all of her lovers.
You can take one step closer to home, or you can cause your decades of effort to disappear. You can
decide what will happen after today.

"I am even willing to choose a new spouse for you so that you can truly become a part of my Xia family,
a member of one of the four ruling powers! There will be no need for you to stay hidden here in Virtue
Archives. Besides, this place will soon see changes, and it won't be the best place for you to continue
developing."

Lu Yin looked puzzled. "Virtue Archives is going to change?"

Xia Ziheng answered, "You don’t need to worry about that. All you need to know is that I’m willing to do
my best to help you out, get revenge, and restore your reputation. I can help you get everything that
you want. I represent both Shenwu's Sky and the four ruling powers. What can't we do here in the
Perennial World? As long as you agree, you will become famous throughout the Perennial World. You
can have your name go down in history."

There was no denying that Xia Ziheng’s arguments made for a very convincing case. If the real Yu Hao
were in front of the Semi-Progenitor, he might have actually been convinced. However, it was actually
Lu Yin, and he had not accepted Grandmaster Gu Yan as his master. Furthermore, Lu Yin’s background
was much, much grander than a mere Array Grandmaster, and he was indeed qualified to challenge the
four ruling powers. Thus, Xia Ziheng’s words rang hollow in Lu Yin's ears.

"Is my grandfather really still alive?" Lu Yin asked.

"He is, and I promise you that, as long as you agree, I will release your grandfather and allow him to
leave Star Alliance."

Lu Yin stared at Xia Ziheng. "Leave Star Alliance? How can that happen?"

"All it takes is one order, and your grandfather will be freed. He’ll be allowed to return to Yu City to
recover, and he will even receive the full support of my Xia family."

Lu Yin sneered. It only took a single order? He would not believe that even if he had not learned about
the restrictions placed on the Envoys in Star Alliance. If it were so simple, then how could so many
powerhouses have failed to escape?
Xia Ziheng was just baiting "Yu Hao," trying to trick him into doing whatever it took to convince
Grandmaster Gu Yan to join the Xia family. Even if that were not possible, as long as Xia Ziheng could get
Yu Hao away from Virtue Archives, the Xia family would have the means to unilaterally decide what
happened to the young man.

Old monsters did not live for as long as they did without learning a few tricks.

Lu Yin lowered his head, contemplating the offer.

A slight smile appeared on Xia Ziheng’s face. Anyone would be tempted by such generous offers, not to
mention Yu Hao. The Semi-Progenitor had offered both the young man’s greatest desires, as well as
what he actually needed. Xia Ziheng was too clear on how to spin a situation, as he understood the
weaknesses of human nature. As long as one could grasp a person’s deepest desires, it would be easy to
control them.

Not to mention, having a Semi-Progenitor personally deliver such an offer showed the sincerity of the
Xia family.

"First, I want to know who came up with the idea of marrying me to Xia Zhitong," Lu Yin stated.

Good. With this question, it meant that the young man was looking for a new target for his revenge.
Apparently, Yu Hao had not looked into this himself, and he was instead asking Xia Ziheng about it. The
Semi-Progenitor simply needed to provide an appropriate target. The person could not be someone with
too low a status, but also not too high, as this was a matter that concerned the Xia family’s reputation.

The idea had actually been Xia Yuan’s, but Xia Ziheng wanted to save Xia Yuan, if at all possible.

Finally, Xia Ziheng gave a name that Lu Yin had never heard before. The man was just a one-tribulation
Envoy from a branch of the Xia family. He had just enough of a status to be able to meet with a Semi-
Progenitor and report certain things, but he was not regarded as actually important.
"He came up with the idea of having Xia Zhitong marry you. If you want revenge, then his life is yours,"
Xia Ziheng offered. This one sentence was enough to determine the life or death of an Envoy, and the
man’s ruthlessness would give anyone who understood it chills.

Lu Yin's eyes grew cold. "I will make him pay for what he did!"

Xia Ziheng's mouth curled up into a smile.

"But-" Lu Yin lifted his head to look up at Xia Ziheng. "You don’t really represent Shenwu’s Sky. If you
want to be able to recruit my master, then I want to see Xia Xing."

It was not unreasonable to expect a Semi-Progenitor like Xia Ziheng to know about the secrets of the
restrictions that the four ruling powers had placed on the members of Star Alliance, but Lu Yin did not
want to take any risks. He intended to take advantage of their belief that Grandmaster Gu Yan was his
master to draw out Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu’s Sky. From him, he would hopefully obtain the
Xia family’s portion of the method to remove the restrictions. This was a risk, and if Lu Yin had any other
options, he would not take it, as he could not try this a second time.

Xia Ziheng frowned. "Xia Xing is the sect master of Shenwu's Sky, but he’s only an Envoy. How is my
word not good enough?"

Lu Yin lifted his head higher. "I can only speak with the sect master of Shenwu's Sky. I won’t deal with
anyone else, not even Xia Yingxiong himself."

"Presumptuous!" Xia Ziheng grew angry and glared at Lu Yin, but the young man remained stubborn and
refused to look away.

"Don't think that I spent all this time with you just because we want that old man. I simply don’t want
humanity to lose a genius Lockbreaker. On top of that, I would like to see Grandmaster Gu Yan train
more Lockbreakers for my Xia family. Don’t get cocky about your value and think that you can threaten
me," Xia Ziheng warned in a low voice.
Lu Yin replied, "My master is old, and he cares a great deal about me. He’s spent decades training me
and even regards me as a son. If I speak to him, my master will definitely listen."

Xia Ziheng's eyes flickered.

Lu Yin continued, saying, "I want to speak with Xia Xing, and I want him to promise me everything that
you just offered. Otherwise, there’s nothing to be discussed."

Xia Ziheng was furious, and he rose to his feet to stare down at Lu Yin.

Headmaster Wen immediately appeared. "Alright, that’s long enough. Prof. Hao Yu has lessons to
prepare for. Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, we won’t see you off."

Xia Ziheng continued to glare at Lu Yin. "Are you really going to be that stubborn?"

Lu Yin also stood up, and he looked at Xia Ziheng from the same level. His eyes remained firm. "That’s
right."

Xia Ziheng turned and left without saying another word.

Upon seeing the man leave, Headmaster Wen commented, "It might be best if you aren’t one of the
chaperones for the trip to the four ruling powers."

With a solemn expression, Lu Yin bowed to Headmaster Wen. "Thank you for your help, Senior."

Headmaster Wen waved the thanks off with a hand. "What help did I give you?"
Lu Yin replied, "If not for you, then given Xia Ziheng's personality, this junior has no assurances that I
would still be alive."

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2206: Entrust

"Haha, it's rare for someone to dare to speak about a Semi-Progenitor like that, hahahaha." Headmaster
Wen laughed happily.

Lu Yin was unconcerned. "I've lived through many things, the evidence of which can be seen. What’s the
difference between ordinary people and Semi-Progenitors? Or even Progenitors? In the end, we’re all
human, and all of us worry about life and death. This fear makes us hesitant when forced to face those
feelings. Since we’re human, the worst that can happen is merely death. So, why should I be afraid?"

Headmaster Wen looked at "Yu Hao" with open admiration. "Only those who have faced death multiple
times can have such insights. My presence was unnecessary just now. As long as you showed no fear, he
would not do anything to you at all. It’s said that Grandmaster Gu Yan is not easy to fool."

Lu Yin did not like lying to Headmaster Wen, but he had not done so deliberately. When speaking with
Xia Ziheng, Lu Yin had never actually claimed Gu Yan was his master; instead, he had gone off of what
others had said. People were too confident in their beliefs. They saw themselves as clever and insightful
in analyzing the situation, clueless to the fact that they had been deceived by their own cleverness.

Of course, Lu Yin was not including Headmaster Wen in his thoughts. This old man had no desire to
harm Lu Yin, and at worst, he had simply been mistaken in his guess.
"After the Lu family disappeared, the four ruling powers grew more and more overbearing in their
behavior. Decades ago, that man would have never dared to try to intimidate me inside Virtue Archives,
but that has changed. If the agreement between you and Xia Ziheng hasn’t been completed, then it
would be best for you to not visit Shenwu's Sky. It will be too dangerous," Headmaster Wen warned Lu
Yin again before allowing the young man to return to his own residence. Not once was Yu Hao
mentioned between the two men.

There were certain matters that Headmaster Wen simply did not care about, though he did want to
protect certain people. Even then, he could only do so much, and if Lu Yin left Virtue Archives, the
headmaster would be helpless.

After Lu Yin returned to his residence, he happened to see Mr. Tang, and he greeted the man.

The flames of the Dark Undying Bird filled the sky, leaving it dark and illuminated with just a few stars.

Lu Yin sat at a stone table. He dipped his fingers in some water, and then he used the water to write a
few words on the table: Star Alliance, Crimson Garden, Nine Clones, Food Paradise, Restriction, and a
few more. These matters could shake the entire Perennial World, and they were all matters that Lu Yin
needed to deal with.

How could he obtain the restriction method that was used the control the members of Star Alliance?
How could he rescue the people in Crimson Garden? How could he learn the Nine Clones Secret
Technique?

Every single task that Lu Yin had assigned himself would be extremely difficult for even Semi-Progenitors
to accomplish, and yet Lu Yin wanted to complete them all before his identity as Yu Hao was exposed as
fake.

But at this moment, Lu Yin’s mind was a mess.

He unconsciously stretched his hand out once more, and this time, he wrote Hidden Earth Society. After
a bit more thought, he also wrote the Dealcut Association and Realmless.

Wait, Realmless?

Lu Yin’s head snapped up. If others could use Realmless to target him, then why could he not use
Realmless to go after his own targets?

Realmless had even attacked the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect. As long as one could afford it,
they were willing to do anything.

Lu Yin personally controlled the entire Fifth Mainland’s resources, so how could he be incapable of
paying Realmless enough to do a job? Even if he currently lacked the means to pay them, he could
always Enhance a treasure.

Yes, Realmless. Lu Yin stared at the name that he had written on the table and sank deep into thought.

In a room in his home, Lu Yin pulled out the mirror. Due to his worry that Progenitor Smoke would
suddenly pop out to look around without warning, Lu Yin had kept the mirror stored in his cosmic ring
whenever he was in Virtue Archives. However, he needed to do something right now, and he could not
risk being observed by one of the academy’s Semi-Progenitors, even if the chances of that happening
were very low.

After the mirror came out, Progenitor Smoke did not appear, so Lu Yin had no choice but to enter the
pocket dimension himself. "Senior?"

Progenitor Smoke's voice carried from within the fog. "What's wrong?"

"Senior, could you come speak with me for a moment?" Lu Yin put on an ingratiating smile.
Progenitor Smoke was actually upset. "You come find me whenever you need something from me, but
you leave the mirror in your cosmic ring whenever I’m unneeded. I’m not your babysitter!"

Lu Yin quickly tried to appease the woman, and he started spewing out all kinds of absurd flattery. Even
then, it took him a long time to coax Progenitor Smoke out.

After emerging from the mirror, Progenitor Smoke glanced around. "No one’s watching you. Go ahead
and do whatever you want."

She then went right back into the pocket dimension inside the mirror.

Lu Yin followed the woman. "Senior, there are three Semi-Progenitors here in Virtue Archives, and more
Semi-Progenitors can pop up at any moment in the Perennial World. If you suddenly reveal yourself
without knowing what’s happening outside the mirror, you’ll put this junior in a very difficult position."

"Without knowing what’s happening? Are you really talking about me?" Progenitor Smoke raised her
voice.

Lu Yin quickly tried to calm the woman. "No, no! This junior spoke poorly. I’m not trying to say that you
don’t know what’s happening. Rather, Senior Progenitor Smoke is the master of one of the Nine
Mountains and Eight Seas, and even Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku looked up to you in the past.
While Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan are still here, they would still be respectful and refer to you as
‘Progenitor Smoke’ if they see you here."

"Hmph! I won't go wandering around," Progenitor Smoke said before completely ignoring Lu Yin.

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, but he did not put the mirror back in his cosmic ring. He was worried that
doing so would upset Progenitor Smoke, and she might not help him again in the future. It was worth it
to take some risks with her.
Since he had already received confirmation that no one was watching him, Lu Yin stepped out into his
residence’s courtyard, brought Zenith Mountain out, and jumped in.

He immediately went to speak with Yu Chen. "I want to get in touch with Realmless."

Practically everyone on Zenith Mountain kept to themselves, and Yu Chen was alone in a valley on the
mountain. Lu Yin’s sudden appearance startled the woman, and she instantly became worried that he
would do something to her.

"Realmless? Are you back in the Perennial World?" Yu Chen quickly grew excited.

Lu Yin was blunt. "I can't let you leave for now."

Yu Chen’s voice dropped low. "Realmless is the largest assassination and intelligence gathering
organization in the Perennial World. They have members all over the place, so it’s not difficult to get in
touch with them. What is difficult is getting in touch with someone from Realmless with a high enough
status, but luckily, I have some of their contact information."

She then immediately shared the information with Lu Yin.

Lu Yin clearly understood what Realmless was in the Perennial World, as the group was happy to either
conduct assassinations, or gather information. However, Realmless had a fuzzy relationship with the
four ruling powers. When Lu Yin had been acting as Long Qi, he had claimed to have received his
information from Realmless instead of Kui Luo as an excuse for how he had received so much
information on Redbacks.

Supervisor Qing Chen had believed his explanation, which meant that Realmless was fully capable of
uncovering the identities of Redbacks and traitors.
Since Realmless was so capable, then Lu Yin intended to let the four ruling powers experience it for
themselves.

After putting Zenith Mountain back away, Lu Yin pulled out his communication crystal and tried to
connect with the contact Yu Chen had shared. First, though, Lu Yin used the Mask of Death to alter his
appearance.

Soon, a pair of dark, narrow eyes appeared on the display. "What do you need?"

"Are you a part of Realmless?" Lu Yin asked.

The eyes stared at Lu Yin. "If you can contact me, why act the fool?"

"I want to ask you to do a job. How do I pay?" Lu Yin asked. As he spoke, he felt a sense of deja vu. Right,
this was similar to when he had communicated with Smoker long ago. That assassin had always
demanded to be paid in natural treasures of sufficient quality. Lu Yin had used Smoker extensively, and
eventually, the assassin had formally joined the Great Yu Empire.

"Identify the target first. Will you provide the necessary information, or do you need us to gather that
for you?" a cold voice asked.

"The target is someone rather important and quite strong. I’m not sure if you’ll be willing to accept this
job."

"Your concerns are irrelevant." It was clear that the person Lu Yin was speaking to did not care at all.
Realmless’s claim to glory was that they had once attacked the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect
within his own sect. They had actually infiltrated the Celestial Frost Sect itself, which was absurd. The
accomplishment fully warranted their instant fame.

Lu Yin's eyes grew cold. "The sect master of Shenwu's Sky, Xia Xing."
The cold eyes in the display went a bit wide as the person looked at Lu Yin with a bit of shock. They
stared at Lu Yin intently for a moment, as though trying to get a read on him.

Lu Yin was unconcerned. He had changed his appearance with the Mask of Death, which was a
technique that not even a Semi-Progenitor could see through, let alone someone interacting with him
through a communication crystal. Realmless would never know the true identity of who was hiring them
for this job, especially since Lu Yin was not using the communication crystal that he used as Yu Hao.
Thus, he could not be traced even through that.

"Agreed," the cold voice replied, though it was no longer emotionless like before. Instead, there was a
more dignified ring to the voice. "The payment will be a Progenitor’s item, while the initial deposit will
be a Semi-Progenitor level treasure."

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "What do you mean?"

"Make a deposit first. If the assassination is successful, then you will also pay the Progenitor’s item,
while the deposit will be returned. If the job is a failure, your deposit will be retained, but further
payment will not be required," the cold voice explained.

"What sort of Progenitor item?" Lu Yin asked.

"This is up to you, but you must provide a Progenitor item that we are willing to accept. If you require
the attack to be carried out inside Shenwu’s Sky, then the payment will increase to three Progenitor
items," the voice clarified.

Lu Yin thought for a while. While he had items from Progenitors, he would never be willing to give them
to Realmless. One was the weird slipper, and the other was the God of Death’s left arm. Right, there was
also the mysterious corpse, but it was impossible for Lu Yin to give any of those three treasures to
Realmless. Besides, he did not actually want Realmless to kill Xia Xing, but simply to serve as a cover.
After all, if Xia Xing died, how would Lu Yin get ahold of Shenwu’s Sky’s portion of the restriction used on
the members of Star Alliance?
"You have ten more seconds. If you cannot offer a satisfactory Progenitor-level item, we will end
negotiations."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Would a tribulation crystal be acceptable?"

The cold eyes narrowed sharply. "You have a pillar of tribulation crystals?"

Lu Yin immediately pulled a pillar out. He had initially had two: one from the Forgotten Ruins in the
Dominion Realm, and the other from Progenitor Long. Both had been acquired during his time as Long
Qi, and while one of them had been given to Ming Yan, Lu Yin still had the other pillar.

The cold eyes grew contemplative for a moment as they stared at the pillar of tribulation crystals, and
the person said nothing. Suddenly, something occurred to Lu Yin. "There are rumors that Realmless has
ties to the four ruling powers, but it seems that you don’t have any connection to Xia Xing."

The cold voice replied, "Even if Xia Xing is part of Realmless, as long as payment is received, we will kill
him."

This was a shocking bit of news.

"You have requested the life of Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu's Sky. Even if he is connected to
Realmless, he must be attacked. This concerns the reputation of my Realmless."

Lu Yin was quite impressed. "That's good to hear. So? Will the pillar work as payment?"

"It’s agreeable. As for the Semi-Progenitor level item for the deposit, place it somewhere and provide us
with the location. We will collect it, and after confirming it, we will start planning the attack on Xia Xing.
There is no guarantee as to when the attack will happen, but follow the agreement. After all, you only
have one pillar of tribulation crystals," the cold voice instructed.

Lu Yin said, "Xia Xing should be coming to the Middle Realm quite soon."

"We will make our own plans."

"I need him to be attacked while he’s in the Middle Realm, and I also need you to give me advance
notice of when the attack will take place."

"That violates our rules."

"You can keep the deposit of the Semi-Progenitor item."

There was only silence for a moment. "Agreed."

After ending the call, Lu Yin searched through everything that he had. The only Semi-Progenitor level
item that Lu Yin possessed was the needle-like weapon, but he was not willing to give that to Realmless.
His only other option was Enhance.

Lu Yin was not willing to part with the Withered Bark in his possession, as he felt that there was
something important regarding the power of time that Progenitor Ku had left in the power vessel. The
Netherworld River could be given away, as long as he Enhanced it to the Semi-Progenitor level. After all,
Lu Yin still had Progenitor Smoke.

The Netherworld River needed to be upgraded a bit, as it was still a step away from reaching the Semi-
Progenitor level. Still, that last step would be quite expensive.
STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2207: Clues

After concluding his business with Realmless, Lu Yin thought for a while before pulling Zenith Mountain
back out. This time, he went in to speak with Elder Qing Xing. "Is there anyone on the rear battlefield
from the Hidden Earth Society?"

Elder Qing Xing nodded. He was basically in Lu Yin’s pocket, so the older man was willing to share
everything that he knew. "There’s one, an Array Master. We recruited him long ago because of his talent
for lockbreaking. He eventually went to the rear battlefield, and then he accepted a Realm Array Master
as his teacher. Unfortunately, the Realm Array Master has already died."

"Contact him, and then I’ll give you some more instructions," Lu Yin said.

Lu Yin could not simply wait for Xia Xing to visit Virtue Archives; he had to force the matter.

Xia Ziheng regarded Yu Hao as valuable because of how important Grandmaster Gu Yan was, and Yu Hao
was believed to be the Array Grandmaster’s apprentice. Given how important an Array Grandmaster
was to the Xia family, others would see the man in the same light. For example, the Celestial Frost Sect.

However, no matter how valuable Grandmaster Gu Yan was, Shenwu’s Sky might not be willing to
immediately send out someone like their sect master. If the man did not make the trip quickly, then Lu
Yin would have to force the man out. However, Lu Yin’s identity as Yu Hao was not enough to pull that
off. Thus, he needed the Celestial Frost Sect to help him with this.

In the following days, Lu Yin frequently met with Bai Weiwei, and there were even times when he took
the initiative to go find the woman. All of this caused Nong Siniang to grind her teeth from aggravation.
***

Far away, on the rear battlefield, Xia Yan, the general of the second array base, returned to his base in
exhaustion. "Please repair the sourcebox array."

"General, Array Master Luo has already arrived and is repairing the defensive sourcebox array,"
someone replied.

The news caught Xia Yan off guard. "Don’t those Array Masters usually make a point of dragging things
out and forcing me to call them out myself? Why is he being so proactive this time?"

The man replied, "Array Master Luo stated that he has just returned from Grandmaster Gu Yan’s
residence."

This was surprising. "He was visiting Grandmaster Gu Yan's home?"

"That is what Array Master Luo said."

Xia Yan waved a hand to dismiss the people. He then checked on the reports of what had recently
happened in the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm. Even if Xia Yan was stationed at the rear
battlefield, he would not allow himself to be completely ignorant of the rest of the Perennial World.

After spending a long time reviewing the various reports, Xia Yan stepped out and approached the array
base’s headquarters. There, he saw an exhausted looking middle-aged man sitting, surrounded by four
or five cultivators who acted as servants. This was typically how Lockbreakers were treated on the rear
battlefield.

Xia Yan was already used to seeing such things, so he walked straight over.
When the middle-aged man saw Xia Yan approach, he quickly rose to his feet and bowed. While
Lockbreakers would act arrogantly and self-centered around most people, they would not dare to put on
a show of arrogance in front of someone like Xia Yan. After all, he was the second array base’s general,
as well as a Semi-Progenitor. "Greetings, General."

Xia Yan nodded and smiled at the Lockbreaker. "You’ve worked hard, Master Luo."

The middle-aged man replied, "It’s only as things should be."

Xia Yan spoke a bit more, putting on a show of being concerned for Master Luo’s well-being. "By the
way, I heard that Master Luo just visited Grandmaster Gu Yan, no?"

Master Luo respectfully said, "Yes. All of us juniors love to go visit the Grandmaster to receive his
teachings any time the opportunity comes up. It’s well known that Grandmaster Gu Yan is the most
accomplished Lockbreaker that humanity has. Exchanging just a few words with him can be
enlightening.”

"When I saw the Grandmaster this time, he seemed even more impressive than ever before…"

The obvious reverence in Master Luo’s voice as he spoke of Grandmaster Gu Yan was not at all
surprising to Xia Yan. While the Grandmaster was known for his odd personality, and many people did
not like the man, including even some Lockbreakers, it was undeniable that there were others who
idolized Grandmaster Gu Yan. This was also one of the reasons why the Xia family valued Grandmaster
Gu Yan so much. In addition to his own personal abilities, his influence spoke for itself.

Xia Yan recalled what he had just learned about the recent events in the rest of the Perennial World.
Was Yu Hao really Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice? Could it be fake? Xia Ziheng hoped to use the
possible apprentice to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over, but Xia Yan could not help but feel that something
was off, though he could not figure out what was bothering him.
"Fortunately, the Array Grandmaster had some time, or else things would be the same as they have
been for the last few decades, and I would not be able to receive any guidance from him at all," Master
Luo said while heaving a sigh of relief.

Xia Yan's ears perked up. "Grandmaster Gu Yan has been unavailable for decades?"

Master Luo nodded, and then he seemed to think of something. "I heard that he accepted a very
talented apprentice, which is quite enviable."

"Have you ever seen his apprentice?" Xia Yan asked, staring at Master Luo.

Master Luo shook his head. "I haven't, no. Aside from Grandmaster Gu Yan himself, no one has seen the
apprentice. Though, according to Xiao Cui, the apprentice is quite good-looking."

Xia Yan's eyes flashed, and Yu Hao's face instantly appeared in his mind. Yu Hao… there was no denying
that the young man was regarded as exceptionally attractive by both men and women. Could he really
be Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice?

"By the way, if Grandmaster Gu Yan is no longer as busy as before, is that because his apprentice
graduated?" Xia Yan asked curiously.

Master Luo replied, "It’s possible. Fortunately, I also wasn’t busy these last few months, or else I still
wouldn’t have been able to meet with the Array Grandmaster."

It kept coming down to the last few months. Things were lining up more and more. Yu Hao appeared
and went after Xia Zhitong during that time. It seemed that Yu Hao really was the mysterious apprentice.

"However, the Grandmaster seemed a little odd." Master Luo seemed a bit conflicted as he continued.
Xia Yan's eyes flickered. "What do you mean?"

Master Luo hesitated, but Xia Yan just laughed. "Master Luo, there’s no need to be so careful with your
words. We’ve worked together on this battlefield many times before, and we can be considered
comrades in arms. It’s questionable whether any of us will leave this place alive, so what can’t be said
between us?"

Master Luo realized that this was a rather accurate portrayal of their circumstances. He waved a hand,
ordering his followers to pull back. Only when the two men were alone did the Array Master start
quietly talking. "General, I'm going to be a bit blunt about a few things."

"No need to worry."

Master Luo continued in a hushed voice. "In the past, Grandmaster Gu Yan made no secret of his hatred
for the four ruling powers, but when I just met with him, he actually took the initiative to ask about the
Celestial Frost Sect, and he clearly did not sound as disgusted by them as before. It was very strange."

Xia Yan's expression changed slightly. The Celestial Frost Sect?

"Not only that, but he also asked me if the Celestial Frost Sect has any impressive female members in
their younger generation," Master Luo continued.

Xia Yan frowned. "What else?"

Master Luo shook his head. "That’s all. I know very little about the Celestial Frost Sect as a whole, let
alone anything about their younger generation."

Xia Yan let out a breath and quickly recovered himself. He patted Master Luo on the shoulder and smiled
at the Array Master. "Grandmaster Gu Yan might have just heard some rumor or other. After all, both
Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong and the Celestial Frost Sect’s current successor are Lockbreakers
themselves. Maybe he just wanted to compare them to his apprentice."

Master Luo replied, "That's true. Why didn’t I think of that? That should be it. You have a clear view of
the bigger picture, General."

Xia Yan smiled and left, but as soon as his back was to Master Luo, the general’s expression fell. While
Master Luo might not be able to understand what was happening, how could Xia Yan not piece the clues
together? If Yu Hao really was Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice, then the Array Grandmaster’s behavior
made sense. After all, there was a truly impressive descendant of the Celestial Frost Sect already in
Virtue Archives, and she was also said to be quite stunning.

After returning to his office, Xia Yan reviewed the available information on Yu Hao again and again.
Some time later, the general reached out to Xia Ziheng. Shenwu’s Sky was already in a disadvantageous
position, and if the Celestial Frost Sect managed to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over, then things would
only grow worse.

The Celestial Frost Sect’s ambitions had been exposed long ago.

After receiving Xia Yan’s message, Xia Ziheng immediately contacted Wu Taibai, who was still in Virtue
Archives. The Semi-Progenitor asked the instructor to check on Yu Hao's current situation.

***

At the moment, Lu Yin was enjoying some tea with Bai Weiwei.

Bai Weiwei found her current situation quite odd. Prof. Hao Yu had been frequently seeking her out,
always using the excuse of studying sourcebox arrays. But at his level, why would he ask her to work
with him? The only possibility that she could come up with was that her words to him while they had
been alone on the mission had gotten through.
Did the Celestial Frost Sect want to have Grandmaster Gu Yan join them? Of course! Bai Weiwei had the
same opinion, though she had never expected her words to be so effective.

However, she was also aware that the professor’s interest was likely not because of Bai Weiwei, but
rather because of her senior sister.

Yu Hao repeatedly brought up Bai Xian’er. Does he like her? Does he know no fear?

Lu Yin spent a long time visiting Bai Weiwei before returning to his own residence. There, he met Wu
Taibai.

"Prof. Wu, you came to see me?" Lu Yin was clearly less than thrilled to see the man. Since the fact that
Hao Yu was Yu Hao was already an open secret, there was no need for any pretenses of amiability.

Wu Taibai just smiled. "If you need anything, just let me know, Prof. Hao Yu."

Lu Yin nodded and gestured for Wu Taibai to come in.

The two men were soon sitting in a courtyard in the residence atop the stone pillar. "Prof. Wu, please
tell me what you’re here for. The truth is that I’ve already said everything that needs to be said to your
Shenwu’s Sky."

Wu Taibai replied, "Actually, my visit has nothing to do with Shenwu’s Sky. Rather, it’s to ask you about
what you think of leading the student team to the meeting in a few months."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Leading the team? Aren’t the chaperones going to be decided by the students’
vote?"
Wu Taibai laughed. "While the students get to decide which instructors will be chaperoning the team,
the instructors going will conversely decide which students will be on the team. You can’t think that all
of the students will be going."

Lu Yin had actually forgotten about this detail. His mind had been so preoccupied with other matters
that he had not even thought about this.

"What are you getting at, Prof. Wu?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

Wu Taibai replied, "Besides my obvious identity and perspective from that side of things, I’m still one of
the academy’s instructors. In my opinion, Prof. Hao Yu has to be one of the chaperones on this trip. I’m
rather confident that I’ll also be one of them, so I wanted to confirm the list of students for the team
with my colleague."

Lu Yin laughed. "That’s quite a bit of confidence you have, though I don't share it. There’s no need to
rush things. Let’s work on this along with Prof. Wu. That is, if I actually am selected as one of the
chaperones."

Wu Taibai did not press things further. "I understand, though there are some students who I feel should
not be a problem with you, such as Wang Xiaofan, Xia Shenguang, Bai Weiwei, Qingfeng, and Liu Que. All
of them should not be any issue."

Lu Yin agreed. "They’re the best students in Virtue Archives, so I couldn’t argue about any of them.
Though, I would also add Nong Siniang to that list."

"Of course," Wu Taibai said with a smile, "Then, who would you recommend to be the leader of the
students? Do you have any suggestions?"

Lu Yin did not hesitate at all. "Bai Weiwei."

Wu Taibai's eyes flickered. "Bai Weiwei?"

Lu Yin nodded. "She was born as a member of the Celestial Frost Sect, so she’s very familiar with the
Higher Realm. She’s both strong and able to see the bigger picture. Thus, she’s quite well suited to lead
the rest of the students."

"You seem to be quite familiar with her."

"I’ve spent a good bit of time with her recently, studying lockbreaking. She should be the student I know
best out of the entire academy."

Wu Taibai nodded. "I see."

"Prof. Hao Yu, Bai Lin is here to see you." A voice rose up from the bottom of the pillar, reaching both Lu
Yin and Wu Taibai.

Lu Yin's expression did not change at all, and he acted as though he expected this visit, but Wu Taibai
was rather surprised. "Prof. Bai? He’s here to see you, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin replied, "There’s something that I need to discuss with Prof. Bai, so I won’t be able to see you out,
Prof. Wu."

Wu Taibai stared at Lu Yin for a moment, and then he quickly excused himself.

After Wu Taibai left, Prof. Bai climbed up the pillar.

In truth, Lu Yin had not been expecting Prof. Bai’s visit. Rather, he had simply put on an impromptu
show for Wu Taibai.
OMA's Thoughts

NOTICE TO CHAMPIONS:

It's been three years since the first chapter of Star Odyssey was released on Wuxia World. Since then,
we've released 2201 public chapters (you all have no idea how badly that odd number bothers us...).
During at least the past two years, I know that there have been people asking for more free chapters
(always great for readers) and for the VIP tiers to be changed or more tiers to be added.

We have not been ignoring those requests. For the last year, OMA and the rest of the team have been
working on building a buffer for today. Starting today, each of the recently reworked, renamed VIP tiers
will gain access to more, or even double, chapters than ever before. As if that weren't enough, we've
even added another tier for those asking...

We hope that these changes will benefit all of you, and to be honest, I'm looking forward to cutting back
on the workload a bit after today.

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2208: Assassination

After leaving Yu Hao’s residence, Wu Taibai immediately called Xia Ziheng, sharing what he had seen.
Xia Ziheng's expression grew ugly. There was no need to even try to guess what was happening. If Yu
Hao was in frequent contact with Bai Weiwei, then the Celestial Frost Sect was clearly also trying to win
the young man over. This, combined with what Xia Ziheng had learned from Xia Yan, made it clear that
both Yu Hao and Grandmaster Gu Yan were starting to lean towards the Celestial Frost Sect, which
absolutely could not be allowed. Even if Yu Hao ended up dead and Grandmaster Gu Yan ended up as a
sworn enemy of Shenwu's Sky, the Array Grandmaster could never be allowed to join Celestial Frost
Sect.

However, Xia Ziheng simply could not understand how Yu Hao could have possibly overwhelming
influence on Grandmaster Gu Yan. The old man absolutely hated the four ruling powers, so what had
changed his mind?

The Semi-Progenitor soon moved on. Since Yu Hao did have that much influence over his teacher, then
gaining control of the young man would cause Grandmaster Gu Yan to start favoring Shenwu's Sky
instead.

This matter had to be settled as soon as possible.

This thought led to an immediate call to Xia Xing.

"You want me to go now?" Xia Xing frowned.

Xia Ziheng answered, "The Celestial Frost Sect is already taking action. I have no idea what sort of
promises they’ve made to Yu Hao, but he is frequently seeing Bai Weiwei. I’ve also received word that
Grandmaster Gu Yan has asked for information about the Celestial Frost Sect."

Xia Xing found this surprising. "Grandmaster Gu Yan has never tried to establish contact with me or any
of the four ruling powers before. Where did you get this information, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng?"

"It came from Xia Yan himself," Xia Ziheng patiently explained. While he was a Semi-Progenitor, he was
still from a branch family, while Xia Xing was from the direct line of the family as well as the sect master
of Shenwu's Sky. The two had different statuses, and even with his far superior combat strength, Xia
Ziheng could not order Xia Xing about like the other members of the family. Instead, Xia Ziheng took the
time to carefully explain matters.

"Semi-Progenitor Xia Yan?" Xia Xing took a while to consider the matter, and then he made a call to the
rear battlefield.

An ugly expression appeared on Xia Ziheng's face, as this demonstrated that Xia Xing did not trust the
man. Still, there was nothing that the Semi-Progenitor could do about the slight.

Xia Xing soon ended his call, and he began to carefully analyze what he had learned from Xia Yan and Xia
Ziheng. If the information was all accurate, then things were quite serious.

The struggles between the four ruling powers were growing increasingly fierce as time passed. If Long Qi
had not killed Bai Shaohong, or if Bai Xian'er had managed to break through to become a Progenitor,
then the other three of the ruling powers would have already been completely suppressed. If the
Celestial Frost Sect managed to lure Grandmaster Gu Yan into joining, that would still be a heavy blow.

On top of that, Xia Xing had to keep Shenwu's Sky's reputation in mind.

This Yu Hao could not be allowed to take refuge in the Celestial Frost Sect, as that would be endlessly
humiliating for Shenwu's Sky. In that scenario, Shenwu's Sky would have sent Xia Zhitong to ruin the Yu
family and scare the rest of Perennial World, only to eventually serve the benefits of the Celestial Frost
Sect. That would be beyond humiliating; not to mention the sect master, not even their Progenitor
would be able to show himself after such a scandal.

"Yu Hao wants my promise?" Xia Xing asked.

Xia Ziheng had a headache from the entire situation. "The child is determined to speak with you, the
sect master of Shenwu's Sky, and secure your promise."
Xia Xing laughed. "It's only been a few decades, but the kid’s really changed! He’s much shrewder."

Xia Ziheng’s eyebrows rose high. What did this mean? Was Xia Xing actually agreeing with Yu Hao’s
words? That was no different from invalidating the word of a Semi-Progenitor, which was not something
that Xia Ziheng was comfortable hearing. Still, there was nothing that the Semi-Progenitor could do
about it.

Given the pressure that they were facing from the Celestial Frost Sect, Xia Xing did not dare to hesitate.
He immediately set out from Shenwu's Sky and made his way towards the Middle Realm. Grandmaster
Gu Yan could only be allowed to remain a neutral party, or join the Xia family. Xia Xing would not accept
a third option.

At the side of a lake, questioning eyes stared at Lu Yin. He smiled at his class. "Ancient records can
sometimes be accurate. I’ve read many of the books in the academy’s library, and I’ve finally determined
a location: Mount Bleak in the Blue Moon District. Long ago, something happened to Progenitor Wen
when he was near Huaiyuan, though no one knows more than that. As far as we’re concerned, we need
to investigate and explore any clues regarding Progenitor Wen’s past, as there’s no telling what might be
connected to the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird.”

"Professor, are you going to go investigate Mount Bleak?" Nong Siniang raised a hand and asked.

Lu Yin smiled. "It’s necessary."

"Then can you take me with you?" Nong Siniang's eyes lit up, clearly excited at the prospect.

One of the girls next to Nong Siniang also shot her hand into the air. "I want to go, too!"

"I want to go with you, Prof. Hao Yu."

"Me too!"
Even the stuttering fatty raised his hand. "I- I- I want to go too."

Lu Yin pressed a hand down, and answered the students with a smile. "We need to follow the academy
rules. If you don’t qualify, you aren’t allowed to leave the Virtue District. Students are not allowed to
leave the academy without permission."

"We can apply for leave!" Nong Siniang was almost desperate to go on a trip with Prof. Hao Yu. This was
an amazing opportunity.

Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. If your applications are approved, I’ll take you on this trip."

Nong Siniang excitedly said, "We’ll take care of it, Professor!"

A smile spread across Lu Yin's face.

When the lecture ended, many of the students ran off to submit an application to accompany Lu Yin to
Huaiyuan to explore places that Progenitor Wen was known to have visited, according to ancient
records. As for Lu Yin, he returned to his own residence and quietly waited.

It was only a short time later that Nong Siniang arrived, very excited. "Professor! My application’s been
approved! I can go with you to Huaiyuan!"

Lu Yin's eyes grew cold. This meant that it was time.

Before he started his lecture, he had received a message from Realmless: Xia Xing had left Shenwu's Sky
and was currently traveling down the Mother Tree to the Middle Realm. He would arrive in Huaiyuan
soon. The Blue Moon District’s Mount Bleak was not very far from Huaiyuan, and Nong Siniang would
serve as Lu Yin’s witness; she would validate his alibi at Mount Bleak.
It was not easy to force any of the four ruling powers to follow along with Lu Yin’s plans, and he
absolutely would not let this opportunity slip by.

Just one day later, Lu Yin and Nong Siniang arrived in the Blue Moon District. The young woman was
ecstatic, as no one else’s applications had been approved. Only she had received permission for this trip,
which meant that she had Prof. Hao Yu all to herself. The more she thought about this, the happier Nong
Saniang became. She was completely clueless about the fact that the Prof. Hao Yu who was
accompanying her was not the one that she knew. Tong Yu had replaced Lu Yin, while Lu Yin had
disguised himself and gone off to visit Huaiyuan.

At this same time, Xia Xing had boarded the Cloud Shuttle in his own disguise. He was on his way down
to the Middle Realm.

Given the fact that he was the sect master of Shenwu's Sky, Xia Xing was not able to casually leave the
Higher Realm. Any time he did so, it would have to be shrouded in secrecy. Anything else would induce
chaos, while likely also triggering danger.

There were too many people who hated the four ruling powers. While those people would usually
remain hidden and not reveal themselves, that was merely because exposing themselves would not be
worth the risk. However, if word that the sect master of Shenwu’s Sky was traveling leaked, assassins
would be drawn to him like moths to the flame. Still, Xia Xing considered hiding himself to be very
distasteful.

The trip to Huaiyuan proceeded smoothly. Xia Xing casually revealed the false identity of a person who
was a member of the four ruling powers, which caused the Cloud Shuttle guards from the Smokecloud
Sect to simply wave him through the checkpoint.

It had been a very long time since Xia Xing had last stepped foot on the Middle Realm. He looked around
and then smiled. The ancestor had truly made the right decision. If the Lu family had not been exiled,
then how could their family have ever taken over the Higher Realm?
Xia Xing could still remember the years when he had spent looking up towards the Lu family, but those
days were forever gone now.

Feeling much more relaxed, Xia Xing started making his way towards the Virtue District.

As for Humility's Gate base in Huaiyuan, Xia Xing did not even give the place a glance. While Humility's
Gate was truly a powerful organization, the four ruling powers were unwilling to show that they cared.
After all, after Lu Xiaoxuan, that last survivor of the Lu family, had escaped, Humility's Gate had helped
him flee. That was a debt that the four ruling powers would never forget, and they would be sure to
collect it sooner or later, just like Virtue Archives.

The four ruling powers would clean up all of the remaining messes that were proof of the Lu family’s
existence, and they would punish all who refused to accept the change.

Xia Xing soon saw the Blue Moon District, and after passing through it, he would be very close to the
Virtue District.

A bright light flashed in front of Xia Xing, drawing his attention. There was soon a deep drumming sound
that reached his ears, pulsing to his heartbeat. The sect master’s eyes went wide, and a dangerous glint
flickered in their depths. He was utterly fearless despite realizing that someone was attacking him.

He pierced through the void, trying to escape. Since he was being attacked, it meant that his identity and
strength were already known. Regardless, he had to do his best, as there was no doubt that he was in
danger and had to quickly escape.

The ground below him suddenly shattered, and a black net that had been spread across the area shot up
into the air and wrapped itself around Xia Xing, catching him a fish.

The sect master screamed, "What’s this? Are you from Realmless?"
There was no answer, though the distant light grew brighter and brighter. Soon, it replaced all colors,
and nothing could be seen but the brilliant light. At the same time, the drumming sound started to
speed up, which caused Xia Xing’s heart rate to accelerate as well. His body started to tremble, and he
lost the ability to travel through the void.

The black net almost instantly covered everything in sight, completely restricting Xia Xing.

The man was furious. "You’re seeking death, Realmless! After today, I will make sure to use the entire
strength of the four ruling powers to eradicate Realmless!"

As the man shouted, Divine Martial Armor covered his body, and he waved his hands about,
continuously tearing at the black net. However, Realmless had used a specially-made net that they used
to deal with six-tribulation Envoys, and they had used it multiple times before in the past. It had not
originally been black, but a deadly poison had been applied to it, and it had also become stained with
old blood.

Realmless had killed six-tribulation Envoys on several occasions, and they had even attacked the sect
master of the Celestial Frost Sect before. However, they had never attacked Shenwu’s Sky, and Xia Xing's
Divine Martial Armor had not been properly taken into account, and this rendered the black net useless.

At the same time, the Divine Martial Armor that covered Xia Xing’s body continued to twist the void
until eventually something that looked much like actual armor covered the man. The armor continued to
grow until it formed a 100 meter tall giant that towered high in the sky. The giant’s hand reached out
and tore the black net apart before reaching into the distance to shatter the void at the location of the
bright light.

Far away, Lu Yin was watching the events play out, and he was surprised to see this development. What
was this technique?

"Shenwu Transformation. Shenwu's Sky's greatest battle technique. Only after mastering the Divine
Martial Armor to the pinnacle can a person unleash this technique. Cultivation doesn’t help with this
technique at all—only a person’s mastery of the Divine Martial Armor does. There have been rumors
that no one from Shenwu’s Sky has managed to comprehend this technique for almost 10,000 years
before Xia Shenfei. Xia Xing really kept his strength hidden. It’s no wonder why he managed to become
the sect master of Shenwu's Sky." Kui Luo let out a sigh.

"Xia Shenfei could pull that off, too?" This was a surprise, as Xia Shenfei had not used the Shenwu
Transformation when Lu Yin had fought against the four Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm.

They watched as Xia Xing broke free from Realmless’s trap using overwhelming strength. The rhythmic
drumming from the same direction of the bright light that had disappeared ceased. Only shattered space
remained in that direction, and not even the corpse of the Realmless assassin could be found.

However, Realmless was not that easy to escape from. If this was the limits of the assassins, then they
would have never risked attacking the master of the Celestial Frost Sect, yet they had attacked the man
inside the Celestial Frost Sect itself.

Throughout the history of the Perennial World, Realmless had only ever avoided antagonizing the Lu
family. There was no other power that they feared.

All of a sudden, the giant formed from the Shenwu Transformation that covered Xia Xing's body turned
to look in a certain direction. An old woman appeared. She had a withered appearance and was only one
meter tall. A disturbing smile appeared on her face as she looked at Xia Xing. "I never thought that I’d
have the opportunity to kill one of Shenwu's Sky sect masters in my life. Hahahaha!"

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2209: Attack

Xia Xing’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the old woman. "Granny Beans?"
The old woman's smile somehow became a bit dangerous. "I didn't expect anyone to still know about
me."

Xia Xing's expression quickly grew ugly. "How are you here in this era?"

Off in the distance, Kui Luo was stunned by the sight. "It's her? I never expected her to show up in this
era. I guess she was in cryostasis. Realmless is more capable than anyone assumed if they’re able to pull
this off."

"Who is she?" Lu Yin asked.

Kui Luo’s voice dropped low, "Granny Beans is someone even older than me, and she was notorious
during her time. Her favorite pastime was spreading her bean soldiers."

"Spreading bean soldiers? What is that supposed to mean?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

"She would grow parasitic beans inside people. Those beans are her innate gift, and anyone who is
infected parasitized by her beans will lose all intelligence and become her puppet. Even worse, her
beans eat people’s brains."

Lu Yin frowned, and he looked back at the diminutive Granny Beans far away. "Is that why you said that
she likes to spread her bean soldiers?"

"I’m not at all surprised that Xia Xing can recognize her, because Granny Beans’ death was never
confirmed, and it’s possible for cultivators to survive a very long time in cryostasis. As long as someone’s
death hasn’t been verified, it’s always possible that they’ll pop back up later. Still, the woman’s strength
isn’t that impressive. Even after all this time, she still hasn’t managed to become a Semi-Progenitor," Kui
Luo explained.

While Kui Luo was speaking, Granny Beans and Xia Xing had already started fighting.
Granny Beans was a seven-tribulation expert, which surpassed Xia Xing’s cultivation. However, the man
was the sect master of Shenwu's Sky, which left Lu Yin dubious about the results of this fight.

Unsurprisingly, it was not long before Granny Beans was sent flying by the Shenwu Transformation
giant. She spat out some blood and then threw out a handful of beans. Each one quickly transformed
into a fearless human who charged at Xia Xing. These thousands of beans were thousands of cultivators
that the old woman had slaughtered and transformed into her puppets. It was a ruthless display of
power.

Xia Xing’s hands kept swinging, and each slap managed to kill several bean soldiers.

Each bean soldier had been created by a person that Granny Beans had regarded as valuable, which
meant that none of them were weaklings. Still, they could not compare to Xia Xing, and they were little
more than ants to him. No matter what they had accomplished in life, each of them was slapped dead
by Xia Xing.

Suddenly, the drumming sound returned, and its abrupt appearance instantly caused Xia Xing's heart to
stop beating.

Another master had appeared. They might only be a five-tribulation Envoy, but this person’s unique
ability meant that Xia Xing could not maintain his Shenwu Transformation any longer.

"The Shenwu Transformation is difficult to directly contest, but that person’s drum is resonating with Xia
Xing's heartbeat, and it’s been doing so from the very beginning. Xia Xing thought that he had killed
them with that sudden attack, but there was a brief opening at that moment, which weakened the
Shenwu Transformation. Without that, both of the assassins would have been taken out before they
could even join forces," Kui Luo commented.

Lu Yin frowned. "If this is all that Realmless is capable of, then they won’t even be able to force Xia Xing
to show his full hand, let alone actually kill him."
"If Realmless is able to find people like Granny Beans, then forget about what you’re seeing right now.
They’re even more capable than you can even imagine," Kui Luo said.

Lu Yin had to agree with Kui Luo on that. After all, Realmless had sent assassins after Lu Yin more than
once, and he had a deep impression of their strange methods of targeting people.

Although Xia Xing's Shenwu Transformation had faded away, his Divine Martial Armor still remained. A
knife appeared in his hand, and he slashed at Granny Beans. The Xia family’s blade techniques were
famous, and the slash forced an ugly expression to appear on the little old woman’s face. Going after
people from powerful sects was something that she feared greatly, given their strength and diverse
means. While there were tremendous benefits from killing such a person, Granny Beans had to live to
reap the benefits.

Why hasn't it worked yet? It should have worked.

Xia Xing’s blade dropped, but suddenly, his attack stopped, and his body fell almost to the ground.

He glanced around in shock. He had been poisoned? When?

Granny Beans heaved a sigh of relief and finally smiled. "Do you really think that it’s that easy to defeat
my Realmless? Xia Xing, it's over!"

The woman then personally attacked, while the five-tribulation Envoy continued beating the drum
behind Xia Xing to stop the sect master from using his Shenwu Transformation. The two assassins
attacked in unison.

Xia Xing had been poisoned, and the assassins were completely confident in Realmless's poisons. As long
as the poison took effect, Xia Xing was guaranteed to be rendered helpless for at least a few moments.
This was a poison made by Realmless. It was impossible to see or block, and even if someone noticed
the poison and tried to dodge it, it was able to seep into the true universe and linger in the void. It was
invisible to the naked eye, and it was too easy to make contact with an invisible poison that could linger
in the void. It was truly impossible for anyone to avoid Realmless’s attacks.

Lu Yin felt a flicker of fear as he watched. The most terrifying aspect of Realmless was not the strength
of their assassins, but rather their odd means of attacking people. All sorts of bizarre methods would be
employed, and that made it impossible for people to guard against all possible attacks.

When Lu Yin had been using the identity of Long Qi, Realmless had sent assassins after him on several
occasions. The most dangerous attack was when he had been escaping the Perennial World. Realmless
had actually attacked the location that Lu Yin needed to use to return to the Fifth Mainland, and he had
been attacked by three arrows aimed at his head, neck, and heart. At that moment, Lu Yin had been
frozen, and he had truly believed himself dead.

If Liu Ye had not happened to be following Lu Yin, it was truly possible that Realmless might have
successfully killed Lu Yin at that time.

As long as Realmless accepted a job, they would not give up. It did not matter whom the target was. As
long as a sufficient price was paid and it was within their means, Lu Yin was certain that they would even
attack a Progenitor.

Realmless was even willing to go after the sect master of an organization as powerful as Shenwu’s Sky.

Granny Beans and the five-tribulation Envoy moved closer to Xia Xing before they both attacked
together.

Lu Yin watched in silence.

Xia Xing suddenly looked up, and his body abruptly started moving. His long knife swept out, instantly
decapitating both Granny Beans and the five-tribulation expert who had gotten close to him.
This was the Xia family’s secret technique: Reversal. It was able to reverse anything: battle techniques,
injuries, and even strengthening abilities.

After beheading Granny Beans and the Envoy, Xia Xing let out a sigh of relief. He was sweating, and
blood trickled from his mouth. Still, his eyes were ice-cold. He was determined to completely eradicate
Realmless after this.

He glanced back at Granny Beans' body, and then moved to leave.

Without warning, the old woman’s corpse split into two, and a smaller figure instantly appeared right in
front of Xia Xing, catching him unprepared. The tiny figure pressed a hand against the sect master’s
head, and he let out a scream as he quickly pulled back as far as possible. There was a bean in his right
eye, and it was forcing its way deeper into his head.

Xia Xing was furious, and his knife slashed out again, but his opponent was too small and agile, and they
escaped into the true universe.

From the distance, Lu Yin and Kui Luo clearly saw that the tiny figure was a miniature version of Granny
Beans.

Kui Luo was amazed. "So that’s her real body. The one-meter-tall one we saw before was nothing more
than a disguise. Did she really keep her true body a secret for so many years?"

Lu Yin was reminded of Elder Wu, who had also pretended to be taller than his true height. The man had
nearly killed Lu Yin due to that deception, and he had not expected to see the same trick being used
again.

Would Xia Xing survive this crisis?

Lu Yin did not actually want Realmless to succeed in killing Xia Xing, as Lu Yin had believed it to be
beyond the organization’s abilities. If Xia Ziheng had the blade qi of a Progenitor, then how could Xia
Xing not have similar means to protect himself?

However, Lu Yin had underestimated Realmless. If this bean really did manage to work its way into Xia
Xing's brain, then he would become Granny Beans’ puppet, and that would cause all of Lu Yin’s plans to
fall apart. The price that he had paid for Realmless to attack Xia Xing would be wasted.

Lu Yin started to get very worried.

Xia Xing let out a furious roar, and then a sharp blade qi erupted. This was a Progenitor’s blade qi, and it
was the exact same power that Xia Ziheng had used before.

While Realmless had many assassins and strange methods, the organization had a fatal weakness: they
had no connection to any Progenitors. At best, they had access or connections to Semi-Progenitors, but
they had never managed to establish any kind of connection with the Progenitor level of power.

Once the Progenitor’s blade qi appeared, Granny Beans’ smug smile did not even have time to fall from
her face before her body was destroyed, completely erased from the sky.

Xia Xing's left hand pierced deep into his eye, and eventually, he managed to yank the bean out. His eye
was also removed, and blood covered half of his head.

"Realmless! Realmless–!" Xia Xing roared. His knife stabbed into the ground, and he started gasping for
air. He knew that Granny Beans was really dead this time, as if she were still alive, it would not have
been so easy to extract the bean from his head.

Xia Xing's hatred for Realmless rose to unprecedented levels.

Far away, Kui Luo said, "Alright kid, it's our turn now. Don't worry, Realmless has failed in their attack.
They might be capable of a lot of things, but they’ve never managed to touch the true peak of power. A
Progenitor’s power is enough to sweep away everything that Realmless can bring out."

Lu Yin nodded, and then stepped forward, instantly appearing right in front of Xia Xing.

Xia Xing was holding his face where his right eye had been, but his head still snapped up when he
noticed that someone had arrived. He reflexively grabbed for the hilt of his knife, but Lu Yin was faster.
While Xia Xing's hand reached for his knife, Lu Yin grabbed the man’s hand.

Xia Xing tried his best to grab his knife, but he could not move an inch.

This startled the sect master, but despite his redoubled efforts, Xia Xing was unable to move.
Instinctively, he activated his Divine Martial Armor, as he wanted to increase his strength and brandish
knife. However, it was suppressed and prevented from manifesting. No matter what Xia Xing tried, this
hand was held firmly in place, and he could not budge it at all.

Xia Xing looked up at Lu Yin, and the man’s pupils instantly shrank. "Are yo- Yu Hao!"

A smile spread across Lu Yin's face. "It’s been a while, Sect Master Xia."

Xia Xing stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You- How? No, there’s no way you’re Yu Hao! No matter how
talented Yu Hao might be, it’s impossible for him to grow strong enough within two decades to surpass
me."

What was most shocking was not Lu Yin’s overwhelming strength, but rather that he had managed to
suppress Xia Xing’s Divine Martial Armor. That should be utterly impossible for anyone to do.
The Divine Martial Armor was the Xia family’s greatest technique. Even if the Lu family had previously
suppressed the Xia family itself, they had never been able to suppress the Divine Martial Armor, as it
simply could not be done.

Despite that, Xia Xing’s Divine Martial Armor was completely suppressed by Lu Yin, and it almost seemed
as if the power had somehow surrendered to Lu Yin. It completely defied the sect master’s
understanding.

"Sect Master Xia, come with me." Lu Yin casually knocked Xia Xing unconscious, placed a Death Seal
upon the man’s stellular energy vortex, and then tossed the man into Zenith Mountain. After that, Lu Yin
raised a hand and used Lifeseizer Palm.

This was one of the Lu family's unique techniques, and Lu Yin had learned it from Xin Nü. At this
moment, it was just what Lu Yin needed.

After everything was settled, Lu Yin left. As for evidence of Realmless’s battle with Xia Xing, Lu Yin did
not touch anything. It was fine to let Shenwu's Sky go after Realmless.

Realmless had been given an Enhanced Netherworld River as a deposit for Xia Xing’s assassination, but
even though the assassination had failed, the deposit would not be returned. Since Lu Yin had already
paid for their efforts, he saw no reason to help Realmless by hiding their activities.

Lu Yin might use Realmless, but he still hated the organization’s mere existence.

OMA's Thoughts

NOTICE TO CHAMPIONS:

It's been three years since the first chapter of Star Odyssey was released on Wuxia World. Since then,
we've released 2201 public chapters (you all have no idea how badly that odd number bothers us...).
During at least the past two years, I know that there have been people asking for more free chapters
(always great for readers) and for the VIP tiers to be changed or more tiers to be added.

We have not been ignoring those requests. For the last year, OMA and the rest of the team have been
working on building a buffer for today. Starting today, each of the recently reworked, renamed VIP tiers
will gain access to more, or even double, chapters than ever before. As if that weren't enough, we've
even added another tier for those asking...

We hope that these changes will benefit all of you, and to be honest, I'm looking forward to cutting back
on the workload a bit after today.

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2210: Trace

If Realmless were simply an organization of assassins, then Lu Yin would not particularly care about
them. The problem was that Realmless clearly knew the identities of Redbacks and other traitors to
humanity, but they did nothing. Only Realmless’s own interests mattered to them, and Lu Yin absolutely
hated bystanders.

While Xia Xing was being attacked, a good show had also been playing out in the distant Blue Moon
District. Yu Hao, who was actually Tong Yu in disguise, had come into conflict with the branch of the Xia
family that was in the Blue Moon District, and it was not a minor issue.

The Xia family had numerous branches throughout the entire Perennial World, which was perfectly
normal for the major families. Unsurprisingly, they had a branch in the Blue Moon District, and the local
patriarch was Xia Ru.
Lu Yin was actually familiar with Xia Ru, as he had used the man and his companions to get to the Cloud
Shuttle in the Higher Realm during his previous escape from the Perennial World. Lu Yin’s actions had
caused Xia Ru to receive a miserable punishment from Shenwu's Sky.

Furthermore, that was not the worst part. Unbeknownst to Xia Ru himself, his sworn elder brother, Zhu
Xian, was having an affair with Xia Ru’s wife.

Lu Yin had asked Tong Yu to disguise herself as Yu Hao and then also purposefully go to Xia Ru's place,
just to stir up problems. Lu Yin did not want Nong Siniang to be the only witness to his alibi, but Xia Ru
and the others as well. Otherwise, if the Xia family became even remotely suspicious that the attack on
Xia Xing was connected to Yu Hao, then the consequences would be more than Lu Yin could handle. He
could not risk his identity as Yu Hao for the time being.

"Yu Hao, you're going too far!" Xia Ru snarled as he glared at the young man before him.

Naturally, he was staring at Tong Yu who was disguised as Yu Hao, whom Nong Siniang believed to be
Prof. Hao Yu.

The girl was completely stupefied at this moment. Yu Hao? Professor, are you really Yu Hao?

How could Nong Siniang not know about Yu Hao? The four ruling powers had used the Yu family to
threaten and intimidate the entire Perennial World. Now, everyone knew that helping any of the Lu
family’s survivors or surviving loyalists would cause the fate of the Yu family to befall them.

Of course, Nong Siniang had also heard the rumors regarding Yu Hao, and even multiple versions of
those rumors. She pitied Yu Hao, but she also hated him. What sort of useless man could be bullied and
pushed around by Xia Zhitong before eventually escaping through suicide?

Even if she were to be beaten to death, Nong Siniang would have never dreamed that Prof. Hao Yu,
whom she respected so much, was actually Yu Hao.
Xia Ru actually knew Yu Hao, which was what had led to the current situation. If not for such a
connection, there would have been no point for Lu Yin to send Tong Yu to create trouble with Xia Ru and
the rest of the branch of the Xia family. It was finally time for Yu Hao to be revealed to the world.

Tong Yu was disguised as Yu Hao, and she stared at Xia Ru with cold eyes. "Did you forget what
happened back then?"

Xia Ru's expression turned ugly. What happened back then?

The man shot a guilty look towards his wife, and then he sternly demanded, "Yu Hao, just what do you
want?"

Tong Yu casually said, "Kneel."

Xia Ru's expression grew even worse.

To his side, Madam Xia and Zhu Xian glanced at each other, and Zhu Xian quickly stepped forward. "Yu
Hao, regardless of what might have happened in the past, you are still technically a part of the Xia
family!"

Tong Yu casually waved a hand, and stellular energy stripped all the star energy from Zhu Xian's body
while simultaneously sending him flying into the ground. "You have no right to speak here."

Zhu Xian had reached the cusp of the Envoy realm decades ago, but he had never dared to face his
stellular tribulation even after all this time. This sort of fear was all too common, and many cultivators
would put off their stellular tribulation for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Xia Ru was furious, but against Yu Hao, who was apparently an Envoy, the man had no choice but to
kneel. However, the hatred and resentment did not fade from his eyes; no matter what, he was still the
patriarch of the local Xia family branch, and he had a certain level of pride.

Tong Yu then turned around to leave. "Siniang, let's go."

Nong Siniang felt as though she had been woken from a dream, and she hurried after her professor.

As soon as the two people were gone, Xia Ru rose to his feet, his fists clenched tightly. His wife was also
furious. "So it turns out that Yu Hao isn’t dead after all, and he’s even managed to become an Envoy!
Hurry up and send a message to the family. They won’t let him get away."

"I know." Xia Ru gritted his teeth, still staring at the back of the departing man. The man was also feeling
rather guilty, as he had spent a bit of time with Xia Zhitong long ago when visiting the Yu family.

Xia Ru had attended the marriage uniting the Xia and Yu families, and when he had been in Yu City to
congratulate Yu Hao on his marriage, Xia Ru had had a little romp with Xia Zhitong. He had actually
stayed in the city a bit longer than planned because of the woman, and that matter was also why Yu Hao
had deliberately antagonized Xia Ru.

There was no doubt in Xia Ru’s mind that Yu Hao was real, as who else could know about what had
happened back in Yu City?

Naturally, Lu Yin had learned that detail from Kui Luo. While the old man pretended to not care about
what had happened to Yu Hao and had not done anything even after Yu Hao had died, Kui Luo had
remained hidden the whole time, and he had seen much of what had happened.

In the past, Kui Luo had not stopped Yu Hao from committing suicide, as Yu Hao had lost all longings for
the world.
This was why Tong Yu had stirred up trouble at the Blue Moon District’s branch of the Xia family while
pretending to be Yu Hao. After that was completed, Tong Yu led Nong Siniang towards Mount Bleak to
investigate the place.

Nong Siniang remained silent after leaving the Xia family’s home.

Lu Yin had instructed Tong Yu to deliberately reveal that Prof. Hao Yu was actually Yu Hao to Nong
Siniang. As for the girl’s feelings about the matter, Tong Yu did not care, and she simply ignored the girl’s
reaction.

When the two women reached Mount Bleak, Nong Siniang finally spoke up. "Professor, are you really Yu
Hao?"

Tong Yu made a show of thinking for a moment. "Yes."

Nong Siniang pursed her lips. She had no idea what to say or how to react. She stared at Prof. Hao Yu, a
stern expression on the young woman’s face. Clearly, her professor had gone to confront the Xia family’s
local branch as a means of venting some of his anger. There was no denying that Yu Hao had survived a
tragedy that the entire Perennial World acknowledged.

Upon learning that her Prof. Hao Yu was the infamous Yu Hao, Nong Siniang had no idea what she
should think or feel. Sympathy? Disgust? Indifference? Like nothing had changed? She did not know.

All she knew was that the Prof. Hao Yu before her was no longer the same Prof. Hao Yu as before.

Tong Yu spared no thought for the girl’s turbulent emotions. Instead, she put on a deliberate show of
exploring the mountain before leading Nong Siniang back to the academy.
A few days later, when they arrived at the border of the Virtue District, Tong Yu and Lu Yin traded places
once again, and Lu Yin adopted Yu Hao’s appearance. Without a word, he calmly led Nong Siniang the
rest of the way to Virtue Archives.

Right before they reached the academy, Lu Yin made it a point to say something. "Everyone has their
own past, and regardless of whether that past is full of sorrow or joy, it has already become history. We
need to be responsible for history, which is what we are exploring in our class. Still, we also need to
make sure that we do not become lost in the past. Throughout time, humanity’s greatest advantage is
our intelligence and creativity. We always move forward towards the future."

Nong Siniang stared at Lu Yin's back, various emotions surging through her. Move towards the future?
Was it possible to casually move past this man’s past?

Lu Yin suddenly turned around and smiled at Nong Siniang. "Do you want to tell me about how you wet
the bed as a child?"

Nong Siniang instantly blushed a brilliant red. "What? Don’t make up stories, Professor! That never
happened!"

Lu Yin continued to smile. "Should I judge you by who you are now, or who you were back then?"

This question completely shocked Nong Siniang, and the confusion that had been assaulting her for days
instantly disappeared. The tangled emotions that had knotted up her heart unraveled, and the lost smile
returned to her face. "I understand, Professor."

"While we didn’t obtain anything from this trip, extracurricular activities are something required for all
students. Let’s head on back. Oh, and don’t be stingy with your credits."

Nong Siniang nodded as she rolled her eyes. "Professor, you went to the Blue Moon District on purpose,
didn’t you?"
There was a glint in Lu Yin’s eyes that faded as quickly as it came. "What was that?"

"You actually wanted to go make trouble for the Xia family in the Blue Moon District, didn’t you?" Nong
Siniang pressed, quite interested in Lu Yin’s reaction.

The smile returned to Lu Yin’s face. "What do you think?"

And then, Nong Siniang was alone.

She looked at Lu Yin’s back as he left, and it was quite some time before she recovered. She patted her
face and muttered to herself, "How is his past any of your business? Don’t overthink things, Siniang.
Don’t overthink it."

She then made a call. "Brother, I, your sister, was bullied. By who? Xia Zhitong. I want to go after her…"

As for Lu Yin, he returned to his residence atop the stone pillar. Once there, he pulled out his gadget and
inserted a memory card. A video started to play, and it showed everything that had happened when
Tong Yu had been masquerading as Yu Hao and making trouble with Xia Ru. Lu Yin needed to prepare
for Shenwu's Sky’s investigation, so he had asked Tong Yu to prepare this video for him.

He needed to be able to prove that he had gone to visit the Blue District branch of the Xia family, and he
could not let even the most minor details slip by him.

Xia Xing’s entire reason for traveling to the Middle Realm was to meet with Yu Hao. There were smart
people absolutely everywhere, and while it was possible that Shenwu's Sky would not pursue an
investigation into him, Lu Yin needed to protect his identity for a while longer.

As for Xia Xing, Lu Yin was in no hurry to deal with things. At the moment, Lu Yin was more worried that
the sect master had somehow managed to leave some clue for Shenwu’s Sky that Lu Yin had noticed. So,
he planned to wait until the investigation moved on before questioning the sect master.
Xia Xing had traveled entirely alone, so news of the assassination did not quickly reach Shenwu's Sky.
However, it was highly unusual for the sect master of one of the four ruling powers to be missing for
several days.

In the end, three days after Lu Yin captured Xia Xing, Shenwu’s Sky launched a full investigation, starting
with searching along Xia Xing’s path. Countless people from the four ruling powers focused on Huaiyuan
and the Blue Moon District, and they quickly found the site of the battle.

There were clear signs of battle where Xia Xing had been attacked, and the space there was still a bit
unstable. If not for the fact that the Middle Realm was simply too large, the attack would have
absolutely drawn a great deal of attention from other powerhouses.

Xia Ziheng was calmly staring at the Mother Tree. He was surrounded by members of Shenwu’s Sky, and
the entire area had been sealed off for their investigation.

Some time later, an old man approached to quietly deliver a report, "It was Realmless. There are still bits
and pieces of their poisoned black net scattered in the void, and from what we can gather of the battle
that took place, everything matches their normal ambush tactics for targeting powerhouses."

Xia Ziheng frowned. "Does Realmless have anyone who can deal with someone as powerful as the sect
master?"

"That’s unknown. Realmless has always been mysterious, but they once even dared to enter the
Celestial Frost Sect and attack their sect master there. As long as a sufficient price is paid, there is
nothing that they won’t try to do.”

"However, there was not enough time between when the sect master decided to make this journey and
when he set out. How could Realmless have prepared an ambush in this location so quickly? There
simply wasn’t enough time, unless…”
Xia Ziheng's eyes instantly went wide. "Unless someone let them know ahead of time and told them to
prepare an ambush for when the sect master arrived in the Middle Realm."

The old man gave a slight bow and remained in that position, silent. Since Xia Ziheng had also gone
along the old man’s line of thought, there was nothing more to be said. Even if the old man’s guess was
right, what could someone like him do about it? How many people in Shenwu’s Sky qualified to know
about the sect master’s comings and goings? None of those people were individuals whom the old man
could afford to offend, so it would be best to simply stay out of the mess.

Xia Ziheng’s first thought was naturally of Yu Hao. After all, who else was aware that the sect master was
making a trip to the Middle Realm?

The sect master of Shenwu's Sky almost never even left the sect, so even if Realmless kept tabs on Xia
Xing’s whereabouts, they would not have had time to prepare an attack. Such a thing was only possible
if the target’s destination was known in advance.

Could Yu Hao really be behind this?

"Find out where Virtue Archives’ Prof. Hao Yu has been lately," Xia Ziheng ordered.

Shenwu's Sky was an absolute monster of an organization, and this one order sent countless people
scurrying. It only took half a day for Hao Yu’s information to be compiled and sent to Xia Ziheng.

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2211: The Past

Xia Ziheng stared at the report of Yu Hao’s recent whereabouts. "He went to the Blue Moon District
recently?"

A man quietly replied, "Yes. He even made some trouble with Xia Ru, the patriarch of our branch family
in the Blue Moon District. Yu Hao forced Xia Ru to kneel to him in public."

"When?" Xia Ziheng demanded.

"Just three days ago. From the residues of the battle that took place, it should have happened at the
same time when the sect master was attacked."

Xia Ziheng looked towards the Xia family’s branch family in the Blue Moon District, and then said, "Order
Xia Ru to come here. Wait, no." The Semi-Progenitor looked at the man. "Go collect Xia Ru yourself, and
keep track of how long it takes you to get back here again. Bring Xia Ru to me as well."

"Understood." The man then vanished.

Xia Ziheng's eyes flickered as he looked around. The sect master was missing, and no one knew if the
man was dead or alive. Who had attacked him? Realmless might have been the ones to take action, but
Realmless only moved for money, which meant that they had been hired to attack the sect master of
Shenwu’s Sky. It must have been expensive to pay for such an assassination, which meant that the
person paying must have a significant background. This made Yu Hao a very unlikely suspect. Unless…
could it be someone supporting the young man?

However, was there anyone aside from Grandmaster Gu Yan supporting Yu Hao?

Xia Ziheng suddenly felt that Yu Hao's return had been a bit too abrupt and riddled with troubles.
As soon as Yu Hao appeared, he had not only managed to push Shenwu’s Sky to try to win Grandmaster
Gu Yan over to their side, but he had also managed to force the Celestial Frost Sect to start making some
moves. Finally, he had gotten involved with Virtue Archives. On the surface, none of these individual
events seemed to have been caused by Yu Hao, and he appeared to be a passive actor on the stage who
merely wanted to get revenge on Xia Zhitong and a few others. However, it was starting to look like Yu
Hao’s return might be more complicated than people had initially believed. All it took was connecting a
few lines.

Xia Ziheng refused to believe that Xia Xing's attack was a mere coincidence.

Far away in Virtue Archives, Lu Yin had no idea that Shenwu’s Sky had already started investigating Xia
Xing's disappearance. While they were the first to learn about their sect master’s disappearance, it was
just a matter of time before word leaked and Lu Yin learned of it.

However, Lu Yin knew that when he heard word of what had happened to Shenwu’s Sky’s sect master,
the entire Perennial world would know of it as well.

While waiting for news, Lu Yin continued as before, teaching classes and helping students open
sourceboxes. It was as though nothing at all had happened.

At the border of Huaiyuan, the man who Xia Ziheng had sent out returned with Xia Ru, and that
informed the Semi-Progenitor of the time that was needed to make such a journey.

Xia Ru maintained an absolutely respectful attitude while in front of Xia Ziheng. This man was the
ancestor of the largest branch family of the Xia family, and on top of that, the man was also a Semi-
Progenitor. Xia Ru had never dreamed that he would ever exchange words with such a person.

Xia Ziheng observed Xia Ru. This man was a typical patriarch of a branch family, and it only made sense
that he was trembling before a superior. This was the way of the Xia family; the branch families could
never stand up to the main family. All members of the Xia family ultimately served the main family.
"There’s no need to be nervous. You’re Xia Ru, right?" Xia Ziheng asked casually, while speaking as
gently as possible.

Xia Ru took a deep breath. "This lowly Xia Ru greets Ancestor Ziheng."

Xia Ziheng said, "I asked you here to ask you some questions. There’s no need to be so nervous."

Xia Ru remained completely respectful. "Please tell me, Ancestor, and this lowly one will tell you all I
know."

Xia Ziheng nodded. "Tell me, has Yu Hao ever visited your home?"

Xia Ru instantly grew pale, and he stared at Xia Ziheng with anxious fear. "Ancestor Ziheng, he- he did
just recently."

"Tell me the specific details, especially exactly when he visited you and the exact words that were
spoken between you two," Xia Ziheng instructed.

Xia Ru gulped. How had this matter attracted the notice of Semi-Progenitor Ziheng? What did a Semi-
Progenitor care about such things? Could the man know about Xia Ru’s fling with Xia Zhitong? That
should not be the case. After all, how could people like Xia Ru and Xia Zhitong be worthy of a Semi-
Progenitor’s notice?

"What?" Xia Ziheng’s expression turned harsh. "You don’t want to speak?"

Xia Ru quickly replied, "Of course I do, but this lowly one was simply trying to organize my words
carefully, as I don’t dare to risk misspeaking."
The excuse calmed Xia Ziheng’s anger, as this was the proper attitude that minor member of a remote
branch of the Xia family should show: utter respect and fear that led to obedience even in the face of
death.

Xia Ru somberly shared everything that happened on the day that Yu Hao had visited the Blue Moon
District, and he made sure not to miss a single word or gesture that had taken place. Everything was
reported accurately and clearly.

Xia Ziheng quickly obtained a clear image of what had transpired the day that Yu Hao had confronted Xia
Ru. Sure enough, the exchange overlapped with when they had determined that Xia Xing had been
attacked. After also taking into account the time needed to travel between the two locations, it was
impossible for Yu Hao to have been one of the attackers. The only way for him to have done such a thing
would be if he could cover such a distance almost instantly, but that was something that only Semi-
Progenitors could accomplish.

Also, Xia Ziheng was able to confirm through Xia Ru’s account that Yu Hao was definitely the one who
had made the visit.

Yu Hao was still just an Envoy, so it was completely impossible for him to be involved.

Still, even if Yu Hao had not been involved with the attack, that did not rule out the possibility of him
leaking word of Xia Xing’s visit to the Middle Realm.

One day later, Xia Ziheng arrived at Virtue Archives, and he immediately went to see Yu Hao, which
naturally roused Headmaster Wen’s attention.

"Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, I already told you everything that I wanted to say last time: unless sect master
Xia Xing gives me his word, I won’t believe your promises," Lu Yin said bluntly when Headmaster Wen
arrived.
Xia Ziheng glared at “Yu Hao.” "Our sect master is going to speak to you and deliver a promise, but
there’s something that I need to ask you about."

"Xia Ziheng, what is this all about? Prof. Hao Yu has already made his position clear, so all that remains is
for Xia Xing himself to come here," Headmaster Wen interjected impatiently.

Xia Ziheng continued to stare at “Yu Hao.” "Prof. Hao Yu, you recently visited the Xia family branch in the
Blue Moon District. Do you have some conflict with that part of the Xia family?"

Headmaster Wen glanced over at “Yu Hao” in surprise.

Lu Yin did not try to avoid the question. "That’s right."

"Tell me about it clearly," Xia Ziheng demanded.

Headmaster Wen frowned. "Xia Ziheng, is there really a need for a Semi-Progenitor like you to come all
this way just because of such a minor scuffle? When did your Xia family start to appreciate your branch
families so much?"

Xia Ziheng replied, "Branch family or main family, it doesn’t matter to my Xia family. All members of my
family are regarded as important."

Headmaster Wen started laughing quite loudly. He acted as though he had just heard the most hilarious
joke in the entire universe. The laughter caused Xia Ziheng to become quite upset, as he had already
been in a bad mood to begin with because of what had happened to Xia Xing. "Wen Lai, what is the
meaning of this? Are you mocking my Xia family?"

Headmaster Wen laughed so hard that he struggled to catch his breath. "This really has to be the biggest
joke in the Perennial World! No, it's the biggest joke in human history! Your Xia family regards the
branch family members as important? Hahahaha!"
Lu Yin also wanted to laugh, as when it came to abusing branch families, if the Xia family claimed to be
second, then no one would dare claim to be first. No, that was not quite right, there was one: the
Daynight clan. The Nightking clan had literally enslaved the Dayking clan. However, strictly speaking, the
Dayking clan was not a branch family, but rather part of the Daynight clan’s main family, though they
had simply failed to compete with the Nightking clan.

There was a bang as Xia Ziheng smashed the stone table into dust out of rage. "Wen Lai, are you
laughing at my Xia family?"

Headmaster Wen let out a long breath, but he could not completely remove the smile from his face. "If
your Xia family really valued your branch families, you would have never been overwhelmed by the
Celestial Frost Sect, and there would be another name heralded in your Xia family's history: Xia Shang."

Xia Ziheng's pupils shrank. Xia Shang, which was Progenitor Chen’s real name, was forbidden within the
Xia family, and none of their members dared to mention the name.

"No, not at all. I was just misremembering. Xia Shang’s name hasn’t been removed from the Xia family’s
genealogy. You guys were making threats when that was mentioned. You actually did remove his name
from the family, and you even did your best to kill him. It was only after he became a Progenitor and
took control of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that your Xia family decided to return his
name to your family records without his consent. Even more ridiculous is that after the incident with
Progenitor Nan, you tried to remove his name again! If not for the Lu family’s interference, you really
would have done it too! It’s so ridiculous!" Headmaster Wen started laughing again.

Lu Yin smirked. Did all of this really happen?

Xia Ziheng's face flushed red. This whole matter had completely humiliated the Xia family. It was also
why Xia Shang’s name had become forbidden within the Xia family.

"It was only because the Lu family stepped up to protect Xia Shang that you weren’t able to remove his
name from the family records. After that, to protect his reputation, your family did your best in the war
against the Sixth Mainland. Later on, to prevent younger members of your family from learning about
any of this, your family did its best to keep everything hidden. Not to mention the issues between your
family and Progenitor Chen, even now, your family’s descendants still believe Progenitor Chen to be
their ancestor. The greatest Progenitor that your Xia family has ever produced."

"Shut up!" Xia Ziheng charged forward, but Headmaster Wen's eyes grew cold, and he waved his hand.
An endless Literary Prison instantly trapped Xia Ziheng.

"Xia Ziheng, you are in Virtue Archives, not Shenwu's Sky!"

Powerful killing intent filled Xia Ziheng’s eyes. "You’re mocking my Shenwu's Sky!"

Headmaster Wen laughed again. "All I did was tell the truth of what your family’s done. Are you afraid of
people speaking the truth?"

Xia Ziheng clenched his fists, but he did not take any further action. He glared at Headmaster Wen,
looking as though he wanted to engrave this moment in his mind.

A wave of Headmaster Wen's hand dismissed the Literary Prison. "Forget it, I don’t need to talk about
the past. Still, Prof. Hao Yu is a member of my Virtue Archives, so I must be present for anything that
might come up."

Xia Ziheng’s hands finally relaxed, and a dangerous glint flickered in the depths of his eyes. The Semi-
Progenitor then turned to look at “Yu Hao,” and the man’s voice calmed down dramatically. "Tell me,
why did you go to make trouble for Xia Ru?"

Lu Yin forced the story that he had just heard from his mind, despite his curiosity. "How can someone as
insignificant as Xia Ru warrant Semi-Progenitor Ziheng coming here to ask me about him?"
Xia Ziheng started to lose his patience. "The sect master of Shenwu's Sky will come here to give you his
word, but you need to cooperate with me before that happens. Xia Ru got involved with that bastard, Lu
Xiaoxuan, when the survivor of the Lu family was escaping back then. You look quite suspicious, going
after him like that."

Lu Yin asked, "Lu Xiaoxuan? Isn’t he the one who caused all that trouble on Dragon Mountain a few
decades ago?"

Xia Ziheng replied, "If you know that much, then you'd better explain yourself clearly."

Lu Yin found it quite funny that the man was using such an excuse to threaten him, but it was true that
Yu Hao had previously interacted with Xia Ru. "Fine, I’ll tell you."

Lu Yin quickly shared the story behind why “Yu Hao” had gone after Xia Ru, which included everything
that had happened years ago. For cultivators, let alone a few days later—a few years or even a few
hundred thousand years could not impact their memories. As long as one thought back, they would be
able to remember what had happened.

Xia Ziheng compared the stories told by “Yu Hao” and Xia Ru, but there were no discrepancies.

The two recounted the exact same words, actions, and timings of what had taken place.

"Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, do you have a problem with me going after him?" Lu Yin asked.

Xia Ziheng was completely unconcerned with whether Xia Ru lived or died. "Since you two have such a
connection, then deal with him however you want."

Lu Yin’s gaze turned icy. "I’m going to kill him."

Xia Ziheng frowned. "You can’t do that for now. Like I said, there’s a connection between Xia Ru and Lu
Xiaoxuan. Right now, on top of Shenwu’s Sky, everyone else is also keeping an eye on him, so he cannot
be killed. However, I can promise you that as soon as he no longer holds any value, you can do as you
wish with him."

Headmaster Wen sneered with contempt.

Xia Ziheng shot a cold glare at the headmaster, as he knew that the headmaster was still snickering at
the Xia family. After all, Xia Ziheng had just admitted that Xia Ru held limited use to the Xia family,
despite what Xia Ziheng had just claimed about the value of every member of the Xia family. As far as
the Xia family was concerned, they could do and say as they wished, but others could not bring such
hypocrisy up. This was the Xia family.

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2212: Suspicions

Even though Lu Yin’s answer had no holes in it, the fact remained that Xia Xing had only traveled to the
Middle Realm because of Yu Hao. The youth had even requested the sect master by name. This was
something that Xia Ziheng was unable to get past, as the spark that had triggered everything was Yu Hao
insisting that he needed the sect master’s word, as a Semi-Progenitor’s word was not good enough.

"Yu Hao, it's time for you to meet with someone. This is to show my Shenwu’s Sky’s sincerity to you," Xia
Ziheng said before pulling out his communication crystal and sending a message. "Let’s go. You’ll want
to go see this person."

Headmaster Wen was instantly on guard. "Are you going to take Prof. Hao Yu away?"
Xia Ziheng indifferently answered, "Just to meet with someone. Don’t worry, it's just outside Virtue
Archives."

Headmaster Wen and “Yu Hao” glanced at each other and then moved together, following Xia Ziheng
out of the academy. Once they arrived in a forest beyond Virtue Archives, they saw a tired looking old
man.

Lu Yin’s expression changed the instance he saw the old man, and he moved forward and called out,
"Old man!"

Naturally, this old man was Yu Chuan, the former city lord of Yu City who Yu Hao’s father had betrayed
and turned in to Star Alliance.

Lu Yin had not expected Xia Ziheng to bring Yu Hao’s grandfather to meet him.

Xia Ziheng paid close attention to “Yu Hao” as he greeted Yu Chuan, though the Semi-Progenitor was not
sure what he was searching for. In the end, Xia Ziheng felt both a bit confused and relieved at seeing Yu
Hao greet his grandfather.

The old man looked up at Lu Yin, and his eyes flickered briefly before he grew excited. "Xiao Hao!"

Lu Yin became emotional as he approached Yu Chuan. "Old man, you really aren’t dead? I knew that you
couldn’t be dead! Hahahaha."

Yu Hao had always referred to Yu Chuan as “old man.” When Yu Hao had rescued Kui Luo, even though
the young man had been an introverted person, he had shared some things with just Kui Luo, which
meant that Kui Luo knew Yu Hao better than just about everyone. Because of this, not only had Kui Luo
shared Yu Chuan’s appearance with Lu Yin, but the old man had also shared a few details about the
relationship between Yu Hao and his grandfather with Lu Yin. While it was not much, it was enough.
Numerous thoughts raced through Lu Yin’s mind when he saw Yu Chuan. At this moment, Lu Yin truly
regarded himself as Yu Hao, which was why Yu Chuan felt that nothing was out of place or wrong as he
greeted his grandson.

While giving the two men a moment to greet each other, Headmaster Wen was looking at Xia Ziheng.
"Don't try to tell me that you brought that man here out of the goodness of your heart. You’re testing Yu
Hao."

Xia Ziheng shrugged. "I still find it unbelievable that a trash cultivator could rise up to become an Envoy
in such a short amount of time, let alone an Array Master, even with Grandmaster Gu Yan’s guidance."

"That's understandable, but why do I feel like there’s something very strange about you today? It feels
like you’re eager to prove something." Headmaster Wen felt a bit surprised.

Xia Ziheng looked over at Headmaster Wen with narrowed eyes. "I might as well tell you since you’ll find
out soon enough: Xia Xing is missing."

Headmaster Wen's eyes instantly went wide. "What?"

Xia Ziheng repeated, "Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu’s Sky, went missing after arriving in the
Middle Realm…"

Headmaster Wen was a highly intelligent person, so he instantly understood the implications, "So you
suspect Yu Hao?"

Xia Ziheng looked back at where “Yu Hao” was talking to Yu Chuan. "It’s impossible for someone to
know where someone with a status like Shenwu’s Sky’s sect master goes before he makes a decision,
and he was on his way to Virtue Archives. Why wouldn’t I be suspicious?"
Headmaster Wen could not deny that Yu Hao was indeed the most suspicious person.

"Wen Lai, regardless of your personal opinion of me or the four ruling powers, you must understand
that, with Xia Xing missing, Shenwu’s Sky and I will never let this matter drop, not even if we are forced
to overturn the entire Perennial World to find the culprit. If there is anything at all wrong with Yu Hao,
then you better tell me, or else things will go very badly for your Virtue Archives," Xia Ziheng spoke in a
manner that was half persuasive and half threatening,

Headmaster Wen replied, "I haven’t seen any problems."

"I hope that that’s true," Xia Ziheng said casually as he refocused on Lu Yin and Yu Chuan. There was no
telling what was going through the man’s mind.

Lu Yin did not hear what passed between Xia Ziheng and Headmaster Wen, as he was entirely focused
on Yu Chuan.

Kui Luo had shared a bit of information about Yu Chuan with Lu Yin, but it was not very much, and
everything had originally come from Yu Hao. Yu Hao’s grandfather had already been captured and
forced into Star Alliance by the time the young man had rescued Kui Luo. So, there had been no way for
Kui Luo to learn much about the old man.

Fortunately, Kui Luo had managed to learn one very, very important detail, which had naturally been
passed on to Lu Yin. The truth was that many things had been a trick.

In order to placate the four ruling powers, Yu Hao's father had betrayed Yu Chuan, which was why the
old man had been arrested and forced into Star Alliance. It was a desperate plan, and it had sacrificed Yu
Chuan, but the four ruling powers had always been suspicious that it might all be a ploy. It was only
because he knew the truth of the matter that Lu Yin had made it a point to show his excitement at
seeing Yu Chuan. After all, if Yu Chuan had truly been betrayed, then Yu Hao would not have been so
excited to see his grandfather, who had been betrayed by Yu Hao and his father.
"Xiao Hao, you’re too reckless! You’ll get caught, acting like this," Yu Chuan whispered.

Lu Yin responded with a wry smile. "Old man, Xia Ziheng brought you here to see me, which means that
they already know the truth.”

There was a moment of hesitation. "Do you know about what happened to our family?"

Yu Chuan's fingers trembled at the question, his face contorted into a hideous expression. "I'm so sorry
for you!"

Lu Yin exhaled. "It was only because I'm so worthless that our family’s been humiliated. But don't worry,
old man. I won’t spare anyone who acted against our family!"

Yu Chuan glanced at Lu Yin in surprise, but then silently nodded. "Regardless of how much you can
accomplish, make sure to take care of yourself. I shouldn’t need to tell you that grandpa can’t help you
anymore, so you can only rely on yourself."

Lu Yin stared at Yu Chuan, and the old man stared back. With their eyes locked, Lu Yin could see the pain
and warring emotions in Yu Chuan's eyes. Lu Yin’s heart dropped, as he could see that this old man had
somehow discerned that Lu Yin was an imposter, yet he had not done anything to expose the fact.

Xia Ziheng had underestimated Yu Chuan's hatred for the four ruling powers. The Semi-Progenitor had
thought that by bringing Yu Chuan to meet with Yu Hao, if any issues were detected in Yu Hao, the old
man would speak up. Xia Ziheng believed that nothing was more important to the old man than his
grandson, but Yu Chuan had already learned about his family’s fate while in Star Alliance, and his hatred
had risen to unspeakable levels.

As long as even the slightest possibility arose, even if he was hacked into pieces, if there was a chance to
make the four ruling powers bleed even just a bit, then Yu Chuan was willing to accept this imposter in
front of him as Yu Hao. The old man could sense that his grandson was not in front of him, but so what?
This imposter’s presence would only hurt the four ruling powers, and there was nothing in the
remaining possessions of the Yu family that could entice this person.

As for the real Yu Hao, Yu Chuan had already heard the rumors of the youth’s death decades ago. There
should be no connection to this imposter.

Yu Chuan was being controlled by the restriction placed on him, so he was willing to let this imposter do
as he wished.

“Yu Hao” stretched out a hand to hold Yu Chuan's arm. "I understand, old man."

Lu Yin was only given a short bit of time with Yu Chuan. As soon as Xia Ziheng saw that Yu Chuan showed
no unusual reaction to meeting Yu Hao, the Semi-Progenitor had no more reasons to linger any longer,
and he wanted to take Yu Chuan away.

"Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, can you let my grandpa stay with me?" For the first time, “Yu Hao” sounded
almost as though he were pleading with Xia Ziheng. This was an appropriate response for a grandson to
show, and on top of that, Lu Yin pitied the old man.

Xia Ziheng’s expression improved a bit, as Yu Hao was showing proper behavior. Still, while it was not
possible to control Yu Hao through Yu Chuan, keeping Yu Chuan around would slightly weaken the
Celestial Frost Sect’s position. Besides, winning over Yu Hao was not a priority at the moment. The most
important thing was to find Sect Master Xia Xing.

"We were never ignorant of your Yu family’s ploy, and part of the reason why Yu Chuan has managed to
survive is not only because of luck, but also because we kept an eye out for him. Xia Zhitong was sent to
your family as punishment, but I can assure you that if you are sincere in joining Shenwu’s Sky, your
grandfather will return to you safe and sound. Think about your actions carefully, but for now, the two
of you can stay together," Xia Ziheng said. He was trying to use both the carrot and the stick at the same
time.
“Yu Hao” whispered his thanks.

Yu Chuan never said a word throughout the entire exchange. His years in Star Alliance had allowed him
to see through matters of life and death. If he was unlucky, he would die on the rear battlefield or at the
hands of a Redback. It was even possible to be killed due to some conflict between the four ruling
powers. So if possible, Yu Chuan was more than willing to leave Star Alliance.

At this moment, Xia Ziheng's communication crystal vibrated, and he answered a call. "Speak."

"Ancestor, we’ve found evidence of the Lu family's Lifeseizer Palm at the scene where the sect master
was attacked."

Xia Ziheng's eyes instantly flared, and powerful bloodlust surged from him.

"This means that this attack has to have been orchestrated by some remnant of the Lu family. They
weren’t confident about their chances of success, so they hired Realmless as well."

Xia Ziheng had not initially considered the remnants of the Lu family as possible culprits, as only trash
that had not raised their heads up in many years remained. If they truly had such capabilities, they
would not have remained so quiet for so many years.

Also, the Celestial Frost Sect had their Celestial Suppression.1

When the Lu family was exiled, some of their resources and techniques that had been left behind had
been split between the four ruling powers, but the Celestial Suppression had not been acquired at that
time. The Celestial Frost Sect had acquired some of the Lu family’s techniques long before that.

There were fundamentally no differences between the Lifeseizing Palm and the Celestial Suppression.
Xia Ziheng's expression turned extremely sour, as this meant that the Celestial Frost Sect was behind this
attack. Something had to be done to the Celestial Frost Sect in return.

Lu Yin noticed the sudden change in the Semi-Progenitor’s expression, and while Lu Yin had no idea
what news had just been delivered, it most likely had something to do with the Lifeseizing Palm that he
had purposefully used at the battle site. Lu Yin had done that entirely because the Celestial Frost Sect
had the same technique as the Lu family’s Lifeseizing Palm.

"Old man, are there a lot of people in Star Alliance?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. He spoke in a normal tone
and made no attempt to hide his words.

Yu Chuan replied, "Not too many, but also not too few. Still, all of them are Envoys."

"Are there a hundred?" Lu Yin was quite curious, though he sounded like he was just casually chatting.

Headmaster Wen spoke up, "There are more than a hundred members of Star Alliance."

Yu Chuan nodded. "Yes, there are more than a hundred people."

Lu Yin sighed. "That’s really a powerful army. Whoever controls Star Alliance will instantly obtain
hundreds of perfectly loyal Envoys."

Xia Ziheng heard “Yu Hao’s” comment, and it was like lightning flashed through the old man’s mind. Star
Alliance? Control Star Alliance? Xia Xing, Yu Hao, Grandmaster Gu Yan…

It felt like various pieces had instantly fallen into place, and something was explained. Xia Ziheng left
without saying another word.
“Yu Hao” appeared completely calm. Sometimes the smarter the person was, the more easily they could
be misled. Lu Yin preferred dealing with smart people, as idiots were more difficult to control.

"Headmaster, can my grandfather live within the academy?" “Yu Hao” asked.

Headmaster Wen was facing a dilemma. There would be absolutely no problem allowing a normal
person to live in Virtue Archives, but Yu Chuan was a part of Star Alliance.

Even if Yu Hao was ignorant of certain matters, Headmaster Wen knew full well that every member of
Star Alliance had a restriction placed on them. Even with Shenwu's Sky promise, Yu Chuan would never
truly be free. He would forever be controlled by the four ruling powers, which meant that he was no
different from the four ruling powers’ spy.

"Xiao Hao, Virtue Archives isn’t a suitable place for someone like me to live. You stay safe in the
academy. There’s no need to worry—Xia Ziheng has already promised that I’ll be safe," Yu Chuan said.

Headmaster Wen looked at Yu Chuan with great sympathy. "If you want to live within the academy, you
may. After all, we are already a tainted land."

Lu Yin acted confused. "What does that mean, Headmaster? My grandfather-"

Yu Chuan interrupted. "The headmaster means that if I move in, the four ruling powers might send other
people in to monitor my actions."

There was nothing that Lu Yin could do.

[1] Updated name. Was previously referred to a "Gap Between Heaven and Human," which, while
accurate, sucks. ☜
STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2213: Destruction

After Headmaster Wen left, “Yu Hao” and Yu Chuan were left alone to talk.

Once no one else was around, the two men dropped their act.

"How is Xiao Hao doing?" Yu Chuan asked.

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low. "He killed himself a couple decades ago."

Yu Chuan squeezed his eyes closed tight in his grief. "It's all my fault! I thought that it would be possible
to fool the four ruling powers by sacrificing myself. And yet, my Yu family still became a joke to the
entire Perennial World. It’s all my fault."

Lu Yin tried to comfort the man. "No one could have expected the four ruling powers to be so ruthless
that they would ever dare to eliminate your family in that manner."

Yu Chuan was still bitter about his family’s fate, but he suddenly looked at Lu Yin with a good deal of
suspicion. "So, who are you? Why are you doing all this?"

Lu Yin thought for a bit, but he really had no idea what sort of answer to give.

"It's not a problem if you don't want to say. There’s really no reason, as my Yu family is already the
biggest joke, and there is no worse outcome than this. Regardless of your goals, be careful of Shenwu's
Sky. Everyone in Star Alliance has a restriction on them, and it can only be removed if all four ruling
powers work together," Yu Chuan warned.

Lu Yin stared at Yu Chuan’s back as the old man left. He was planning to settle down close to Virtue
Archives, so the two would easily be able to meet each other whenever they wanted.

Even though they understood each other, they had to maintain this facade.

There were times when Lu Yin truly did not understand how the four ruling powers’ restriction worked
on the members of Star Alliance. Many of the people had already come to grips with death, and trying
to force them to the rear battlefield with a restriction should be completely useless.

It was basically nothing more than prison garb to such people.

***

Far away, in the Higher Realm, Xia Ziheng had returned to Shenwu's Sky. After multiple attempts, he
finally managed to speak with the family’s Progenitor, Xia Shenji, on the second day.

The Semi-Progenitor reported everything that had recently happened to Xia Shenji, and he finished by
summarizing his own suspicions. "If I’m correct, then the Celestial Frost Sect is not only trying to use Bai
Weiwei to win Yu Hao over, but they are also doing their best to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their
side. They secretly want to acquire the other three pieces to the restriction placed on the members of
Star Alliance. Their ambitions are unbelievable, but their purpose has been made clear.”

"If not for the fact that Bai Weiwei has been too obvious in her efforts and that Xia Yan happened to
learn about Gu Yan's change in attitude towards the Celestial Frost Sect, we would have remained
completely ignorant. We also might have never discovered that the Celestial Frost Sect is likely the ones
behind the attack on Xia Xing."
After a long period of silence, Xia Shenji finally started giving some orders. "Use our full strength to go
after Realmless to find out who ordered the attack."

Regardless of whether Xia Ziheng's speculations were correct, it was imperative they have solid evidence
before attacking the Celestial Frost Sect. The Xia family was completely inadequate to go after the
Celestial Frost Sect by itself, and they would need the others of the four ruling powers to join their
efforts.

Xia Ziheng's suspicions were somewhat close to the truth, and while Xia Shenji was technically a
Progenitor who was far more powerful than others, he was not omniscient. His orders demonstrated
that he believed Xia Ziheng's words.

"What did the Progenitor say?" someone asked from behind Xia Ziheng.

The Semi-Progenitor turned around to look at the person who had just approached. "Attack Realmless
with our full strength and look for evidence."

The man nodded.

"You still can't feel it?" Xia Ziheng asked while staring at the person before him. The man was Xia Xing.

Given the fact that Xia Xing was the sect master of Shenwu's Sky and the Xia family’s patriarch, he had
naturally learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique. When meeting with others, he only ever used
clones. Lu Yin had only captured a clone, while Xia Xing’s main body was still in the Higher Realm at
Shenwu's Sky.

Lu Yin had been right to be so cautious. He was quite lucky that he had never brought Xia Xing out from
Zenith Mountain after capturing him. Otherwise, Xia Xing definitely would have been able to locate his
clone, which would have been incredibly dangerous for Lu Yin.
"I still can't feel anything. Whoever captured my clone is being very careful. The clone should have only
been captured, as if it had died, I would have suffered injuries," Xia Xing replied.

Xia Ziheng’s eyes narrowed. "This had to have been planned out a long time ago. Not only was your
travel path known to them, but they even knew that it was a clone. There’s no other reason for you to
not be able to feel the clone’s whereabouts."

"True. If the Celestial Frost Sect really did do this, then this definitely won’t be the end. Grandmaster Gu
Yan and Star Alliance are not enough for the Celestial Frost Sect to overpower us other three, so they
definitely have something more planned." Xia Xing looked out at the Celestial Frost Sect as he spoke.

There was a place in the Perennial World’s Middle Realm that looked like a paradise. There were no
cultivators or war there. The people living in this paradise were on an island in the middle of a massive
lake. While it was referred to as an island, that was only from the perspective of the lake. The island was
absolutely massive, large enough to be home to an entire civilization. The island was known as Crow
Village, and it was a place where fighting and killing were forbidden.

Flocks of birds flew through the sky, while people from a small village toiled on the ground below. It was
a peaceful scene, though it was marred by the presence of an odd flaming horse on the shore of the
lake. The horse was enormous, and it periodically ran from one end of the lake to the other, its flames
lighting up the entire area. The light of these flames was what determined night and day for these
villagers.

When the horse ran, it would be day for the villagers, and there were times when the days would be
exceptionally long. Also, if more than one horse ran around, the flames would completely illuminate all
of Wuncun.

On one particular day, a herd of flaming horses was running above the lake, and the flames that the
creatures gave off heated up the entire island.
Many of the villagers working in the fields patted their collars to disperse a bit of the accumulated
sweat, and they frequently left the fields to get a bit of water. From time to time, sounds of laughter
could be heard.

It had started off as a normal day, but such an ordinary day was shattered for the people of Wuncun
when a person broke through the void. He raised a hand, and obliterated all the flaming horses in an
instant. Blood rained down on the village, and the mundanity instantly disappeared.

Blood covered the earth in the fields, the river, and around the houses of the village. The screams of the
flaming horses rang out.

In the sky high above, Xia Ziheng stared down at Crow Village. "Who would have thought that the
headquarters of Realmless, the largest assassin and intelligence organization, would be in this place.
Today, I and Shenwu's Sky will erase Realmless from the Middle Realm!"

The man then raised a hand high and squeezed it tight. A vast amount of star essence surged out,
forming mountains that then crashed down upon the island and the surrounding lake. There was no
escape for anyone.

The villagers working near the village looked up at the sky in disbelief and despair.

Xia Ziheng's hand dropped with a bang, but as it struck, a pair of cold, dark eyes opened down on the
ground. At the same time, an entire series of terrifying auras erupted in a counterattack. Each of the
auras belonged to at least an Envoy, and there were even a few that nearly matched Xia Ziheng's
impressive level of strength.

Xia Ziheng’s eyes snapped open. "Get out here and kneel!"

"Kekeke, Xia Ziheng, you dare to try to force your grandpa onto his knees? Have you forgotten about
how you begged for mercy back then?" An old man gave a creepy smile, though his eyes remained stoic.
Someone else on the ground shouted as well. This person looked like a young scholar, and he had a scarf
wrapped around him and a feather fan in his hand. "Brother Ziheng, it’s been so long since we’ve seen
each other, and now that we finally see each other again, you act so rudely?"

These people were able to stop Xia Zixing’s stellular energy from striking the ground. In particular, one
person in the center of the island looked upwards with indescribably cold eyes. He released an aura that
belonged to a peak Envoy, and it surged upwards to counter Xia Ziheng’s billowing pressure.

Instantly, all of Crow Village was shrouded in smoke, and black nets filled the sky above the lake around
the island, and a practically endless bloodlust filled the air. This was Realmless’s headquarters.

Xia Ziheng’s cold eyes roamed over the people who were standing against him. "So many old
acquaintances have gathered here. I thought that you were all dead. I never even considered that you
might hide in Realmless. It doesn’t matter, though. I’ll send you all on to finish your journey today."

An enormous black net rose up. It had existed for countless years as a final defense to protect
Realmless, and it was capable of shattering an attacker’s organs. This defensive measure was why
Realmless believed that they could resist even a Semi-Progenitor’s attack. Countless blades swept across
the lake before returning to form birdcages that surrounded the island.

The cold-eyed man gritted his teeth. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, you won’t say anything even while
attacking my Realmless? Even if I die today, at least allow me to die with the knowledge of how you
found this place."

Xia Ziheng glanced over. "I know you. You’re Realmless’s primary intermediary with the outside world. I
never expected you to actually be a peak Envoy, given your role as a messenger. Seeing you here, it
seems that I might have been mistaken, and this might not actually be Realmless’s headquarters."

The man's expression changed slightly, but he made a point to not reveal anything that could give away
anything. "All I want to know is how this place was discovered."
Xia Ziheng sneered. He had no interest in talking. Suddenly, the birdcage made of blades disappeared,
and all the island’s residents were reduced to puddles of blood that stained the island and the lake
around it red.

These people were too weak to oppose a Semi-Progenitor, as they were simply not on the same level.
There had been no way for them to escape from the birdcage.

Xia Ziheng had acted quickly because he feared that Realmless would destroy the information that he
sought. His goal was not to eliminate assassins, but rather to find information. He was seeking evidence.

After dealing with all the people on the island, Xia Ziheng summoned people from Shenwu's Sky and
ordered them to scour the island for any information that they could find. At the same time, the Semi-
Progenitor found a remote corner of the island to seclude himself. The underlings would seek him out
whenever they found anything of interest.

A young man approached Xia Ziheng. He did not appear to be very powerful, and he seemed to only be a
one-tribulation Envoy. Even so, Xia Ziheng did not underestimate the young man. "This is not
Realmless’s headquarters."

"I know," the young man replied casually.

Xia Ziheng felt that he had to continue explaining. "If Xia Xing's clone didn’t disappear, we would have
never exposed you so early."

The young man lifted his head and smiled. "The family nurtured me and raised me. It’s only right for me
to repay the family now."

Xia Ziheng continued to say, "Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong is dead, and Wang Su went to the
Forsaken Land. Of the four Junior Progenitors, Only you and Long Tian remain. Fortunately, you had a
task to do, and so you returned to the family. Otherwise, you would be among those who have been
stranded in the Forsaken Land all this time, Shenfei."
The young man was none other than Xia Shenfei, one of the four Junior Progenitors, and a member of
the Xia family’s main line. However, this young man seemed completely different from the drunkard Xia
Shenfei that Lu Yin had previously interacted with.

No one had expected Xia Shenfei, the Xia family’s Junior Progenitor, to have been willing to go
undercover and infiltrate Realmless. He had been the one to give the family the location of the
headquarters on Wuncun.

Xia Shenfei lowered his hands. "Realmless is too cautious. I’ve been a part of them for over twenty
years, and I’ve killed many people for them. The family even cooperated to ensure that I accomplished
great things for Realmless, but I was only able to reach this far. Do you know how to post jobs here?"

Xia Ziheng shook his head. "If you say that this isn’t Realmless’s headquarters, then I believe you.
There’s no need to know how they handle things. We can work without evidence."

A smile spread across Xia Shenfei's face, and he pulled out a gourd full of wine from his cosmic ring and
took a sip before letting out a relaxed breath. "I'm an alcoholic, but I’ve had to abandon drinking for the
last twenty years. This sip just now tasted absolutely amazing, haha."

Xia Ziheng looked at Xia Shenfei with open admiration. There were some people who could pursue their
desires without end, exaggerating things to the extreme for the entirety of their lives. However, there
were also people who could force their desires to completely disappear in an instant. Xia Shenfei was
one such person.

STAR ODYSSEY

Chapter 2214: Fissure

When Lu Yin had first met the four Junior Progenitors, Xia Shenfei had been an alcoholic who had been
unconcerned about everything. Even if he had met Progenitor Xia Shenji himself, Xia Shenfei would have
remained calm and unconcerned about causing any offenses. However, Xia Shenfei had not touched
even a drop of wine ever since he had joined Realmless until now. Someone capable of such discipline
was beyond terrifying.

"The birds in the sky, the worms in the ground, and even the rhythm of the people's hoes striking the
ground, when combined with the time of day, air humidity, and the direction of the wind, can be used as
a coded language known only to Realmless’s assassins. Even if an outsider lives on Crow Village island
for hundreds or even thousands of years, they would never be able to see any flaws. This is how
Realmless internally communicates.” Xia Shenfei took a sip of his wine. “It’s unfortunate that I had to
expose myself now, but if I hadn’t, you’d never learn anything about Wuncun without spying on them
for thousands of years.”

Xia Ziheng nodded. "I see."

Xia Shenfei tossed the paper book that he had just been reading over to Xia Ziheng. "This is what you
want."

Xia Ziheng quickly started skimming the book.

The destruction of Crow Village was not considered a big deal to most people in the Perennial World,
but that was merely because most people were not qualified to interact with Realmless. This meant that
only top powers and experts were affected. For example, an elder from the Celestial Frost Sect who had
once hired Realmless to assassinate someone. There were similar such people in the Wang family, the
White Dragon Clan, and even the Xia family. All the top powers in the Middle Realm that controlled a
territory would have people who had paid Realmless to take action in the past.

All the records of those transactions had been taken by Shenwu's Sky, and included among them was
the job that Elder Qing Xing had paid for.
Naturally, there was also some information about when Lu Yin had paid for Xia Xing’s assassination. The
entire conversation, from the first word spoken to the last, had been recorded. However, no one was
able to recognize Lu Yin's appearance because he had disguised himself with the Mask of Death.

These were also records of transactions that Realmless had been paid for. The jobs had been organized
into assassination jobs, intelligence gathering jobs, and even information about suspected Redbacks.

***

In the Middle Realm, just outside of Seed Garden, Cai Shu suddenly showed up and arrested the head of
a branch of the Nong family. This drew the attention of Nong Ya, the patriarch of the Nong family.

"Cai Shu, what are you doing?" Nong Ya demanded.

"Patriarch, save me!" The captured man was beyond terrified.

The Nong family was different from other families. As long as a branch family was acknowledged by
those living in Seed Garden, they could freely wander around the Middle Realm, unlike the Xia family,
which scattered their people across various locations, or the Liu family who could settle down anywhere
they wished.

Cai Shu shared the information that had been received from Shenwu's Sky with Nong Ya. "Realmless's
headquarters has been captured, and their records were obtained. There is clear information that claims
that this person is most likely a traitor, so we need to take him back for interrogating and investigating."

Nong Ya checked the provided information. It was quite clear that this branch head had hired Realmless
to assassinate someone, and the target was even the head of another branch of the Nong family. No
reason for the hit was provided, but as the assassin had killed the man, he had said a single thing at the
time of his death. “You’re a traitor!”
The branch leader who had been killed had not known that he was being killed by Realmless, but he had
been completely certain that traitors were behind his death. This made the actual traitor’s identity quite
clear. Once the accusation was combined with the knowledge of who had paid for the assassination, it
was highly likely that the branch head of the Nong family was a traitor.

Nong Ya stared at the captured man, an ugly expression on the patriarch’s face.

The branch leader dropped his head, not daring to look at his patriarch.

"You’re actually a traitor?" Nong Ya gritted his teeth.

The branch head quickly replied, "No! I'm not a traitor! I just wanted to get rid of him to take over his
territory. I’m not a traitor."

"Then who is?" Nong Ya shouted.

Cai Shu spoke up, "Patriarch Nong Ya, Humility’s Gate will be questioning this man, so I’ll be leaving to
do that now."

"Patriarch, save me! Patriarch!"

Nong Ya did not move a muscle. The evidence at this moment was quite clear. Given the time and place,
as well as the details of the hiring transaction, which included a video, the evidence could not be
refuted. If Realmless suspected someone of being a traitor, they were likely guilty.

Shenwu's Sky released a tremendous amount of information, almost all of which was related to
suspected traitors and Redbacks. All of these suspects were delivered to Humility’s Gate. They did not
have the resources to deal with traitors and Redbacks. Thus, with the exception of the suspects who
were related to the four ruling powers, Humility’s Gate dealt with all the others.

Just a bit more than ten days passed, but during this time, the Perennial World was covered with spilled
blood. Humility’s Gate captured and arrested more and more people, all of whom were named in the
information that Xia Shenfei had provided. It was also impossible for Shenwu's Sky to do good deeds
without taking credit, so it was quickly revealed that Xia Shenfei had gone undercover to enter
Realmless so that Shenwu's Sky could find the assassins’ headquarters. This task had eventually led to a
tremendous number of traitors being exposed and arrested.

Many people from the Root Organization were also arrested. Too many people had implicitly trusted
Realmless, paying the assassins to complete tasks, and this led to their identities being easily revealed.

Of course, most people had tried to hide their true identities when interacting with Realmless, much like
Lu Yin had done. However, given Realmless's capabilities, it was usually quite easy for them to
determine the true identities of such people.

Chaos reigned in the Middle Realm and the Lower Realm, but not even the Higher Realm was peaceful.
Members of the four ruling powers were arrested and killed, but there was also a group of people whom
no one knew how to handle.

For example, a member of the White Dragon Clan had paid Realmless to assassinate a junior member of
the Wang family. Someone from the Celestial Frost Sect had hired Realmless to kill a member of the
White Dragon Clan. Lu Yin was quite familiar with Wang Shang, and he was actually one of Realmless’s
assassins, and he was ranked high enough that he had even learned of the existence of Crow Village.

This revelation infuriated the Wang family, but unfortunately, Wang Shang had gone to the Forsaken
Land. If not, he would have also been arrested.

With the exception of Wang Shang, people from the Celestial Frost Sect, the Xia family, and the White
Dragon Clan had all interacted with Realmless, and eventually, even the Dealcut Association was
revealed.
The secret society had provided Realmless with funds and information, and these transactions were all
made public. This caused those in the four ruling powers to become absolutely furious.

While there was no denying that the four ruling powers had been wrong to exile the Lu family; that
action had ignored what was best for humanity as a whole in the fight against the Aeternals. However,
the four ruling powers were not unwilling to protect humanity.

After the Lu family had been exiled, the four ruling powers had taken complete control of the rear
battlefield. All of them always viewed the fight against Aeternus to be the top priority, and this was why
Shenwu's Sky did not keep Realmless's list of suspected traitors and Redbacks privately, but had instead
delivered it to Humility's Gate. It was of top importance that the suspects be captured before they could
escape. On top of that, the information from Realmless exposed that the Dealcut Association had been
secretly manipulating some of the resources dedicated to the rear battlefield, and had also manipulated
various details to prevent specific people from participating in the dangerous fighting taking place on the
rear battlefield. As far as the four ruling powers were concerned, such actions were unforgivable.

After learning of the Dealcut Association, the four ruling powers immediately took action and thoroughly
investigated the rear battlefield and captured everyone with a connection to the Dealcut Association.

With the fall of Realmless, the Perennial World became extremely turbulent for a time.

***

In the Middle Realm’s Virtue Archives, Headmaster Wen watched as one of the academy’s instructors
was taken away by a Humility's Gate. The headmaster was in a rotten mood.

"I never thought that Prof. Lian would be a traitor." Prof. Zheng felt both angry and helpless.

Many of the nearby students had also seen the instructor be arrested. "If even someone as good and
decent as the professor can be a traitor, then Aeternus is simply too despicable."
"Some time ago, I asked Prof. Lian to assist me with my training, and I spent a lot of credits to make that
happen. Looking back, it’s terrifying to think about."

"It’s impossible to see through traitors and Redbacks. They can be anyone at all! If not for Junior
Progenitor Xia Shenfei going undercover for twenty years to destroy Realmless’s headquarters, all of
those people would still be perfectly hidden. Xia Shenfei's contribution to humanity is too impressive."

"This is what the Junior Progenitors are capable of. It would be difficult for others to accomplish similar
feats even if they manage to somehow surpass the Junior Progenitors. Xia Shenfei was even an
alcoholic! How can anyone compare to his willpower?"

"That's right! Lu Xiaoxuan is really the worst ever! If he hadn’t killed Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong,
then Bai Shaohong might have also accomplished great things and even eventually become a
Progenitor."

"Don't talk about the Lu family! Do you want your brain to explode?"

"The Lu family was banished by four ruling powers precisely because they colluded with Aeternus. Lu
Xiaoxuan killed Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong, which means that he himself is a Redback! It’s terrible."

Lu Yin had to struggle to calm himself down after he heard the various students’ discussions. This clearly
demonstrated the power of four ruling powers. After just a short period of controlling the Perennial
World, everyone “knew” that the four ruling powers had verified that the Lu family had been working
with Aeternus, which was why the Lu family had been overthrown by the four ruling powers. Everyone
conveniently forgot about everything that the Lu family had previously accomplished.
If not for the Lu family, how would the Perennial World ever have come to be? How would the Fifth
Mainland have remained protected? Right or wrong, the Lu family was solely responsible for all of these
things.

"Prof. Hao Yu, so this is where you were." Nong Siniang had gone to find “Hao Yu.”

Lu Yin was feeling rather torn at this moment. "Prof. Lian’s been arrested. I can’t help but wonder if
there are any other traitors or Redback still in the academy."

Nong Siniang pursed her lips. "Someone from my Nong family was also arrested. There are traitors
everywhere, which is too scary."

Lu Yin smiled. "Don't worry. The day will come when humanity will be able to drive Aeternus out and
restore peace."

"That's right, humanity will absolutely do that," Wu Taibai said.

Bai Weiwei also arrived and joined in. "Such a thing needs all of humanity to work together to pull off."

More and more people gathered and joined the conversation, and eventually, the Dealcut Association
was brought up.

In the past, a few people had known about the Dealcut Association, such as Xia Zhitong, who had
struggled to join. It had been a tightly guarded secret that the Dealcut Association was able to influence
matters on the rear battlefield, but the secret society had been utterly destroyed now. There was no
way it would be allowed to continue.

Lu Yin silently returned to his stone pillar.

He realized that he had overlooked something: the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

When Xia Shenfei had gone undercover to infiltrate Realmless, one of his clones should have done so.
Given that, seeing as how Xia Xing was the sect master of Shenwu’s Sky, he must have also cultivated
the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

Had Lu Yin captured Xia Xing's main body, or a clone? Regardless, as soon as the captive was released
from Zenith Mountain, the other Xia Xing should be able to sense his presence.

This realization made Lu Yin extremely thankful that he had never taken the sect master out of Zenith
Mountain after capturing him. As soon as Shenwu’s Sky had an approximate location for their sect
master, it would be impossible for Lu Yin to remain hidden.

However, this greatly complicated things, as Lu Yin had to meet with Xia Xing and interrogate him, but
he also could not release him from Zenith Mountain.

There was only one way to accomplish this without risking being detected by Shenwu’s Sky: Timestop
Space.

Thinking of this, Lu Yin left Virtue Archives and made a show of going to visit Yu Chuan, but in reality, he
went out to roll his die.

***

In the Higher Realm, Xia Ziheng, Xia Xing, Xia Shenfei, and the other top-ranking members of Shenwu's
Sky were staring at an image on display in front of them all. It was a picture of Lu Yin’s disguised face
from when he had hired Realmless to assassinate Xia Xing.

"Have you found out who this is yet?" Xia Xing asked.
Someone spoke up. "No."

Xia Shenfei sipped some wine. "It's easy to alter your face."

"He placed the deposit for the hit in the Azure District, and the attack took place at the border of
Huaiyuan. The two districts are far apart from each other, so there’s nothing that can be determined
from that." Xia Xing frowned.

A map of the Middle Realm appeared in the air.

"For a true expert, such a distance is not a problem," Xia Ziheng said.

Xia Shenfei suddenly spoke up, "Is the Yu Hao who you first suspected still in Virtue Archives?"

Xia Ziheng nodded. "He was a suspect because he was the only one who knew that the sect master
would visit the Middle Realm, but when everything happened, he was in the Blue Moon District, which
isn’t far from the border of Huaiyuan."

Chapter 2215: Overwhelming Power

Xia Shenfei's eyes were blurry from drinking too much. "The Virtue District is a ways away from the Blue
Moon District, but it doesn't look that far."

Xia Xing was surprised. "Do you also suspect him?"

Xia Shenfei burped. "If what you’ve said before is true, then what could be impossible if he had the help
of the Celestial Frost Sect?"

"That's why we need hard evidence, since this involves the Celestial Frost Sect," Xia Xing said.

Xia Shenfei's eyes flickered. "The Celestial Frost Sect can’t replace the Lu family in just a day or two,
though I am rather interested in this Yu Hao. Supposedly, Grandmaster Gu Yan spent decades training
him, which is quite intriguing.”

"Are you certain he is actually Yu Hao?"

Xia Xing looked over at Xia Ziheng, who replied, "There’s no sign of any sort of disguise. It’s his real face
and appearance. We’ve observed everything that he’s done since he’s appeared, and it all lines up with
what Yu Hao’s expected to do."

Xia Shenfei shrugged. A person’s behavior could easily change, but it was completely impossible for
anyone to conceal themselves in front of a Semi-Progenitor, unless the person was at least as strong as
the Semi-Progenitor in question. Why would such a powerhouse pretend to be Yu Hao?

Was the person who had appeared the real Yu Hao? Xia Shenfei was getting more and more curious
about this person.

In the Virtue District, just a short ways away from the academy, Lu Yin met with Yu Chuan briefly before
finding a place to go into seclusion for a bit.

He raised his hand and brought out his die. After tapping it, the die slowly spun around before coming to
a stop at three pips.
Lu Yin had no intention of Enhancing anything, and he just stared at the two screens of light for a
moment.

The deposit that he had paid to Realmless had been the Netherworld River, and it had cost him about
forty billion star essence to Enhance it to the Semi-Progenitor level. After upgrading the power vessel,
Kui Luo had delivered it to the Azure District to a location that had been agreed upon with Realmless.

This meant that Lu Yin only had a bit more than 160 billion star essence left. While that might sound like
an exorbitant sum, it was not nearly enough. Given Lu Yin’s current level, any sort of Enhancement
would cost tens of billions of star essence. Upgrading something several times? Too expensive.

Whenever Lu Yin felt like his funds were insufficient, he was reminded of the Junior Progenitor Planets.
That also reminded Lu Yin of the God of Food. The God of Food ran Hope Restaurant, which was on the
Island of Hope right in front of the Junior Progenitor Planets. If it was possible to visit the God of Food
on the Island of Hope, then would it be possible to “visit” the Junior Progenitor Planets?

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Before his thoughts ran away, Lu Yin
deliberately suppressed them and quickly tapped his die again.

It slowly came to a stop: four pips. This was easy enough, but it was also no surprise, as Timestop was
usually quite easy to roll.

After entering his Timestop Space, Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and Xia Xing.

In order to prevent Xia Xing from recovering his strength and making trouble on Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin
had made it a point to ask Progenitor Smoke to place a minor restriction on Xia Xing's body. Thus, the
sect master was hidden behind a cloud of smoke and could not be seen by anyone else on the mountain

After he was released from Zenith Mountain, a bit of fog slowly dissipated, and Xia Xing’s body was
finally revealed to Lu Yin.
More than half a month had passed since Xia Xing had been attacked by Realmless and subsequently
captured. While he had been unable to move during this time, his injuries had recovered a great deal.

After the fog surrounding him dissipated, the sect master instantly attacked as soon as he saw Lu Yin. A
knife shrouded with Divine Martial Armor slashed out. It was a terrifying attack.

A smile appeared on Lu Yin’s face, and he slowly raised a hand. Shining stars surrounded him, and Xia
Xing’s blade entered the area filled with stars. A blank expression appeared on the man’s face, because
as his knife fell, it dissipated and vanished until only a hilt was left in his hand. It looked like a child's toy.

The man stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. This was even more shocking than what this mysterious man had
revealed to Xia Xing in the past.

When the two had first clashed, Lu Yin had used a single hand to completely suppress and tame Xia
Xing’s Divine Martial Armor, which had stunned the sect master. That scene had replayed itself again
and again in his mind in the days since his capture. He still did not want to believe that the Xia family’s
almighty Divine Martial Armor could be suppressed so easily, which was why it had been Xia Xing’s first
attack when his captor revealed himself. Not only did Xia Xing want to use the knife attack to free
himself of his captor, but he also wanted to verify what he had seen before. He was desperately hoping
that what he had seen had been an illusion.

Unfortunately, the results of the attack were even worse than before. The combined power of the
Divine Martial Armor and the Xia family’s most powerful knife technique was not even able to touch Xia
Xing’s captor. Some mysterious power had easily dissolved the Divine Martial Armor. What power could
be so horrifying? This was beyond even the Lu family’s capabilities.

"Are you Lu Xiaoxuan? What did you just do?" Xia Xing was badly frightened.

Lu Yin had returned to his original appearance for this meeting, and he calmly faced Xia Xing. "Nothing
much. It’s just that your power can't touch me."
Xia Xing's pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. These casual words were essentially eroding the very
foundation that had upheld the Xia family for countless years.

Their almighty Divine Martial Armor could not even touch this person?

Lu Yin gave a small smile. Xia Xing? Impossible. After all, even Wang Si’s power as a peak Envoy had been
completely dissipated by Lu Yin. Everyone who had seen that exchange had been terrified by the power
of the Origin Progenitor’s sword, but the fact that Lu Yin had tapped into the power of Progenitor Chen
had completely overshadowed Lu Yin’s own, personal mastery of the Cosmic Art. The truth was that Lu
Yin’s capabilities frightened even himself.

Forget the Divine Martial Armor—Lu Yin was even capable of disintegrating the power of the Garan
family, which had ruled over the Sixth Mainland and wielded power on par with the Lu family. How
could some Divine Martial Armor compare to the Garan family’s unique power?

"Impossible! My Xia family's Divine Martial Armor is overbearing and invincible! How can it not even
touch you?" Xia Xing shouted. He threw the handle of his knife away and then launched a palm strike at
Lu Yin, still using his Divine Martial Armor.

Lu Yin’s feet did not move, and he stood in place as the palm strike shot towards his heart. However, by
the time the attack landed, there was no force behind it. All of the attack’s strength had been eliminated
before it reached Lu Yin, erased by the miniature cosmos that was in Lu Yin’s chest.

Xia Xing saw everything play out before him. He saw the stars revolve around Lu Yin, and he felt as
though he was staring at a confined universe. Was this… was this an inner world?

"Are you a Semi-Progenitor?" Xia Xing exclaimed.

Lu Yin's eyes turned cold, and his index finger shot forward to press between Xia Xing's eyes. "Sect
Master Xia, you and I are entire worlds apart."
Once Lu Yin finished speaking, Xia Xing was sent flying by an invisible force. The moment he was struck,
his mind went blank, and all thoughts disappeared. Only when he felt the pain of being slammed into
the ground did he recover from his daze. But even then, he could not stop himself from spitting out a
mouthful of blood, and he could not even stand up straight.

A person who had once stood high above Lu Yin and seemed to be unreachable was currently lying on
the ground before him like a dead dog.

The majestic ruler of one of the four ruling powers could be casually eliminated on a whim by Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was eager to launch a massive war, lead the Fifth Mainland against the Perennial World, and
stomp out all resistance in their path. However, doing so was akin to a moth rushing into the flame. The
four ruling powers each had their own Progenitors, and even if Lu Yin had the capability to face the four
ruling powers’ full strength, he still had to take the Aeternals into consideration as well.

It was impossible for Lu Yin to act as he wished in life, as there were too many things that he needed to
take care of or protect.

Xia Xing panted as he struggled to prop himself up from the ground. The sky was spinning to him,
especially Lu Yin’s figure. Xia Xing’s vision was blurry, and he could not focus on anything at all.

"Lu Xiaoxuan, you can't be a Semi-Progenitor, but you have clearly mastered some unimaginable power.
This must be the power that was left for you by the Lu family," Xia Xing guessed as he stared at Lu Yin
and slowly regained some clarity.

Lu Yin stared at the man. "Are you a clone or the main body?"

Xia Xing's eyes flashed. "I am me. My nine clones have already become one."

Lu Yin shook his head. "No, you’re just a clone."

There was absolutely no change to Xia Xing's expression. "What are you going to do now that you’ve
captured me? Do you want to avenge the Lu family? That has nothing to do with me. My strength is not
nearly enough to have affected the Lu family’s banishment."

"I want to know about the Xia family’s portion of the restrictions placed on the members of Star
Alliance," Lu Yin slowly said. He saw no reason to beat around the bush.

Xia Xing's pupils shrank. "You want to rescue Star Alliance?"

Lu Yin said nothing.

Xia Xing quietly asked, "How do you know that restrictions have been placed on the members of Star
Alliance or that our four ruling powers each control a quarter of the whole? How did you even get back
to the Perennial World? What happened to the army that we sent after you?"

Lu Yin's eyes flashed, and a figurine appeared on his shoulder. It was God of Flames.

Xia Xing looked at the wax figurine in confusion.

The next moment, the skin across his entire body started to break down. It seemed like it was about to
disappear, and as this happened, terrible pain wracked the man’s body.

Lu Yin was using Truesight’s runes to erase the sect master’s very existence. He had gained this power
from God of Flames, and it was comparable to a Semi-Progenitor. This was more than enough to
completely erase Xia Xing.
The sect master gritted his teeth and watched as his skin started to disappear while his flesh and blood
was exposed. The fear of completely disappearing burgeoned in his heart. Given his past experiences in
life and death crises, he felt like he was dropping into hell.

He could not understand what sort of power he was facing. He had been born in the Perennial World
and had not lived during the Daosource Sect era. He had never interacted with Truesight or runes
before.

"I'm questioning you. You are not questioning me," Lu Yin stated in an indifferent tone as he stared at
Xia Xing with frigid eyes.

Xia Xing dropped halfway down to his knees, struggling to endure the pain. "Since you’ve already
guessed that I’m just a clone, then you already know that I don’t fear death. It’s impossible for you to
get what you want from me."

As soon as Lu Yin realized that he had only captured one of Xia Xing’s clones, he had already known that
it would be impossible for him to extract the information he wanted from the man. The clones that
came from the Nine Clones Secret Technique did not fear death unless they wanted to replace the main
body, as had been the case with Xia Luo.

Lu Yin still had no understanding of this secret technique, or how the clones were connected to the main
body. So even though Xia Xing was in front of him, he could not seize the initiative. Fortunately, there
was still something that he wanted to try.

"I was really hoping that you’d be the main body, but unfortunately, you aren’t," Lu Yin said, still
speaking in a casual tone. He then pulled a bottle out from his cosmic ring that held a bit of liquid. "This
is Progenitor Chen’s blood."

Xia Xing's eyes grew large, and he looked like he had just heard the most shocking bit of news in the
universe. "Progenitor Chen's blood?"
Lu Yin simply removed the bottle’s cap. "Feel it for yourself."

The moment the bottle was uncapped, an ancient and domineering pressure descended, filling Lu Yin’s
Timestop Space.

Despite preparing himself in advance, being directly exposed to Progenitor Chen’s blood still briefly
dazed Lu Yin. He felt like he had seen a giant standing in outer space, utterly invincible.

This was the drop of Progenitor Chen's blood that Lu Yin had obtained from Ku Wei, who had absorbed
some of the Progenitor’s blood from the blood pool that had been protected by the guardian giants in
Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum. After using his die’s Enhance, Lu Yin had improved the blood until it was
as pure and powerful as if it had come from Progenitor Chen himself. This blood had originally come
from Progenitor Chen’s clone with the blood of the colossal giants. It was the same as what Gaia’s
Swamp’s warden had absorbed after awakening long ago.

The pressure from Progenitor Chen's blood instantly made Xia Xing cough up even more blood, but the
man did not even notice. The moment the pressure descended, the sect master had been able to sense
its connection to his blood.

Progenitor Chen and Xia Xing were both from the Xia family, and their blood shared the same origins.
While the two men came from different branches of the family, Progenitor Chen had become a
Progenitor, which meant that his blood was no different from the blood of the Xia family’s founder, the
first Progenitor in their family.

Xia Xing was himself a direct descendant.

Chapter 2216: Deviating Consciousness

Once the cap came off the bottle, Xia Xing felt a vague connection to it, which seemed unbelievable.
There was a connection to this blood, and it felt like both he and the blood shared the same origin.
Regardless of whether this blood actually belonged to Progenitor Chen, the resulting resonance left Xia
Xing completely certain that this blood belonged to a powerhouse of the Xia family.

"Who- whose blood is that?" Xia Xing asked in shock as he stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin replied in a relaxed manner, "I already told you, it’s Progenitor Chen’s."

"That’s impossible! Progenitor Chen never came to the Perennial World, and he died during the
Daosource Sect era in the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands," Xia Xing denied.

Lu Yin laughed. "If Progenitor Chen never visited the Perennial World, then how could you know if he
died or not?"

Xia Xing wanted to retort, but he had no words.

Although the sect master knew the truth regarding Progenitor Chen, he had not lived during the
Daosource Sect era. Thus, he did not have any strong feelings about the matter. On top of that,
Progenitor Chen had long since become a forbidden topic within the Xia family. The man had genuinely
never considered the possibility of one day encountering Progenitor Chen's blood.

Xia Xing stared at the blood in a daze, not knowing whether he believed Lu Yin’s words that it was truly
Progenitor Chen's blood. He did not even know if he wanted to believe Lu Yin’s words.

"Progenitor Chen, whose name was Xia Shang, came from Shenwu’s Sky’s Xia family," Lu Yin slowly
explained, "He was a powerful Progenitor from the Xia family, and was truly invincible during his era."

Xia Xing's eyes kept flickering. Eventually, he could not resist looking back up at Lu Yin. "Do you want to
trade this blood for the restriction method?"
Lu Yin shook his head, much to Xia Xing's confusion. Then, he slowly explained, "I won’t trade it for the
restriction method, but I will give you a chance to escape. Absorb the blood, and you might be able to
get away from me."

Xia Xing grew puzzled. "Why would you do that?"

Lu Yin just responded with a small smile as he tossed the bottle of blood over to Xia Xing, who caught it.

"Absorb it and let me see just how strong the Xia family’s patriarch can become from absorbing
Progenitor Chen's blood," Lu Yin said.

Xia Xing could not understand Lu Yin at all. Despite having Progenitor Chen's blood, he made no attempt
to trade it away, and instead, Xia Xing was simply given the blood. This was the blood of a powerful
Progenitor from the Xia family, which was truly useful to the sect master.

Xia Xing had been in charge of Shenwu's Sky for many years, and he was decisive and ruthless. He
certainly was not a hesitant person. After a moment’s thought, he crushed the bottle and started
absorbing Progenitor Chen's blood.

Lu Yin gave Xia Xing an odd look. Was Lu Yin an altruistic person? Absolutely not. However, he also
wasn’t some sort of battle maniac who simply wanted to fight against a Xia Xing strengthened by
Progenitor Chen’s blood. No, that was not the reason at all. Instead, Lu Yin wanted the clone in front of
him to break free from the control of Xia Xing’s main body.

Lu Yin might not be overly familiar with the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but he had seen that Xia
Jiuyou had been able to absorb all of his clones aside from Xia Luo as his other clones did not fear death.
Xia Xing had similarly said that he did not fear dying. Clones were similar to puppets, and was there any
use in trying to tempt or threaten a puppet? Even if Xia Xing’s clone looked like he was being tempted or
threatened, Lu Yin did not believe it. Instead, Lu Yin would simply assume that the clones were doing
everything for the benefit of the main body.
In that case, Lu Yin would simply free this clone from its main body, which essentially meant that he had
to make this clone Xia Xing’s main body, just like how Xia Luo had replaced Xia Jiuyou as the main body.

While Lu Yin had no idea how Xia Luo had pulled it off, there was at least a 90% chance that absorbing
Progenitor Chen’s blood would make this clone the main body, which would completely change the
clone’s perspective.

Xia Luo had not been willing to be absorbed by Xia Jiuyou, so as soon as Xia Xing's clone developed his
own desires, he would also no longer be willing to be absorbed by the main body, which was Lu Yin's
goal.

Xia Xing's body turned red, and absorbing Progenitor Chen's blood made his breath start to accelerate.
The man let out a roar, and his body started to grow larger and larger as he transformed into a giant.

Lu Yin was amazed. The Progenitor realm was the pinnacle of human power, and a Progenitor’s mere
blood could transform an Envoy, which showed just how amazingly powerful a Progenitor had to be.

The various changes that took place in Xia Xing happened quickly, and it also finished quickly. In just half
an hour, he had become a colossal giant. He stared at Lu Yin within the Timestop Space, and then he
suddenly lashed out and threw a punch at the tiny human. Xia Xing had become utterly confident that
he could overpower Lu Yin.

Lu Yin shook his head, but he did not move a single step from where he stood. Xia Xing released a vicious
punch, but it had no effect.

Xia Xing could not believe what he saw. How could such a thing be possible? He had absorbed
Progenitor Chen's blood, and he was now close to triggering his seventh stellular tribulation. Adding in
the strength of this newly acquired colossal giant, he was confident that he could face off against even a
peak Envoy, so how could his full might be useless against Lu Yin?
Lu Yin sneered, and his pupils transformed into runes. He then used God of Flames’ runes to suddenly
create a massive hand in midair that slapped down onto Xia Xing’s head, smashing the man to the
ground.

The amount of runes that belonged to God of Flames were comparable to a Semi-Progenitor’s. The man
had only ever reached the level of a peak Envoy, but after transforming into a candle and being
Enhanced by Lu Yin, the candle’s number of runes had risen to become comparable to those of a Semi-
Progenitor. Such power could easily suppress Xia Xing.

Xia Xing's body shrank more and more until he finally regained his original size. He lay on the ground and
glared up at Lu Yin, unwilling to accept this outcome.

Lu Yin bent over to look at the man with satisfaction. "I can see the desire to live within your eyes."

Xia Xing frowned "What does that mean?"

Lu Yin smiled. "I gave you a chance to escape, but you failed. That means that I still control whether you
live or die."

"It doesn't matter. I'm just a clone," Xia Xing replied in the same manner as before.

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "Who said that a clone can't replace the main body?"

Xia Xing's eyes instantly flared, as his mind started to race. Lu Yin’s simple question opened up a new
avenue of thoughts for the patriarch. Could a clone replace the main body?

Lu Yin’s eyes never left Xia Xing, and the change in the man’s expression suggested that Lu Yin’s efforts
had succeeded. Absorbing Progenitor Chen's blood had freed the clone from the restraints of the main
body, which gave him a new way of thinking.
Just as Wang Si had introduced the concept of overthrowing the Lu family to the four ruling powers, Lu
Yin had just introduced the previously foreign concept of freedom to Xia Xing's clone.

Certain thoughts or possibilities were too terrifying to consider, but once they occurred, more and more
changes would naturally soon develop.

It was rather normal for soldiers to be fearless on the battlefield, but the moment one person fled in
fear for their life, it introduced a new concept to others on the battlefield as well. This one small action
would quickly cascade into more and more soldiers also fleeing.

This change was taking place in the mind of Xia Xing's clone at this moment. Why did he have to die?
Why was it necessary? He could live instead, and why was it impossible for him to replace the main body
and become the true Xia Xing and the Xia family’s patriarch? After all, Xia Xing was already the
patriarch…

The more the man thought about it, the more the clone wanted to follow these new desires, and his
desire to live and survive grew stronger and stronger.

Lu Yin squatted down next to Xia Xing. "Tell me about the restriction, and I can let you leave this place
alive. I’ll even help you replace the main body."

The clone stared up at Lu Yin in a daze, confused. Complicated thoughts and emotions assaulted the
man, creating all kinds of differing internal conflicts as turbulent emotions clashed. Just what was he
supposed to do?

This new line of thought made the clone like a child who had just obtained the ability to think for itself,
and it caused the clone to fall into a state of confusion.
"Why are you hesitating?" Lu Yin asked. "You are Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu's Sky and the
patriarch of the Xia family. You can absorb the other clones, which means that you are the main body
now."

Xia Xing’s pupils constricted. "This was your goal all along."

Lu Yin smiled. This was what made the Nine Clones Technique so miraculous; each clone was capable of
independent thought, but they were incapable of resisting the main body. It seemed that being
absorbed by the main body was something innate to the clones, despite the fact that the clones were
not mindless puppets. After all, if the clones were mere puppets, then how could each of Progenitor
Chen’s clones be capable of destroying a Progenitor?

Each of Progenitor Chen's nine clones had been invincible, and yet it had been impossible for any of
them to avoid being absorbed by the main body.

Just these few words allowed Xia Xing's clone to understand Lu Yin's goal and open yet another new line
of thought. The clone understood that he had previously had no way to resist being absorbed by the
main body or sacrificing himself for the main body, but that had changed. He could resist now.

"It's quite interesting, isn't it?" Lu Yin smiled.

The clone just stared at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you are absolutely terrifying. You’re nothing at all like how
you used to be."

Lu Yin stood back up and looked down at Xia Xing from up above. "My name is Lu Yin. Lu Xiaoxuan is
dead."

The clone’s eyes narrowed. He could no longer tell Lu Yin that he was willing to die, as it was no longer
true, and Lu Yin already knew that. There was no point in trying to bluff. The clone now wanted to
absorb the main body in Shenwu’s Sky and become the new main body.
"You only want the restriction method?" Xia Xing asked.

Lu Yin nodded, "Just tell me that, and I can let you leave this place alive."

Xia Xing's clone let out a breath. "Trying to rescue the people of Star Alliance is far too difficult. Each of
the four ruling powers have a quarter of the restriction method, so even if you get my Xia family’s
portion, what are you going to do about the other three parts?"

"You don’t need to worry about that," Lu Yin said.

Xia Xing laughed. "We managed to exile the entire Lu family, only to end up deceived by a mere Lu
Xiaoxuan. What a joke!"

After feeling all sorts of conflicting emotions, Xia Xing finally shared the Xia family’s restriction method
with Lu Yin.

This meant that Lu Yin had already acquired half of the restriction method needed to free Star Alliance,
as he had obtained the parts belonging to both the White Dragon Clan and the Xia Clan. Only half
remained.

"You said that you would let me go," the clone reminded Lu Yin.

Lu Yin nodded. "I will, but not yet."

Xia Xing had not expected to be immediately released, as it was only expected for Lu Yin to worry about
his presence in the Perennial World becoming public knowledge, so this response was no surprise at all.
"However, I’ll offer you a deal. If you give me the Nine Clones Secret Technique, not only will I let you
go, but I’ll also help you absorb and replace the main body. In fact, I’ll even teach you Progenitor Chen's
battle techniques. Would you like that?" Lu Yin suddenly offered as he stared at Xia Xing's clone.

The clone just responded with a wry smile. "I’m willing to cooperate, but it’s impossible."

Lu Yin’s expression grew a slight bit more tense. "What do you mean?"

The clone shrugged. "The Nine Clones Secret Technique is something that the main body cultivates, and
the rest of us are created from the main body, which means that it’s impossible for us to cultivate on our
own initiative. This is a limitation inherent to the Nine Clones Secret Technique. First, it limits the clones’
thoughts so that we can’t resist the main body, not unless the main body is comparatively weaker and
we can break free from those limitations. The second limitation is that even if we want to resist, we
can’t absorb the main body, which is why I can’t teach you the secret technique."

Lu Yin stared at the clone, wondering if these words were true or not.

Xia Xing calmly stared back at Lu Yin.

After a while, Lu Yin averted his eyes and said, "I’ll release you in a while."

He then asked Progenitor Smoke to come out from the mirror and replace the restrictions on Xia Xing.

Progenitor Smoke’s sudden appearance terrified Xia Xing. He did not dare to directly look at the woman,
but he could not help but feel that she looked very familiar. He was sure that he had seen her
somewhere before.

Progenitor Smoke had apparently reached some sort of breakthrough in her research into Blood
Alchemy, so she immediately returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror after replacing the
restrictions on Xia Xing. She did not say even a single word.
Chapter 2217: Origins

In the outside world, chaos had descended due to the information of Realmless that had been released.
Through it all, Virtue Archives remained relatively peaceful. At most, a few students returned to their
families because of what their families were dealing with.

This turn of events was actually a good thing. Regardless of how the four ruling powers fought against
each other, many Redbacks and traitors were caught. More and more were captured as countless
traitors were uncovered due to Realmless’s information.

As for the Dealcut Association, it was an organization that sold materials and resources from the rear
battlefield, and it also manipulated the battlefield’s forces to ensure the safety of its paying clients. The
organization was almost entirely uprooted, and even the group’s leader in the second array base left.

Unfortunately, Lu Yin had never made use of the Dealcut Association. It had been eliminated before he
ever had the chance.

A few months passed as the four ruling powers started capturing traitors. During this time, Lu Yin had
been trying to come up with a plan to obtain the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family’s portions of
the restriction that was used to control the members of Star Alliance.

One day, Bai Weiwei arrived, looking for “Hao Yu.”

"You came here to ask me to escort you on a training mission?" Lu Yin was caught off guard.

Bai Weiwei explained, "I need to travel across the Middle Ocean, but this task was actually given to me
by my family. I need to kill a creature with the strength of a one-tribulation Envoy on my own."
"So why didn’t you ask Prof. Bai to escort you?"

"I did, but Prof. Bai isn’t enough to ensure my safety, so I wanted to go with you, Prof. Hao Yu," Bai
Weiwei replied. She then gave him a playful smile. "You can’t say no, Professor. I have the credits to
pay."

Lu Yin just shrugged. "There’s no problem if you have the credits. Where are we going in the Middle
Ocean?"

Bai Weiwei drew a map of the Middle Ocean. "This area will work fine."

Lu Yin looked at the map, and he was surprised to see that an area close to the Island of Hope had been
chosen. He had been thinking about trying to find an opportunity to visit the Island of Hope and get to
the Junior Progenitor Planets, and such an opportunity had just been given to him.

Naturally, Bai Weiwei had not requested Lu Yin’s protection while traveling across the Middle Ocean
simply because of safety issues, but also because the Xia family’s ploys were all too clear to the Celestial
Frost Sect. They also wanted to try to win over Grandmaster Gu Yan, and this mission was to create an
opportunity for them.

The Celestial Frost Sect was finally ready to formally offer some conditions.

News quickly spread that Bai Weiwei had asked Prof. Hao Yu to protect her during a mission, and of
course, Nong Siniang was the first to object. However, since Bai Weiwei had paid credits for the service,
there was nothing that Nong Siniang could do to stop the mission from taking place.

Wu Taibai also heard the news, and he immediately sent a report to Xia Ziheng. The Semi-Progenitor
asked Wu Taibai to take Yu Chuan away. As long as the Xia family controlled Yu Chuan, Yu Hao could not
run away. If the Celestial Frost Sect wanted to win Yu Hao over, then he would definitely demand his
grandfather to be released. Thus, as long as Shenwu’s Sky had Yu Chuan, that condition would be
impossible to fulfill.

The endless Middle Ocean surrounded the Middle Realm. Off in the distance, flocks of birds flew
through the blue sky. Some of the birds created gusts of icy wind that sliced the ocean open so that the
birds could catch some fish.

It was a place far off the coast of the Middle Ocean, and it was remote enough that it was possible to
even encounter creatures at the Envoy level.

“Hao Yu,” Bai Weiwei, and Prof. Bai were all riding on a boat made from some folded white paper. It was
a huge boat, and it had both a cabin and a deck that were created from the white paper, and the ship
was almost as large as a genuine ship.

Prof. Bai was sitting at the stern of the boat and fishing. It was a very popular pastime.

Bai Weiwei was standing at the bow, staring off into the distance. Occasionally, she looked down into
the depths of the ocean, clearly searching for something.

Lu Yin was leaning against a railing, rather bored. Still, he remained somewhat close to Bai Weiwei, as he
was supposed to be ensuring her safety from any potential mishaps.

"Prof. Hao Yu, if there aren’t any creatures around here with the strength of an Envoy, then why don’t
we go somewhere else?" Bai Weiwei asked.

Lu Yin's domain was firmly in the spirit manifestation realm, which meant that it was quite easy for him
to notice powerful creatures through his domain.

After checking a few directions, Lu Yin pointed a finger. "That way. I can feel that the creatures in that
direction are stronger."
Bai Weiwei immediately reacted.

On the sea bed beneath them, a massive creature was being suppressed so completely that it could not
even move. It was as strong as a one-tribulation Envoy, but Lu Yin had thoroughly suppressed the
creature, ensuring that neither Bai Weiwei nor Prof. Bai could discover the creature.

How could he guide the two people closer to the Island of Hope if they found a creature that matched
their requirements so quickly and easily? Sure enough, Lu Yin had pointed in the general direction of the
Island of Hope.

The little group had already spent over ten days roaming about the Middle Ocean.

Prof. Bai found their situation rather odd. "We definitely should have run into some powerful astral
beasts around here, so why haven’t we found anything at all?"

Bai Weiwei also found their situation rather odd, and she looked at “Hao Yu.” "Prof. Hao Yu, why don't
we choose another direction?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Sure."

They had changed directions several times already, and while it appeared to Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai
that they had traveled in multiple different directions, in truth, they were following Lu Yin’s plan.
Inevitably, they would eventually reach the Island of Hope.

There was a splash as Bai Weiwei rose up from the ocean. She waved a hand, and a massive sea turtle
was thrown up into the sky.

This turtle was as strong as an Enlighter, so it was clearly not the target of their mission.
"What a pity. We still can’t find one," Bai Weiwei said. "We’ve already spent more time on this mission
than I expected. I thought that I’d be able to find something within this area of the Middle Ocean in ten
days at the most."

Prof. Bai spoke up, "Prof. Hao Yu, it’s possible that your domain might be frightening the sea creatures
away, so why don’t I try."

Lu Yin shrugged. "That’s fine."

Prof. Bai had also cultivated a domain, though he had not achieved much mastery over it. His domain
could only compare to an Enlighter’s strength. Fortunately, it could spread quite far.

Several more days passed, but Prof. Bai also failed to find any astral beasts with the strength of a one-
tribulation Envoy, or even a two-tribulation Envoy. However, they did encounter a massive beast that
was so powerful that none of them could accurately sense its strength. It passed by, high above the
ocean, and the three humans were all too terrified to say a word until the beast was gone.

The creature flew over the ocean by traveling through the true universe. Its passage overturned the
ocean below and stirred up the sky above.

"That thing’s at least as strong as a six-tribulation Envoy! We’re lucky that it didn’t notice us." Prof. Bai's
face was completely pale, as he was rather scared.

Bai Weiwei similarly felt quite grateful. "We’re too weak to attract its attention."

Lu Yin smiled. "Or maybe we’re just too small to fill its stomach."

Prof. Bai was shocked. "That's not very nice to hear."

Lu Yin just smiled, and the three continued to search.

"I've always been rather curious about where the Middle Ocean came from. It’s home to so many
powerful creatures. Has no one ever thought of moving these creatures onto the rear battlefield to help
defend humanity?" Lu Yin asked.

Prof. Bai lowered his fishing rod. "Any who attempt such a thing will become criminals who betray
humanity."

Lu Yin grew curious. "Why is that?"

Prof. Bai turned to look at “Yu Hao.” "Have you not read the books about the Middle Ocean, Prof. Hao
Yu?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "I’ve spent too much time focusing on books regarding cultivation and
lockbreaking, as well as the records of Progenitor Wen. I haven’t had the time to read anything else."

Prof. Bai smiled. "Do you know about the Fifth Continent, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin's expression never twitched. "Of course."

The Fifth and Sixth Mainlands were not regarded as forbidden topics within the Perennial World, but
they only ever referred to the Fifth Mainland as the Forsaken Land.

"The Middle Ocean comes from the Fifth Mainland’s Astral River. It’s not just an ocean, as the Mother
Tree’s roots also need the water," Prof. Bai slowly explained.
Bai Weiwei perked up. "I remember a bit about that. I think that First Senior Sister mentioned something
about how many of the creatures in the Middle Ocean are connected to the Lower Realm and the
Mother Tree’s roots."

Prof. Bai nodded. "That’s no secret. Aeternus has always wanted to contaminate the Middle Ocean to
destroy the Mother Tree’s roots and eliminate the rear battlefield. Fortunately, the Middle Ocean is too
massive, and some of the creatures living in it are more powerful beyond belief, which caused the
Aeternals to fail. If they couldn’t do it, then we humans can’t either."

"So the creatures in the Middle Ocean can theoretically reach the Mother Tree’s roots?" This was rather
shocking to Lu Yin, as he had never heard of such a thing.

Prof. Bai nodded. "That’s what’s recorded in the books, though only a few people know how it works."

"Prof. Bai, you mentioned that the Middle Ocean comes from the Forsaken Land’s Astral River, right?"
Lu Yin pressed.

Prof. Bai replied, "That’s also what’s recorded in the books, so it should be true. It’s said that the Astral
River of the Fifth Mainland, which is now the Forsaken Land, once flowed around the Mother Tree and
once connected all Six Mainlands. The creatures in that river are incredibly powerful, and they can be
thought of as the guardians of the Mother Tree’s roots."

Lu Yin understood. No wonder Kui Luo had wanted to catch the powerful creatures that occasionally
appeared in the Fifth Mainland’s Astral River.

"What's this?" Lu Yin squatted down and picked up a metallic item that had fallen on the deck of the
paper boat. It was a small bit of pyrolyte that he had purposefully dropped.

Upon learning that the Middle Ocean came from the Astral River, Lu Yin naturally wanted to find out
where pyrolyte came from. After all, the Fifth Mainland’s Astral River held a tremendous amount of
pyrolyte, though he could not allow these two people to learn where this tiny bit of pyrolyte had come
from.

Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei both looked at the small item. "That’s what appears when the Mother Tree’s
roots decay. It’s known as Mother Soil, but don’t underestimate it. A single gram of Mother Soil can be
incredibly destructive. It used to be used extensively on the rear battlefield, but unfortunately, it’s too
rare, so it’s not used anymore."

Bai Weiwei interjected, "It takes too long for the Mother Tree’s roots to rot or decay, and our Perennial
World simply isn’t old enough. Supposedly, all of the Mother Soil that was once used was brought here
by our seniors who brought the Mother Tree here."

"It has to be admitted that the place with the most Mother Soil has to be the Forsaken Land.
Unfortunately, that makes it impossible to get," Prof. Bai lamented.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Mother Soil? Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei were both familiar with this information,
and the people in the army that the Perennial World had sent to the Fifth Mainland had to be aware of it
as well. However, nothing had ever been mentioned, though it was expected that pyrolyte would be
taken away when the New Corridor was restored.

Mother Soil and microarray technology were most likely also the goals of the Perennial World’s forces in
the Fifth Mainland.

"Apparently, that creature just now got very close to the Mother Tree’s roots," Prof. Bai commented.

The three people spent some time chatting as Prof. Bai continued to search for an astral beast with the
strength of a one-tribulation Envoy. As time passed, Bai Weiwei brought up the Xia family.

"Sect Master Xia Xing’s gone missing. As a result, Shenwu's Sky went crazy and attacked all of
Realmless’s different bases, including their headquarters. Even then, it wasn’t enough for them to
recover from the damage that they suffered due to Xia Xing’s disappearance. Of the four ruling powers,
the White Dragon Clan has always firmly been at the bottom, but Shenwu’s Sky’s always been right
beneath my Celestial Frost Sect. With this, I wouldn’t be surprised if they get overtaken by the Wang
family. No matter what, my Celestial Frost Sect will always remain the most powerful," Bai Weiwei
proudly proclaimed.

Lu Yin agreed, "It’s true that there’s no way the Xia family can compare to the Celestial Frost Sect."

"If Grandmaster Gu Yan joins my Celestial Frost Sect, we will definitely improve by yet another level.
Prof. Hao Yu, tell me, what are the conditions to get Grandmaster Gu Yan to agree to join us?" Bai
Weiwei asked bluntly.

Lu Yin hesitated.

Bai Weiwei continued to say, "I originally wasn’t this anxious, but I know that Semi-Progenitor Xia
Ziheng’s taken your grandfather Yu Chuan out of Star Alliance. While we are certainly willing to try to
free Yu Chuan, it won’t be easy at all. This is why we need to understand your feelings on the matter.
The sect is not willing to put in that much effort without some sort of guarantee."

Lu Yin grew serious as he gazed at Bai Weiwei. "I want revenge. Xia Zhitong has to die, along with Xia
Yuan, who supports her, and even the Xia family’s branch in the Blue Moon District. My grandfather Yu
Chuan needs to be rescued. If you can do all of that, I’m more than happy to join the Celestial Frost
Sect."

Chapter 2218: Crossing The Ocean

After wandering around the Middle Ocean for a few more days, with Lu Yin’s guidance, they finally saw
the Island of Hope.
"Isn't that the Island of Hope? I didn't think that we’d end up here." Prof. Bai was amazed, and envy
filled her eyes.

Who in the entire Perennial World did not want to visit the Island of Hope? Youths competed for the
title of Junior Progenitor and the opportunity to enter the Dominion Realm here, and older cultivators
would choose a Junior Progenitor to follow them because the Junior Progenitors were guaranteed to
become Progenitors in the future, and the future was limitless for a Progenitor’s followers.

However, Bai Weiwei had not been qualified to follow any of the four Junior Progenitors because she
had been too weak during their selection process

"Since we’ve come all the way to the Island of Hope, we might as well go take a look! Let's go," Bai
Weiwei said excitedly.

However, Prof. Bai hesitated. "That’s not a good idea. Before the competition to determine the Junior
Progenitors’ teams to enter the Dominion Realm starts, no one is allowed to step foot onto the Island of
Hope."

The Island of Hope was the entryway to the Junior Progenitor Planets, which only those elite few
recognized as Junior Progenitors and their followers were allowed to enter. Even the title of Junior
Progenitor only existed for a limited amount of time, and it was given exclusively to those who were
victorious during the Yuanlun Festival. Even if other geniuses were born in different eras and had power
that matched or even exceeded the Junior Progenitors’, they could not receive the title.

The Junior Progenitors were the only ones who were given the opportunity to go to the Dominion Realm
to compete for Origin Matter, as even here, there was not an excess of Origin Matter. This was also why
the Fifth Mainland always chose to send people into the Perennial World immediately after the Yuanlun
Festival concluded.

Of course, not being able to go to the Dominion Realm and fight for Origin Matter did not mean that it
was impossible to obtain Origin Matter. Rather, the method to obtain it was completely different.
From Lu Yin’s point of view, the Junior Progenitors’ excursion to the Dominion Realm was nothing more
than a ritual or a ceremony.

Was it possible that Bai Shaohong and the other Junior Progenitors would not be given Origin Matter if
they did not find any in the Dominion Realm? That was impossible. Was there no way for the elites
before and after Bai Shaohong’s generation to have an opportunity to obtain Origin matter? That was
also impossible.

The most obvious example of this was the Seven Heroes. There was no Yuanlun Festival during their
time, but everyone had been utterly confident that they would reproduce the glory of controlling the
Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas. Only Progenitors could control the Nine Mountains and the Eight
Seas, and it took a truly exceptional Progenitor to accomplish that feat.

It was impossible to become a Progenitor without Origin Matter, which meant that there had to have
been some way for the Seven Heroes to obtain it.

The fact of the matter was that, regardless of whether someone could get Origin Matter, climbing past
the Island of Hope to reach the resources and other benefits that were on the Junior Progenitor Planets
did not depend on the age in which a person was born. Rather, it depended on their own strength.

Things like justice and luck were only facades used by ordinary people.

Prof. Bai was a rather ordinary individual, and so to his knowledge, only the Junior Progenitors and their
followers could ascend past the Island of Hope, and the time of the Junior Progenitors had already
passed. Even if the man was an Envoy, he was still a relatively average individual.

Bai Weiwei lifted her head high. "Who’s going to stop us?"
Prof. Bai was caught off guard. It was common knowledge that the Island of Hope was off limits unless
one had permission, but who enforced that restriction? It could only be the four ruling powers, and to
some extent, Bai Weiwei could act as a representative of the Celestial Frost Sect.

"Let's go," Bai Weiwei gently pushed.

There was no more hesitation, and Prof. Bai guided the paper boat towards the Island of Hope.

Lu Yin never said a word. He could not voice his desire to step onto the Island of Hope, so he had
purposefully stayed silent and left the decision to Bai Weiwei.

It was not long before they landed on the Island of Hope.

Lu Yin actually felt a bit emotional when he returned to the island. When he last visited this place, he
had been escorted by Long Kui. He had benefited greatly that time, but there was no telling if he would
be similarly successful this time.

During his last visit, Lu Yin had not spent much time observing the Island of Hope. While walking across
the island with Bai Weiwei, he found the place to be no different than any other place. It seemed that
the greatest difference was the presence of the Junior Progenitor Planets.

The four Junior Progenitor Planets hung beyond the Island of Hope, and it was only possible to see them
from Hope Restaurant.

After half a day of walking, the three people arrived at Hope Restaurant. There was absolutely no one on
the entire island, and the only sounds were those of birds, beasts, and insects.

Bai Weiwei looked up at Hope Restaurant. "So is this the legendary Hope Restaurant?"
Prof. Bai stared at the restaurant. He had never even imagined that there would come a day when he
would visit this place.

"Prof. Bai, I heard that there’s an old senior from the academy here, right?" Bai Weiwei asked.

Prof. Bai replied, "I've heard that as well, but I don’t know the details."

Bai Weiwei glanced over at “Yu Hao,” and Lu Yin spoke up. "There’s an old senior here who’s known as
the God of Food."

Bai Weiwei was surprised. "Why do they call him that?"

"How do you know about that, Prof. Hao Yu?" Prof. Bai also felt quite surprised.

Lu Yin laughed. "I met that senior by coincidence, and he’s the one who invited me to become an
instructor at the academy."

"So that's what happened." Prof. Bai instantly understood. He had joined Virtue Archives before Lu Yin,
so there was no reason for him to not know the information that Lu Yin was privy to. This was the
easiest explanation that made sense.

There was no more hesitation as the three people climbed up to the restaurant. There, they were finally
able to make out the hazy form of the four Junior Progenitor Planets far off in the distance. At the same
time, delicious food appeared on a table in front of them.

"This is the famous food of Hope Restaurant! Let’s try it!" Bai Weiwei was quite intrigued, and while
eating, she stared at the Junior Progenitor Planets with glowing eyes.
Prof. Bai was not the only average cultivator, as Bai Weiwei was the same. At the very least, she was not
exceptional enough to break the rules.

The delicious food appeared without warning, and whenever the plates were emptied, new ones
appeared.

Lu Yin smiled. "It looks like Senior is afraid that we’ll starve."

A respectful expression suddenly appeared on Prof. Bai’s face.

Bai Weiwei quickly got to her feet. "Virtue Archives student Bai Weiwei respectfully asks Senior God of
Food to reveal himself."

As soon as Prof. Bai heard the young woman, he leaped to his feet and offered a bow of his own. "Bai
Lin, instructor from Virtue Archives, respectfully requests that Senior show himself."

Lu Yin also rose to his feet. "Hao Yu, instructor from Virtue Archives, respectfully requests Seniors to
show himself."

There was no response. The three people repeated their request, but there was still no response.

"Forget it. It appears that Senior doesn't want to be disturbed by us, so let's just leave after finishing our
food," Lu Yin said.

Bai Weiwei replied, "Since I came to the Island of Hope, it’d be a pity to not visit the Junior Progenitor
Planets."

As soon as she finished speaking, she left the restaurant and started making her way towards the Junior
Progenitor Planets.
Prof. Bai was startled, and he hurried after her.

Lu Yin similarly followed.

They soon arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect’s Junior Progenitor Planet. Bai Weiwei moved towards the
planet, but an irresistible, yet gentle force stopped her. She stopped and said, "Bai Weiwei, disciple of
the Celestial Frost Sect, wishes to enter the Junior Progenitor Planet."

"If you are not a Junior Progenitor, then you are not allowed to enter the planet," a voice replied.

Lu Yin and Prof. Bai arrived at that moment, and when they looked down at the Junior Progenitor Planet
and saw the endless star essence, the sight caused Lu Yin’s eyes to sparkle.

Bai Weiwei was unwilling to back down. "I am the most outstanding disciple of my generation in the
Celestial Frost Sect, and I am comparable to Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong when he was my age. Do I
really not qualify to visit the Junior Progenitor Planet?"

A man stepped out of the Junior Progenitor Planet. He was Senior Cheng Tian, who was the guardian of
the Junior Progenitor Planet. Each of the four planets had several Envoys who served as guardians, and
Senior Cheng Tian was a powerhouse who was a six- tribulation Envoy.

The guardian and Bai Weiwei stared at each other. "I truly would like to allow you in, but we cannot
break the rules. I would be the one responsible for allowing you in, unless you are able to obtain the
consent of the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect."

The guardians had volunteered to take on their task not only because they wished to retire on the Junior
Progenitor Planets, but also because they wanted to rely on the Junior Progenitors. After all, those four
youths had a very good chance of eventually becoming Progenitors, which was why so many people
were eager to follow and support the youths; it was purely because of their potential. Serving a Junior
Progenitor was an opportunity that was out of reach of the vast majority of cultivators.
Bai Weiwei was indeed the most outstanding disciple of her generation in the Celestial Frost Sect. So
despite being a six-tribulation Envoy, Cheng Tian was eager to support the young woman. The old man
knew that he had reached his limits and could not improve any further, but if he obtained a higher
status, then those barriers could be surpassed.

Thus, the man was not lying when he said that he wished that he could allow Bai Weiwei to enter the
planet, as things would greatly improve for him if the young woman received the title of Junior
Progenitor. However, rules were rules.

Bai Weiwei frowned. "If you let me in, I will accept your support."

Cheng Tian shook his head in a helpless manner. "I'm sorry."

The man would not place all of his hopes onto a single person or generation. His strength meant that he
had a long life ahead of him, and as long as he remained the chief guardian of the Junior Progenitor
Planet, he would continue to meet geniuses who had the potential to become Progenitors. Risking this
position by breaking the rules for a single individual was not worth it at all.

Bai Weiwei’s attempts to talk her way in were useless, and she eventually had no choice but to leave.

Aside from visiting Hope Restaurant and seeing the Island of Hope, she had gained nothing at all from
this visit.

Even when she was back on the paper boat, Bai Weiwei was very reluctant to accept the current
situation. "If I wasn’t just a few decades too late, Bai Shaohong might not have been the Junior
Progenitor!"

Lu Yin arched a brow. From his judgment, Bai Shaohong had been much more impressive than Bai
Weiwei was. Did people actually believe that there was an element of luck to becoming one of the four
Junior Progenitors? That was completely wrong. Unless one reached a certain threshold of power, then
even if they surpassed everyone else in their generation, it would not be enough to stand up to the
other three Junior Progenitors.

The four Junior Progenitors had received their titles by relying purely on their own strength. If Bai
Weiwei had been born at the same time as Bai Shaohong, then she would have at best been comparable
to Nong Sanniang or Liu Hao.

The sky darkened above the Middle Ocean, and a luminous silver fish shot into the sky from the depths
of the ocean, where it shot out a beam of light.

Aboard the paper boat, Prof. Bai turned pale. "Not good! That creature’s as strong as a four-tribulation
Envoy!"

“Yu Hao” quickly set up a sourcebox array to block the beam of light, and then both Prof. Bai and Bai
Weiwei attacked the beam in an attempt to weaken it. The three of them fought for a bit less than half
an hour before driving the silver fish off.

By the time the sky recovered to its former brilliance, Prof. Bai was almost completely drained, and Bai
Weiwei was also gasping for breath.

Puff!

“Yu Hao” spat out a mouthful of blood, and Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai quickly moved over to assist him.
"Prof. Hao Yu, what’s wrong?"

“Yu Hao” looked terrible, and he continued to cough up more blood. "I was barely able to keep the
sourcebox array stable against those attacks, and I ended up being badly injured. I don’t think that I’ll be
able to help you for several days."
Bai Weiwei still felt quite grateful. "If not for your help just now, we would have died. Let’s find a place
to rest while you spend a few days recovering, Professor."

“Yu Hao” nodded, and he took a seat in the paper boat, still looking extremely pale.

However, the Yu Hao who was present was actually someone else, as Tong Yu had adopted Hao Yu’s
appearance and replaced Lu Yin.

After agreeing to travel to the Middle Ocean with Bai Weiwei, Lu Yin had contacted Tong Yu and asked
her to follow them from a distance and be ready to replace Lu Yin at any given moment.

Lu Yin’s goal for visiting the Middle Ocean was not to waste time, but rather to obtain the resources that
were on the Junior Progenitor Planets.

Everyone in the Perennial World knew that the resources on the Junior Progenitor Planets were
provided by everyone in the Perennial World. After all, the Junior Progenitors were not supposed to
merely represent the four ruling powers, but rather the entire Perennial World. They were supposed to
be geniuses who were supported and raised by all of humanity.

However, the Junior Progenitor Planets were under the complete control of the four ruling powers.
While the current generation’s Liu Que was incredibly powerful, he was still barred from using the
resources that had been gathered and sent to the Junior Progenitor Planets. The four planets had
become the private property of the four ruling powers.

Since that was the case, Lu Yin was happy to help himself to what was available.

He had first asked Tong Yu to pretend to be him. Then, so that no flaws would be discovered in her act,
Lu Yin had lured the silver fish with the strength of a four-tribulation Envoy over and feigned a serious
injury. This would prevent Tong Yu from interacting too much with Bai Weiwei, during which Lu Yin
would sneak back onto the Island of Hope while hidden by Progenitor Smoke. In the end, Lu Yin was able
to get to the Junior Progenitor Planets without the God of Food noticing anything.
Chapter 2219: Absurd Upgrades

As Lu Yin looked down at the seemingly endless mountains of star essence on the ground below, he took
several deep breaths. The place smelled of money and power.

Finally, the day had come where he no longer needed to worry about how much he spent, where he
could carelessly consume without any restraint.

"I don't understand why you need so much star essence. You’re already cultivating with stellular energy,
not star energy." Progenitor Smoke felt rather surprised as she observed Lu Yin. She felt this guy was
keeping some secrets from her.

Lu Yin coughed. "Senior, um, could you- I mean, this junior- Could you please return to the mirror?"

Progenitor Smoke’s brow furrowed. "What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t want me to watch?
What are you going to do, cross the river and tear down the bridge? Brat, you’re really pushing things!"

Lu Yin quickly apologized, and he also tried to offer some reassurances. "This junior has a secret, and
while I don’t want to hide it from you, Senior, it’s really awkward for other people to see it. All this junior
can do is make a promise to you, Senior. In a few days, I’ll share this secret with you, and in the best
outcome, you might be freed from your prison."

Progenitor Smoke's eyes grew large. "Free me? Are you certain? Can you actually do that?"

Lu Yin remained firm. "I’m going to try. So, Senior, could you…?"
Before Lu Yin could even finish asking his question, Progenitor Smoke had already returned to the
pocket dimension within the mirror. Before vanishing, she did leave a warning. "I’ll tell you this right
now—if you fail, or prove that it will be impossible in the future, you can forget about getting any more
help from me again."

Lu Yin stored the mirror away. He did not question Progenitor Smoke's resolve in the slightest. After all,
the woman controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but a puny three-tribulation Envoy had
used the woman on multiple occasions. Even if Progenitor Smoke had not said anything, Lu Yin knew full
well that she was not comfortable with her situation.

Regardless, Lu Yin could not casually reveal his innate gift. Kui Luo had seen Lu Yin use his die once, but
he was not clear on the specifics. Even if Progenitor Smoke did not fully understand what she saw, she
was still far more perceptive than a Semi-Progenitor.

If possible, it was best for Lu Yin to not reveal his secrets.

Since he had promised to do his best to free Progenitor Smoke, Lu Yin made sure that the first thing that
he would Enhance would be the needle-like weapon.

While he wanted to Enhance the slipper, he was not sure if even the exorbitant resources available on
the Junior Progenitor Planets were enough to upgrade the slipper even a single time. According to his
rough estimates, each of the Junior Progenitor Planets held somewhere between 300 billion to 500
billion star essence, but it would probably take multiple trillions of star essence to fully Enhance the
slipper even once. Even if the slipper was Enhanced to the level where it could kill a Progenitor, it would
be worthless if Lu Yin could not get close to a Progenitor. Thus, its current level suited Lu Yin’s abilities.
On the other hand, it was still worthwhile to Enhance the needle-like weapon.

Of all the various power vessels that Lu Yin possessed, the needle-like weapon was the only one that
could potentially be improved enough to be able to help free Progenitor Smoke. At the moment,
Progenitor Smoke was only able to exert the power of a Semi-Progenitor outside of the mirror because
of the needle-like weapon and the slipper.
At the moment, Lu Yin was on the Junior Progenitor Planet that belonged to Shenwu’s Sky. The
guardians of the planet had already been knocked out, so Lu Yin raised a hand and brought his die out.
He simply needed to roll three pips.

Lu Yin did not have a cosmic ring big enough to take away all the star essence that was on the planet, so
even rolling Timestop would be useless.

His luck was not great, as his first roll landed on Blackhole Disassembly and the second on Timestop.
Then, he spent nearly a year in the Timestop Space, training with the Cosmic Art. He had considered
storing as much star essence as possible in his cosmic ring and trying to enhance some things while in
the Timestop Space, but he had almost immediately realized that it would not work. Then, he had
instead concentrated entirely on the Cosmic Art.

His third roll was Gift Copy, and only on his third roll did he manage to roll Enhance.

Lu Yin stared at the two screens formed from light, and he started to move his arms. He needed to shift
massive amounts of star essence over.

He already knew that it would be incredibly expensive to upgrade the needle-like weapon even once.
After all, it could already shatter a Semi-Progenitor’s inner world at its base level, so there was no way
that Enhancing it would be cheap.

460 billion. It cost a total of 460 billion star essence to Enhance the weapon a single time.

Lu Yin stared at the seemingly unchanged weapon and gulped nervously. He had never before spent so
much star essence on any Enhancement before.

Almost all of the star essence on Shenwu’s Sky’s Junior Progenitor Planet had been consumed. All that
remained was a thin layer that covered the surface, and Lu Yin only left that behind to prevent the loss
of star essence from being seen by the God of Food who was in Hope Restaurant.
After seeing just how much money he had consumed with this single upgrade, Lu Yin could not help but
feel rather shaken.

He slowly picked the weapon up, but there seemed to be no difference at all.

It was extremely cold to the touch, but Lu Yin did not dare to try to test the weapon out, as he could not
risk breaking anything. Also, there was a good chance that the God of Food would notice any drastic
changes.

He looked down at his cosmic ring and then out at the other Junior Progenitor Planets.

There was nothing else that Lu Yin could Enhance while on the same Junior Progenitor Planet. After
realizing that, he pulled out the mirror and asked Progenitor Smoke to take him to the next one.

After coming out, Progenitor Smoke automatically glanced around, and curiosity and disbelief quickly
covered her face. "Where did so much star essence go?"

Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Senior, it's really inconvenient to tell you this junior’s secrets, but don't worry.
After leaving this place, this junior is confident that I will be able to help you release more of your
strength."

Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin for a long moment, though she said nothing. Finally, she took him to
the next Junior Progenitor Planet.

The next one was the Junior Progenitor Planet that belonged to the White Dragon Clan. This was the
place where Lu Yin had plotted to prevent Nong Lie and several others from being selected as members
of Long Tian’s team in the Dominion Realm. That had given Lu Yin the opportunity to go instead.

He had also used a good bit of star essence on the planet, though it had been a negligible amount in the
scope of the entire planet.
The mirror quickly went back into his cosmic ring. Lu Yin had already decided what he wanted to
Enhance next, which was the Withered Bark that possessed the power of time.

In Lu Yin’s mind, Progenitor Ku was someone very, very important. While the man had not possessed
Progenitor Chen's domineering invincibility, Progenitor Hui's incomparable intelligence, or the Rune
Progenitor’s mysteriousness, when it came to sheer endurance and determination, Progenitor Ku had
been without equal. Even Progenitor Smoke had admitted that Progenitor Ku was virtually unkillable,
and Wang Miaomiao, who was Forgotten Ruins God, had mentioned the same thing.

Progenitor Ku had possessed the courage to charge into the heart of Aeternus on his own. His
confidence had come from his own power.

The Withered Bark that Lu Yin had was a power vessel that Progenitor Ku had personally left behind.

Lu Yin had already mastered Extremes Must Be Reversed, which essentially allowed a dead tree to
sprout anew. And yet, this Withered Bark possessed the power of time. Lu Yin had long since started
wondering how Progenitor Ku’s power was connected to the power of time, as there was no record of
such a thing in the Ku family.

The only mention of it had come from Ku Rong, who had claimed that Progenitor Ku had mastered the
power of time, though the man’s only evidence to support his claim was the Withered Bark.

Lu Yin felt that there had to be a reason for why the Withered Bark held the power of time, but given
Progenitor Ku’s low-key personality, it was impossible for anyone to know just what the man had
comprehended.

Lu Yin has seen just how miraculous the power of time could be from Wendy Yushan and Chu Yuan, as
well as when he had personally traveled through time and space. He had practically witnessed the entire
history of humanity! Lu Yin had a very powerful desire to master the power of time, even if the chances
were minuscule.
Lu Yin calmly stared at the Withered Bark as he rested for ten days. After the required time had passed,
he resumed rolling his die.

He watched as the die slowly came to a stop, and when he saw that it landed on six pips, Lu Yin’s eyes lit
up. Next, he appeared in the dark space that was filled with orbs of light of varying brightness. There
was no time to waste, so he immediately shot towards a bright light and merged with it.

When he opened his eyes, Lu Yin found himself on a violent battlefield. It was dark, and a massive
formation was underfoot. He was on the rear battlefield.

Several corpse kings in front of Lu Yin attacked him, and he dodged out of reflex. He had Possessed a
five-tribulation Envoy, so he easily retreated into the true universe. However, all of the attacking corpse
kings were also at the Envoy level, and one had even undergone a Green Eyes Transformation and
revealed an innate gift. It was the corpse king that the Possessed person had been wariest of.

Memories started to pour in, and Lu Yin finally knew whom he had Possessed.

This man was a commander of the fourth array base: Jiu Zizai. He was the most powerful of the array
base’s colonels, and he was essentially the second-in-command of the array base. Jiu Zizai was even
more powerful than Colonel Zhuo, whom Lu Yin had met before.

If this was all there was to the man, then Lu Yin would immediately end the Possession.

However, Lu Yin had already learned from Jiu Zizai’s memories that the man was actually a Redback.
During the second battle that he had participated in on the rear battlefield, thousands of years ago, he
had been recruited and turned, becoming a Redback. He had killed his own comrades and begged the
Aeternals for mercy. Marquis Wu Yi, one of the Twelve Marquises, had personally overseen Jiu Zizai’s
training.
For nearly a thousand years, Jiu Zizai had never been asked to do a single task. All that had happened
was that Aeternus had tried to avoid affecting the man’s time on the second array base. He had
eventually risen from being an Enlighter, to a five-tribulation Envoy. All of Jiu Zizai’s accomplishments on
the battlefield had been provided to him by Marquis Wu Yi, solely to improve the man’s status even
further.

Jiu Zizai was already the most powerful of the fourth array base’s colonels, and he answered only to his
general and the commander of the rear battlefield. After just one more breakthrough, Jiu Zizai would
become a useful tool for Marquis Wu Yi.

Through the memories that he saw, Lu Yin learned that Marquis Wu Yi had never asked this colonel to
do anything at all on the rear battlefield. The five array bases operated as a unified whole, so even if Jiu
Zizai managed to become a Semi-Progenitor or was promoted to be the general of an entire array base,
he would never be able to influence the entire battlefield.

Rather, Jiu Zizai would be the most useful if he eventually returned to the Perennial World from the rear
battlefield. Only then would he start to serve his designated purpose.

The possibilities available to a powerhouse who had survived the rear battlefield for thousands of years
and had risen up to become a six or seven-tribulation Envoy were unimaginable. Every organization
would court such an expert, and he would become the most important Redback in the entire Perennial
World in a single step.

The memories that Lu Yin saw left him shocked. Most people believed the rear battlefield to be a dam
that existed to block Aeternus from entering the Perennial World, and it was indeed the Aeternals’
greatest obstacle.

However, there were many people in the same position as Jiu Zizai on the rear battlefield. The Aeternals
had an excellent grasp of the weaknesses of human nature. As long as a person wanted to survive, they
could be easily coerced into becoming a Redback, especially after they returned to the Perennial World.

No one would suspect these people, and even Humility’s Gate would hesitate to question such heroes,
as there would be terrible backlash from making a mistake.
Lu Yin controlled Jiu Zizai's body in a fight against the corpse king, though it was a struggle for him to not
simply force the body to commit suicide. Still, after thinking about it, Lu Yin held himself back. Since he
had managed to uncover Jiu Zizai as a Redback, there was nothing that the man could keep hidden from
Lu Yin. It might even be possible to use the man as a double spy and learn about Aeternus’s secrets.

Also, it was true that Jiu Zizai had never done anything to harm humanity. On the contrary, Marquis Wu
Yi had deliberately allowed the man to accomplish impressive achievements, though everything was
actually thanks to the corpse kings.

Lu Yin suddenly had a strange idea; if a large number of people turned traitor and tried to join Aeternus
as Redbacks, then would the Aeternals work to give all of those people impressive military achievements
to help them get promoted? How much would the Aeternals be willing to cough up to improve the
statuses of their Redbacks?

After all, any costs would be recovered if the people were truly Redbacks, but what sort of losses would
the Aeternals suffer if the Redbacks were not truly traitors to humanity?

As soon as this idea occurred to Lu Yin, he could not dismiss it. His eyes glowed brighter and brighter,
and he ended up being so distracted by his thoughts that he was almost taken out by a corpse king.

After all, none of the corpse kings present were aware Jiu Zizai was a Redback. They were truly trying to
kill him. Only the most powerful corpse kings on the battlefield, the ones that posed a genuine threat to
the colonel, were aware of his status. They were the ones who would create opportunities for Redbacks
during critical moments.

Chapter 2220: Chaotic Time And Space

Marquis Wu Yi had already died in the Fifth Mainland, and Jiu Zizai's memory revealed that no one else
from the upper echelons of Aeternus had made contact with him recently. He had simply been waiting.
Waiting for the day when he would leave the rear battlefield and return to the Perennial World.
Lu Yin was just about to end the Possession when another memory popped up. Surprisingly, this was
about the Dealcut Association.

Lu Yin quickly examined the memory.

According to the man’s memories, Jiu Zizai had also joined the Dealcut Association, and he had become
a high-level executive. His mere existence was considered top secret, which was why he had not been
mentioned in any of the information that had been recovered by Realmless, and it was also why there
were no other references to the colonel either.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. In truth, the Dealcut Association had never been eliminated. Their top members
were not even known, as they were all just as secretive as Jiu Zizai.

While Realmless had records of many of the Dealcut Association’s high-level members, all of those
people were relatively public. At the very least, the four ruling powers did not know about a single six-
tribulation powerhouse in the Dealcut Association, let alone someone like a colonel on the rear
battlefield.

Zuo Lingzhu was quite famous within the Dealcut Association, but that was entirely because of his
nephew, Zuo Shan.

Lu Yin ended the Possession, and his consciousness returned to his body.

He had gained quite a bit of information from this Possession, and Colonel Jiu Zizai was more valuable
than Lu Yin had initially expected. First, he had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, using them to
rise through the ranks of the rear battlefield and avoiding risking his own life. At the same time, he had
also joined the Dealcut Association, and that was entirely for his personal material gain.

In fact, Marquis Wu Yi did not even know that Jiu Zizai had joined the Dealcut Association.
The colonel was both ambitious and competent, and the only bad stroke of luck was that he had been
discovered by Lu Yin. If not for Lu Yin’s Possession ability, how would anyone have ever discovered the
truth about Jiu Zizai?

Furthermore, there was definitely more than one Redback like Jiu Zizai, and it was impossible to know
just how many Redbacks existed in the Perennial World. It was a truly chilling thought.

Lu Yin looked at the star essence still beneath him. It was quite a pity that he could not reveal his innate
gift or control the entire human race. If either of those things were possible, he could gather all of
humanity’s resources and roll the die continuously. In that way, he would be able to expose all of the
Redbacks in existence, no matter how many of them there might be.

Lu Yin stopped that line of thought and stretched out his hand, bringing the die back out. It slowly spun
around, only to land on five pips. Gift Copy was useless. Again. The third roll showed two pips. Useless.
Again. Three pips.

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief as he stared at the two screens of light. At least he would not have to wait
for another ten days.

Ten days had passed since Tong Yu had replaced Lu Yin, and the plan could only let her replace him for
no longer than half a month. Lu Yin could not take too long, as it was only a matter of time before his
actions on the Junior Progenitor Planets were discovered. Then, the four ruling powers would scramble
to hunt the culprit down. The longer Lu Yin took to heal, the more suspicious he would appear.

He took out the Withered Bark and placed it on the upper screen, immediately throwing out
exaggerated amounts of star essence. He had no idea how much star essence it would take to Enhance
this power vessel, but he was ready to find out.

100 billion. It turned out that, only after a full 100 billion star essence was consumed, did the Withered
Bark with the power of time finally fall out from the lower screen.
At this moment, not only was space around the Withered Bark being distorted, but there were also faint
gray swirls that could be briefly seen from time to time.

Lu Yin’s breath halted when he saw the gray, as this color had left a very deep impression on him. This
was the color that covered everything whenever he met with Mister Mu. Every time Lu Yin’s master had
caused time and space to freeze, it had caused this same gray color to appear. Thus, in Lu Yin’s mind,
this was the color of frozen time and space.

In addition to the flickering gray color, the occasional bursts of lightning that passed over the Withered
Bark caused Lu Yin’s heart to skip a beat each time they appeared. It was clear that this lighting was not
as simple as it appeared to be.

A Withered Bark with the power of time… Lu Yin grew excited, and he put the power vessel back on top
of the upper screen. Luckily, it was indeed possible to Enhance it again.

This upgrade proved different. The Withered Bark had already been improved three times before, and
its runes were comparable to a peak Envoy’s. The most recent Enhance had caused its number of runes
to rise to the Semi-Progenitor level, and the lightning that appeared was even reminiscent of an inner
world. Lu Yin believed that this Withered Bark had already reached a level comparable to the needle-like
weapon, and another Enhance might cause it to reach the Progenitor level.

Lu Yin panicked a tiny bit. There had been no detectable changes in the needle-like weapon after being
Enhanced, but what would happen to the Withered Bark? Would it also show no reaction?

After a moment’s thought, Lu Yin decided to proceed regardless of what would happen. If he could
Enhance the Withered Bark, then he would do so. Besides, it was impossible to take away all of the star
essence on the Junior Progenitor Planet, and leaving such resources behind would just be leaving more
for the four ruling powers to use against himself.

Lu Yin kept throwing more and more star essence out to upgrade the Withered Bark. 50 billion, 100
billion, 150 billion, 200 billion, 250 billion… 400 billion. He stared at the Withered Bark, but it was only
about two thirds of the way through the Enhancement process. Already, he could see more and more
swirls of gray appearing around the power vessel, and the lightning flickering across it had become
absolutely terrifying.

Lu Yin swallowed. There was no more star essence on the White Dragon Clan’s Junior Progenitor Planet,
aside from a surface layer to disguise what Lu Yin was doing. He removed all of the star essence from his
cosmic rings and quickly continued improving the Withered Bark.

500 billion. 560 billion. In the end, it cost a total of 560 billion star essence to Enhance the Withered
Bark again, which made this upgrade the most expensive one that Lu Yin had ever performed. Lu Yin was
truly scared of the cost, as without the Junior Progenitor Planets, he would have never been able to
conduct such an absurd upgrade. It would have been far, far too costly.

Not even the four ruling powers could casually mobilize or use so much star essence. He had actually
used up everything that had been on the White Dragon Clan’s Junior Progenitor Planet, as well as his
own reserves.

At this moment, the Withered Bark was completely shrouded in the gray color, and there were also faint
flickers of lightning.

Lu Yin stared at the Withered Bark that was floating in the air, clueless as to what to do next. Touch it?
He did not dare, as that terrifying lightning could easily destroy him. There was no chance that Lu Yin
would try to touch the power vessel.

The little wax figurine of God of Flames appeared on Lu Yin’s shoulder, and he waved a hand. Countless
runes surrounded the Withered Bark, as Lu Yin tried to sense the power vessel.

The moment the countless runes touched the Withered Bark, the power vessel transformed into a bolt
of lightning that shot towards Lu Yin. He stared, completely helpless to dodge. The only thing that he
could do was release the power in his chest in an attempt to suppress the Withered Bark.
The power that was developing in Lu Yin’s chest was incredibly powerful, and it seemed to be capable of
suppressing any other power. However, that was based on the premise that the gap in pure strength
was not too excessive. At this moment, the Withered Bark defied Lu Yin’s imagination, and it was at
least as powerful as an elite Semi-Progenitor. It was even possible that the strength of the Withered
Bark had touched upon the Progenitor level of power.

Stars shone brightly, and the two pieces of the yin-yang symbol that revolved around the stars
transformed into what looked like a small replica of the universe itself. The bolt of lightning that was the
Withered Bark shot through the miniature universe, only to come to an abrupt stop, which violated all of
Lu Yin’s expectations. It looked as though the Withered Bark had become a part of the small universe,
and when the manifested power returned to Lu Yin’s chest, the Withered Bark joined it. It rooted itself
into the space within Lu Yin’s chest.

Instantly, the gray color that the power vessel gave off spread out from Lu Yin’s chest, dyeing the
surrounding area. Lu Yin appeared to be dazed, or possibly experiencing an epiphany, as he was frozen
stiff.

One day. Two days. Three days. A total of ten days passed before Lu Yin’s eyes regained focus, and he
seemed to awaken from his stupor. The gray coloring that had covered the nearby area slowly faded as
it was pulled back into Lu Yin’s chest.

Lu Yin examined his chest, near his heart. He realized that the Withered Bark did not actually possess
the power of time, but was rather a higher level of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

Lu Yin had already learned Extremes Must Be Reversed, and he was able to use the battle technique on
himself, which made him virtually indestructible even against a far more powerful opponent. Extremes
Must Be Reversed enabled a state of near invincibility, but Progenitor Ku had achieved an even higher
level with the battle technique: the Progenitor had learned how to use Extremes Must Be Reversed on
other targets, provided that the target had reached a state of some sort of extreme.

A so-called “state of extreme” referred to many different things. For example, when Lu Yin used the
battle technique on himself, the more he was injured, the more he would recover afterwards. This was
how Lu Yin normally used Extremes Must Be Reversed. However, Progenitor Ku had already left hints
that his battle technique could be used on time itself.
Time was always in a state of extremes, because time was constantly flowing forward. It never stopped,
nor did it flow in reverse. It always moved forward, always continuing in the same manner. This was a
state of extremes, and Progenitor Ku had suggested that Extremes Must Be Reversed could be used with
time, which was why he had left behind the Withered Bark.

The Withered Bark that Progenitor Ku had personally created had been imbued with Extremes Must Be
Reversed in a manner where, when used, the power vessel would reverse extremes, which meant that it
would reverse the time around the Withered Bark.

Progenitor Ku had not comprehended the power of time, but had instead used the Withered Bark as a
tool to forcibly revert time.

There was no way to describe Lu Yin's feelings at this moment: admiration, amazement, disbelief were
not enough.

Progenitor Ku had never managed to comprehend the power of time, but he had still found a way to
forcibly reverse time. Such genius was incomprehensible to most people.

Lu Yin realized that his mastery of the battle technique was incredibly shallow. Extremes Must Be
Reversed was not a cultivation method at all, but rather a way of understanding the state of the
universe itself, which provided a means of transforming something rotten into something magical.

Lu Yin had always believed that the Rune Progenitor’s Truesight was the most miraculous cultivation
method that he had ever encountered, but this recent revelation suggested that Progenitor Ku was in no
way inferior to the Rune Progenitor. Rather, he had simply kept his accomplishments quiet. Truly,
Progenitor Ku had taken being low-key to a ridiculous degree.

Lu Yin started to question whether it was possible that Progenitor Ku had been the most powerful
cultivator of his era. The man had brazenly charged forward on his own to face the full might of
Aeternus, not out of recklessness, but out of pure self-confidence.
He started sweating for the Sixth Mainland. If not for the Aeternals, just Progenitor Chen or Progenitor
Ku alone could have likely completely destroyed the Sixth Mainland without anyone else ever needing to
step in.

Lu Yin had already seen Progenitor Ku's amazing techniques, but there was something very odd: the
power in Lu Yin’s chest was able to incorporate the power of time and even the Withered Bark. In that
case, what else could be incorporated? How did it even work? Just what was this strange power that Lu
Yin was cultivating?

He closed his eyes and rested for a bit. When Lu Yin’s eyes opened again, he lifted a foot and stepped
forward. The void warped and then shattered at Lu Yin’s approach. He was not tearing through the void,
but rather reversing it.

While the Withered Bark did not possess the power of time, after it entered Lu Yin’s body, it was capable
of reversing time. With it, Lu Yin had become capable of sensing the power of time, though he could not
use it himself. However, things changed when he started using Inverse Step.

Progenitor Chen had been able to use Inverse Step to create a chaotic region of the void, and Lu Yin had
just achieved the same level.

Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin had already managed to sense the miraculous
power of time with Wendy Yushan, but he had not been able to duplicate it. But now, Lu Yin could finally
do so, though it was only with the help of the Withered Bark. Still, this meant that Lu Yin had finally
reached the same level of mastery of Inverse Step as Progenitor Chen, allowing him to create a chaotic
region of space and time. Progenitor Chen had reached this level of mastery as just a peak Enlighter, but
did that mean that Progenitor Chen had also mastered the power of time at that point?

It was not impossible, as how else could Progenitor Chen have created an area of chaotic time and space
with Inverse Step while only an Enlighter? Lu Yin had needed to use his comprehension of the Ce Secret
Art’s Board Manipulation to create an area of chaotic space, but he had never been able to influence
time as well. No matter how talented Lu Yin might be, such a thing had been completely beyond him.
The only explanation for Progenitor Chen’s ability to do so was that the man had already touched upon
the power of time while still an Enlighter.

When Lu Yin had faced his first stellular tribulation during his breakthrough to become an Envoy, he had
fought against eight of Progenitor Chen’s clones, but the ninth clone had never appeared. What sort of
power did that last clone possess?

Progenitor Ku had been incredibly powerful, and his Withered Bark had given him the ability to reverse
time itself. The Rune Progenitor had created the miraculous Truesight, which allowed him to create
objects from nothing at all. Finally, there had been Lu Tianyi, who had been a powerful Dao Chosen in
the past, and a powerhouse who had risen to impressive levels of strength during the Heavens Sect era.
There had also been the Progenitors from the Bai and Wang families. And yet, despite all of that, the
most dazzling Progenitor of all had still been Progenitor Chen.

Why?

Why was Progenitor Chen regarded as the most impressive Progenitor? Could it really be because
Progenitor Ku had kept a low profile? Could it be because Progenitor Hui did not fight? Or was it because
the Rune Progenitor was indifferent to fame or glory?

Not necessarily.

Chapter 2221: Scouring

Lu Yin lifted his hand and studied it carefully. He desperately wanted to master the incredible power of
time, travel through time and space to visit the Daosource Sect era, personally see the glory of humanity
during the Heavens Sect era, and compete against those powerful people from the ancient past. Just the
thought of it caused his blood to surge. He would accomplish that one day, and he would stand side-by-
side with those famous powerhouses, and he would not fall behind them.
Lu Yin quickly suppressed his dreams of the future. He first needed to consider his current resources.

All of the star essence on the White Dragon Clan’s Junior Progenitor Planet had been used up, so it was
time to move on to the next planet.

Progenitor Smoke had already become numb to Lu Yin’s actions. The star essence on the two planets
had to add up to at least a trillion. Forget an Envoy—not even a Semi-Progenitor could do anything with
such an exorbitant sum. After all, how would they even use star essence? Such powerhouses all relied
on stellular energy.

However, Progenitor Smoke did stare at Lu Yin when she emerged. "You’ve changed."

Lu Yin blinked. "No, I just haven't seen you for a few days."

Progenitor Smoke carefully observed Lu Yin. "I always felt like there was something about your aura that
felt familiar, but I’ve never been able to pinpoint it. It’s quite odd."

Lu Yin pursed his lips. A familiar aura? Could it be from Progenitor Ku's Withered Bark? Or Progenitor
Chen's Inverse Step?

In the past, the Withered Bark that Lu Yin had kept in his cosmic ring was what the Ku family had used as
a template to create their own Withered Barks, but all of their attempts were merely poor replicas.
Those Withered Barks had only been capable of protecting a person, and they were completely unable
to reverse time in any way at all. Of course, it was possible that the Ku family had other true Withered
Barks in their possession, but they would never say so to Lu Yin.

As for Inverse Step, Lu Yin had only barely scratched the surface of the movement technique.
However, things had changed, and Lu Yin had gained the true form of both of those things.

Cough. "Senior, Progenitor Chen has nine clones. Do you know what each of the clones’ abilities are?"

Progenitor Smoke instantly answered, "I don't."

"How could you not know? Given your status in the past, how could anything have been kept hidden
from you?" Lu Yin was genuinely surprised.

Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "I don’t have any interest in other people’s business. All I know is that
one clone was a colossal giant, one created the Cosmic Art, one had an unique innate gift, and one
inherited a battle technique from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. I never fought him."

"You two never fought or sparred?" Lu Yin found this to be quite curious.

Progenitor Smoke started to get a bit grumpy. "How would he ever dare hit a woman like me?"

She then became noticeably irritated. "I usually didn’t even see him, as he just liked to hide in a corner
and watch the rain and flowers. It was pathetic."

Lu Yin continued to ask questions, "What about Progenitor Ku? Did the two of you ever fight each
other?"

"No, that guy’s boring. Unless someone actually attacks him, he’ll never take the initiative to attack
anyone at all." Progenitor Smoke’s eyes snapped back to look at Lu Yin. "I just remembered. That
familiar aura on you feels like Ku Jie. Right, that’s Ku Jie’s aura. So, do you have some of his power?
What do you have?"

Lu Yin replied, "Extremes Must Be Reversed."

Progenitor Smoke exclaimed, "No wonder! Still, you learned that a long time ago, so why is that familiar
aura so strong now? Did you make some progress with it?"

Lu Yin smiled wryly. "A bit, just a little bit."

Progenitor Smoke continued, saying, "While Ku Jie’s a boring person, I do have to admit that his
Extremes Must Be Reversed is very powerful. It’s a genuinely invincible technique, and even Xia Shang
mentioned how difficult it is to deal with. No one wants to fight against Ku Jie. Keep training in that
technique, and if you eventually become a Semi-Progenitor, even Progenitors will struggle to kill you.
You’ll keep going further and further down the path of being beaten up."

Lu Yin was speechless. This sounded terrible! Who wanted to be beaten up? Lu Yin enjoyed being the
one who beat other people.

"Senior, did Progenitor Chen master the power of time?" Lu Yin asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Progenitor Smoke was startled by the question, and she glanced over at Lu Yin. "Don't ask about other
people's abilities."

She then immediately returned to the pocket dimension inside the mirror.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. What did that reaction mean? He could not understand.

Lu Yin was already standing on the Celestial Frost Sect’s Junior Progenitor Planet. He raised a hand and
brought out his die. He had previously wanted to leave after Enhancing the Withered Bark. However,
after it was absorbed into the power inside his chest, he had been in an epiphany for ten days, and since
the required amount of time had already passed daze, he might as well roll his die again.
Tapping the die caused it to slowly spin around, and it finally came to a stop on one pip. There was a
bang as a ball fell out and landed on the ground.

The ball had a diameter of 100 meters, so it was quite large. Lu Yin looked up and saw the image of a
very odd creature on the ball. It looked like a snake or something else. He casually shoved the ball away,
as it was useless.

However, he instantly noticed that the ball felt wrong. It was hard. Way too hard.

Lu Yin used more and more strength in his hand, but there was absolutely no change in the ball.

His expression changed. He was currently strong enough that his physical strength could almost kill even
Envoys with power levels of 800,000 to 900,000. And yet, this ball showed no reaction at all. It was
beyond Lu Yin’s means to damage this thing.

Lu Yin finally smashed the ball with a hand, but he only managed to push it a little bit away. There was
still no damage to be seen at all.

He stopped hesitating and stored the ball away. Regardless of where it came from or what it was
actually for, just the materials used to construct it were extraordinary.

It had been a long time since the die had given Lu Yin anything good from Pilfer, so it was comforting to
see something worthwhile appear.

It was time to continue.

The die started spinning as soon as Lu Yin tapped it, and when it finally came to a stop, Lu Yin’s eyes lit
up. Three pips again. After thinking through everything he owned, there was only one item that Lu Yin
knew that he still wanted to Enhance: the metal that had once brought a disaster upon the Fourth
Mainland.
That disaster had been caused by a strange metal that was capable of absorbing the flesh and blood of
living creatures to grow and improve itself. The Astral Beast Domain had used the metal to form the
Absolute Beast Cage that had been used as a barrier between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone to
keep the Sixth Mainland from attacking the Astral Beast Domain, but that cage had been shattered many
years back.

Lu Yin had already upgraded the metal a bit, spending about four billion star essence. Just that had
improved the metal to the point where it had started to try to go after Lu Yin. This metal was almost as
strong as an Envoy, and Lu Yin had long since contemplated using the metal as a weapon to surprise the
Aeternals, threatening them in the same manner that the metal had previously threatened the Astral
Beast Domain. With so much star essence available, it was time to use it all.

Lu Yin took out the bit of metal that he had Enhanced before. It was covered with spikes that
continuously tried to stab into Lu Yin's body. It was quite bloodthirsty.

Lu Yin immediately threw it onto the upper light screen and started improving it.

This bit of metal had already been Enhanced five times, and the last upgrade had cost him four billion
star essence, which had almost brought the metal to the Envoy level. In total, Lu Yin had spent about
eight billion star essence on this bit of metal, and just another upgrade would firmly bring it to the Envoy
level.

Lu Yin watched as tens of billions of star essence were consumed to send the metal down through the
two screens of light. The metal already had the power of an Envoy, and it had cost 18 billion star essence
to bring the metal to this level. Lu Yin also had more than ten pieces of the metal.

Enhancing ten pieces of the metal to this level would cost him 180 billion star essence, which was quite
excessive. Lu Yin would have never been willing to spend this much without access to the Junior
Progenitor Planets.
After he finished Enhancing ten pieces of the metal, there was only about 300 billion star essence
remaining on the Celestial Frost Sect’s Junior Progenitor Planet. Since when did 300 billion star essence
become insufficient?

Lu Yin unhesitatingly started to store as much of the star essence as possible in his cosmic ring.
Previously, he had had about 200 billion star essence stored up, but had used it all up when he was
Enhancing the Withered Bark.

All of the cosmic rings that Lu Yin had on him were just barely enough for him to clean out the star
essence on the third Junior Progenitor Planet.

He felt rather disappointed as he looked over at the last Junior Progenitor Planet that belonged to the
Wang family. It was impossible for him to take any more star essence, and he also had nothing left to
Enhance. In the end, he decided that it was fine. The resources of just one Junior Progenitor Planet could
not really give the four ruling powers that many options, and if Lu Yin left the star essence there, then he
could always return for it later. Also, since Lu Yin had cleaned out the planets that belonged to the Xia
family, the White Dragon Clan, and the Celestial Frost Sect, then how would the Wang family explain the
fact that their planet had not been touched?

This would create a beautiful misunderstanding.

A paper boat was floating next to a desolate island. Bai Weiwei was sitting at the bow, and she
occasionally looked back towards the cabin.

"Prof. Bai, Prof. Hao Yu's injuries didn’t look serious, but it’s already been twenty days," Bai Weiwei
commented worriedly.
Prof. Bai replied, "His injuries were certainly not minor. It is extremely difficult to use a sourcebox array
to defend against an astral beast that’s more powerful than the Array Master. Still, these few days
should have allowed him to recover a great deal."

"It’s too strange. Why haven’t we run into even a single astral beast with the strength of a one-
tribulation Envoy after spending so much time searching in this region?" Bai Weiwei muttered to herself.

“Yu Hao” stepped out of the boat’s cabin as the young woman was talking. He had once again traded
places with Tong Yu. The woman had spent the last twenty days in seclusion, pretending to be a Hao Yu
who was recovering from his injuries. The woman did not exchange any words with Bai Weiwei or Prof.
Bai at all.

"Prof. Hao Yu, how are you doing?" Bai Weiwei asked, her eyes lighting up when she saw “Yu Hao”
emerge from the cabin.

The man’s face was still a bit pale, but his voice sounded much stronger than before. "Don't worry, I'll be
fine."

Prof. Bai felt quite relieved. "We’re very lucky that you came with us, Prof. Hao Yu. Without you, that
battle in the Middle Ocean would have been incredibly dangerous."

"You’re being too polite, Prof. Bai. I only acted as I should." Lu Yin then looked over at Bai Weiwei. "Let's
keep going. We need to find a beast as strong as a one-tribulation Envoy for you."

Bai Weiwei was still quite worried. "Professor, you’ve recovered a bit, but we should probably return to
the academy and let you completely recover before resuming this mission, don’t you think?"

"No, it will be fine, as long as we’re careful."

Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai glanced at each other. "Alright, but we’ll search as we head back towards
Virtue Archives. The best option would be to find our target on our way back. If we don’t find anything,
then we can only blame our bad luck and try again later."

Lu Yin nodded in agreement.

The paper boat quickly started making its way back towards the Middle Realm.

Without Lu Yin's interference, it only took a few days for them to encounter an astral beast with the
strength of a one-tribulation Envoy. The creature looked like a massive sea turtle, and it was floating on
the Middle Ocean with its eyes closed. It was most likely sleeping.

There was a forest growing on the turtle's back, and it looked like an island at first glance.

Bai Weiwei immediately launched an attack, and she opened her assault with a Wind God Slash. It was a
terrifyingly powerful battle technique, and with it, Bai Weiwei was able to unleash an attack that nearly
matched the power of an Envoy. The Wind God Slash slammed onto the turtle’s back, blowing away the
dirt and producing a bang when it slammed into the turtle’s shell.

The turtle woke up, and it slowly turned its head around to look up at the paper boat in confusion.

Lu Yin looked at the beast. There were absolutely no injuries on the sea turtle’s shell, as it was
impressively robust. Although it had the power of a one-tribulation Envoy, its shell had the capability to
absorb a three-tribulation Envoy’s attack.

The turtle watched in bewilderment as Bai Weiwei continued to rain attacks down upon the shell, but all
of her efforts proved useless. Her attacks were close to the same level of destructive power as Bai
Shaohong’s when he had possessed the same cultivation level as her. And yet, Bai Weiwei was
completely unable to damage the turtle’s shell. In fact, not even Bai Shaohong would have been capable
of harming the turtle when he had possessed Bai Weiwei’s level of cultivation.
The turtle never fought back at all, and simply stared at the young woman in confusion.

Bai Weiwei refused to give up, and she started to attack the beast’s head, only for the turtle to quickly
pull its head in before Bai Weiwei’s attack could land, leaving nothing visible besides a shell floating on
the surface of the Middle Ocean.

Bai Weiwei was left speechless, and she shouted down at the turtle, "I know that you can understand
me! Fight back!"

There was no movement from the turtle. It just opened its massive eyes and peered up at Bai Weiwei
through the shell. The creature still looked quite confused, as though it could not understand why
anyone would attack it.

Bai Weiwei raised a hand. Two dots appeared in the air before her, and the sky opened: Void Rip.

A line tore the void apart, and it even sliced into the true universe. It ruthlessly struck the turtle’s shell,
but it only left a faint white mark on it. Void Rip could slice through the void and the true universe, but it
was unable to harm the turtle. The only result was a deafening ringing sound from the impact.

Chapter 2222: Investigation

Bai Weiwei suddenly appeared above the turtle’s shell. She did her best to attack through the openings
in the sea turtle’s shell, but the beast just shifted around, ensuring that the woman never faced anything
other than its shell. Bai Weiwei was fast, but the turtle was even faster, and she could not find any
openings.
Some time later, Bai Weiwei became frustrated, and she returned to the boat. "Let's go. I can't beat it."

Lu Yin asked, "Don't you know a sourcebox array that can just teleport you around?"

Bai Weiwei shook her head, but then she suddenly remembered something. She turned to look at “Yu
Hao” with glittering eyes. "Professor?"

Lu Yin smiled. "A teacher’s job is to teach."

Bai Weiwei absolutely wanted to learn “Yu Hao’s” sourcebox array, as the ability to instantly teleport
would allow her to move faster than the sea turtle. Then, she would be able to get past the creature’s
impenetrable shell. However, she did not know how she could ask for a sourcebox array that belonged
to someone else.

She suddenly understood very well why every organization was so eager to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan,
as the benefits that his sourcebox arrays could provide were impossible to duplicate.

Sourcebox arrays were different from battle techniques, and they could have completely different
functions. Oftentimes, sourcebox arrays had miraculous abilities.

Bai Weiwei was uncertain how to ask to learn a sourcebox array that could allow her to move about
freely, and Lu Yin did not speak up to offer such a thing. As for the sea turtle, it just felt lucky to be left
alone.

Just a few days later, the three people ran into another astral beast with the strength of a one-
tribulation Envoy. The beast was part of a flock of seabirds, and it actually led the flock. Bai Weiwei
targeted the alpha while Lu Yin and Prof. Bai held the rest of the birds back. After a while, Bai Weiwei
eked out a victory. She had technically accomplished the task that she had been given, so it was time for
them to return to Virtue Archives.
At this same time, a horrifying, heart-piercing shriek rang out from Shenwu’s Sky’s Junior Progenitor
Planet. The sound came from the senior guardian of the planet who was a six-tribulation Envoy. Right
after that, bellows were heard from both the White Dragon Clan’s planet and the Celestial Frost Sect’s
planet. All of the commotion caused the God of Food to appear.

"What the hell’s going on?" The God of Food was rather upset.

Madam Mo, the senior guardian of the Wang family's Junior Progenitor Planet, was also caught off
guard by all the noise. Had those three lost their minds?

A short time later, the headquarters of the four ruling powers shook, and Bai Teng, Wang Zheng, and
Long Ke all moved out and made their way to the Junior Progenitor Planets. The three men represented
three of the four ruling powers, and each of them were patriarchs of their own families.

The three men stared at the depleted planets. All that remained was a thin layer of star essence. There
was less than 100 star essence left on each planet.

"Impossible! Who could make off with so much star essence?" Long Ke exclaimed.

Bai Teng's face was stormy. "Either someone was able to transport it somehow, or a Semi-Progenitor
took action."

As he spoke, Bai Teng glanced towards the Island of Hope. "Senior God of Food, are you not going to
show yourself and say something?"

The God of Food appeared. He was also quite curious about who was capable of stealing so much from
under his nose. His first thought was of Kui Luo, as there were no other possibilities aside from the old
man. Only a Semi-Progenitor could steal so much star essence by hiding it all within their inner world.
However, was Kui Luo even capable of pulling off such a stunt while keeping everything hidden from the
God of Food? How could he have improved so much?

"Senior God of Food, is there anything that you would like to say?" Bai Teng stared at the God of Food,
and the patriarch made no attempt to sound polite.

The amount of star essence that had disappeared was astronomical, and if all three planets were
combined, then more than a trillion star essence had been taken. It was a horrifying amount, and not
even the four ruling powers could afford to eat such a loss.

The God of Food shrugged indifferently. "What do you want me to say?"

Bai Teng’s eyes narrowed.

Long Ke and Wang Zheng were both staring at the Semi-Progenitor as well. The only reason why they
had felt comfortable not leaving the Junior Progenitor Planets under heavy guard was because of the
God of Food’s presence. He was comparable to Grand Elder Ni Huang, and with Ni Huang absent, it was
impossible for any of the remaining Semi-Progenitors to be able to sneak past the God of Food, unless,
of course, the old man allowed such a thing to happen.

"Senior, don't tell us that you don't know who took all the star essence," Bai Teng retorted.

The God of Food blinked. He really did not know, but would anyone believe him?

"Honestly, I have no idea, and I’m even willing to swear an oath that it’s true."

Bai Teng’s brows rose high as he stared at the God of Food.

Long Ke and Wang Zheng glanced at each other. Despite the Semi-Progenitor’s words being
unbelievable, if someone with the God of Food’s strength violated an oath, then it would prevent them
from ever being able to reach the Progenitor realm. This was proof that the man was telling the truth, as
this matter was not worth him violating an oath.

"Senior, you really don't know?" Wang Zheng repeated the question.

The God of Food had no choice but to repeat once again, "I really don't know."

He then gave Wang Zheng an odd look. "It seems that your Wang family hasn’t lost anything."

As soon as the words were spoken, both Bai Teng and Long Ke turned to stare at Wang Zheng.

Wang Zheng's expression instantly turned ugly. "It’s possible that the thief reached their limit and
wasn’t able to take any more away with them."

Bai Teng sneered. "If someone was able to take away everything from three of the Junior Progenitor
Planets, then why would they leave your Wang family’s planet untouched?"

Wang Zheng frowned. "Sect Master Bai Teng, what are you trying to say?"

Bai Teng did not say anything explicitly, but his meaning could not be any clearer: he was suspicious of
the Wang family.

Wang Zheng also felt quite frustrated, as there was no denying that the resources of the Junior
Progenitor Planet were not that important to the Wang family, which made things even more
suspicious.

Could someone be targeting his Wang family?

"Senior God of Food, has anyone visited the Island of Hope recently?" Long Ke asked.

The old man replied, "A few of my juniors from Virtue Archives recently came through, but the most
powerful of them was only a three-tribulation Envoy. It’s impossible for them to have done this."

"Who?" Bai Teng quickly demanded.

If Long Ke or Wang Zheng had been the ones to ask, then the God of Food would not have wanted to
answer. Furthermore, given his status, none of the junior present were capable of interrogating the
Semi-Progenitor. However, Bai Teng had been the one to ask the question, and he was both the sect
master of the Celestial Frost Sect as well as the patriarch of the Bai family. "Two were members of your
Bai family, and they were traveling with Hao Yu."

Bai Teng was startled. "Members of my Bai family?"

Long Ke and Wang Zheng stared at Bai Teng again.

Bai Teng frowned. "There are only two people from my Bai family in Virtue Archives. Are you saying that
it was Bai Lin and Weiwei?"

The God of Food nodded, and then he simply turned around and left. "They are the only ones who have
recently visited the Island of Hope, but none of them could have stolen the star essence. You can look
into the rest yourselves."

The three patriarchs looked at each other. They were surrounded by the Envoys who guarded the
various Junior Progenitor Planets, but none of the guardians dared to say a thing, as they knew nothing
about what had happened.
"We need to report this matter to the ancestors. If even Senior God of Food doesn't know who stole the
star essence, then only a Semi-Progenitor could be behind this, and a very powerful one at that," Long
Ke solemnly stated.

Bai Teng stared at Hope Restaurant. Logically speaking, it should be impossible for the God of Food to
use the offer of an oath to deceive them, but if the man felt that he would never reach the Progenitor
realm, that might not be entirely true. Still, such a possibility was fleetingly remote.

This old man was simply too stable. He had not experienced a breakthrough in countless years.
Normally, the longer one waited to attempt a breakthrough, the more difficult the breakthrough would
become, but the God of Food seemed to be the opposite. The longer he procrastinated, the more
uncertain others became of the man’s chances of success.

"We certainly do need to make a report to the ancestors, but we should at least conduct some
investigation ourselves first. If we don’t, how will we explain ourselves to our ancestors?" Bai Teng
challenged in a cold voice. He then sent out orders to stop Bai Weiwei and the others on their way back
to Virtue Archives. The three needed to be sent to the Island of Hope to be questioned.

"You want to interrogate those three? Do you really think that any of them could have stolen the star
essence here without being detected by the God of Food? Even if Senior weren’t here, those three
wouldn’t have been able to hide anything even from the guardians of the Junior Progenitor Planets,"
Long Ke retorted.

Bai Teng snorted contemptuously. "Lu Xiaoxuan once upended the entire Higher Realm despite having
no strength of his own. There is nothing impossible in this universe."

Long Ke had no argument to that, as it was true that Lu Xiaoxuan had used the name of Long Qi to
deceive the entire White Dragon Clan. He had even nearly helped a branch family of the White Dragon
Clan replace Long Ke’s family as the main branch of the clan. The entire incident had been incredibly
humiliating for the White Dragon Clan.
Lu Yin and the other two had just reached the Middle Realm and were on their way back to Virtue
Archives. They had already left the Middle Ocean and entered the Azure District when they were
stopped and ordered to return to the Island of Hope.

Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei shot questioning glances at each other, as they had no idea why they were
being ordered back to the Island of Hope. Still, they did not argue, as the orders had come from Sect
Master Bai Teng.

Lu Yin's eyes flashed at the realization that the four ruling powers intended to question the three of
them. The four ruling powers were truly cautious. Even though it was clear at a glance that “Yu Hao” and
the other two could not have stolen anything without being detected by the God of Food and the other
guardians protecting the Junior Progenitor Planets, they were still going to be questioned. Fortunately,
Lu Yin had already prepared himself for this possibility.

Upon returning to the Island of Hope, Lu Yin was surprised to see that Long Ke was present. Seeing the
patriarch brought a hint of a smile to Lu Yin’s eyes.

The questioning was intended to be very simple. After all, everything that the three people had done
could be easily investigated.

At the moment, Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai were still ignorant as to what had happened.

Even though it had been extremely easy to check into the recent whereabouts of Bai Weiwei and the
other two, Bai Teng was not willing to drop the matter quite yet. After all, these three were the only
people who had visited the Island of Hope recently. The sect master had constantly been staring at Lu
Yin, and he had noticed the smile that had flitted across Lu Yin’s eyes when he saw the three patriarchs.
Bai Teng had always felt that there was something fishy about this Yu Hao.

"Question them separately. I want to know what each of them did and how they reacted." Bai Teng
continued to stare at Lu Yin as he coldly stated his demands.
Wang Zheng felt quite puzzled. "That’s unnecessary. Nothing about where they went or did is suspicious
at all, and two of them are even members of your Celestial Frost Sect."

"It’s precisely because of that that I need to make sure that this investigation is conducted thoroughly. I
will leave the two members of my Celestial Frost Sect to the two of you, and I will question Prof. Hao
Yu," Bai Teng replied. He then immediately led Lu Yin a short ways away.

Long Ke and Wang Zheng looked at each other and laughed. As far as they were concerned, Bai Teng
was going overboard, but his actions were also understandable as he was nothing more than a puppet. If
not for Bai Xian’er, this man would have never managed to become the sect master of the Celestial Frost
Sect.

While Bai Teng himself had no talent or impressive abilities, his children were shockingly impressive.
Even if one ignored Bai Xian’er, Bai Shaohong had managed to become one of the four Junior
Progenitors. If the youth had not been killed by Lu Xiaoxuan, then Bai Shaohong would have likely
eventually become a Progenitor one day. If both Bai Shaohong and Bai Xian’er reached the Progenitor
realm, it would have been the first time that a pair of siblings had accomplished such a feat since the
ancient eras.

In the past, Bai Teng had been domineering, and even if he had essentially been a puppet, he had still
been quite influential within the Celestial Frost Sect. In fact, even Semi-Progenitors had been cautious of
the man.

However, Bai Shaohong was now dead, and Bai Xian'er did not care about her father. Despite being the
sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Teng’s position was not nearly as stable as it had been in the
past. In fact, many people believed that Bai Xian’er would seize the position of sect master as soon as
she emerged from seclusion, and Bai Teng would be forced into an early retirement.

This was why Bai Teng was so eager to accomplish something. He knew that his actions were pathetic, as
he was trying to compete with his own daughter, but it was beyond his means.

Since Bai Teng had taken Prof. Hao Yu off to be questioned on his own, even though the other two
patriarchs were absolutely certain that Bai Weiwei and Bai Lin had nothing to do with the theft, they still
went through the motions of interrogating the two people. If anything was discovered, it could only be
considered a lucky break.

Bai Teng was staring at “Yu Hao,” and “Yu Hao” was looking back at Bai Teng. There was no sign of any
fear.

"I know that you’re Yu Hao, understand?" Bai Teng stated blandly.

Lu Yin put on a show of respect. "Greetings, Sect Master Bai Teng."

"Are you really Grandmaster Gu Yan’s disciple?" Bai Teng asked.

Lu Yin smiled. "Does the sect master have any questions for this junior? This junior can tell the sect
master everything that happened recently, and if any discrepancies are discovered, then Sect Master Bai
can handle it as he sees fit."

Chapter 2223: Sudden Thought

Bai Teng felt a shiver run through him as he looked at “Yu Hao’s” smiling face. "This is quite simple:
answer two questions. First, you were injured while you were in the Middle Ocean, and you went into
seclusion for twenty days to recover. Did you ever leave the paper boat during those twenty days?"

"No. Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei can attest to that," Lu Yin answered without hesitation.

Bai Teng continued, completely unfazed. "They can't attest to anything, as not even I can see through
your cultivation. What level have you reached?"
This particular matter was a big reason why Bai Teng was so suspicious. Publicly, Yu Hao was known to
be a one-tribulation Envoy, but Headmaster Wen and Xia Ziheng were both able to see that he was
actually a three-tribulation powerhouse. Naturally, this information had been passed on to Bai Teng.

"This junior is a three-tribulation Envoy."

Bai Teng frowned. "Why hide your cultivation level?"

Lu Yin shrugged. "This junior is from the same generation as the most recent Junior Progenitors. May I
ask if any of those former Junior Progenitors have become three-tribulation Envoys?"

“Yu Hao’s” question irritated Bai Teng, and he was suddenly reminded of Lu Xiaoxuan. The sect master
found Yu Hao’s eyes were just as annoying as Lu Xiaoxuan’s. This thought caused a surge of bloodlust to
radiate from the man’s eyes, and even his aura gave off a hint of killing intent as it pressed down upon
“Yu Hao.”

A disdainful snort was heard from a distance. It came from the God of Food.

The Semi-Progenitor had interfered, which forced Bai Teng to regain his senses, and he quickly
restrained himself.

The God of Food was someone from Virtue Archives, while Yu Hao was an instructor at the academy. It
was only expected for the Semi-Progenitor to protect his own people.

Bai Teng dismissed the irritation itching at his chest. "How did you accomplish that?"

Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Would the sect master believe it if this junior said that I don’t know?"

Bai Teng’s eyes tightened and grew cold as he stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin continued, "That is the main reason why I hide my cultivation level. This junior's progress has
been so smooth that even I can’t believe how successful I’ve been. When I first met my master, I was
told that my cultivation would be smooth, but how was it done? That’s a question that would be better
directed to my master.”

So Grandmaster Gu Yan’s behind this? Bai Teng nodded. "I'll ask him."

Lu Yin purposely let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. If Sect Master receives a clear answer, then if it’s
no bother, I ask that you share what you hear with this junior so that I can offer an explanation to the
rest of the world as well."

Bai Teng replied, "You’re a three-tribulation Envoy, which means that it’s not impossible for you to hide
your absence from the boat from Bai Lin and Bai Weiwei and return to the Island of Hope alone."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Return to the Island of Hope? Might I ask Sect Master what happened?"

Bai Teng stared into “Yu Hao’s” eyes, trying to see through him, but he only saw confusion and curiosity.
There was no nervousness or wariness present at all.

"You’re being quite open, but your openness puzzles me. You are clearly not at all nervous when facing
me." Bai Teng's voice suddenly grew rather harsh.

Lu Yin laughed. "This junior even insulted Xia Ziheng."

Bai Teng was caught off guard by this answer, but he dropped the line of questioning. Xia Ziheng was a
Semi-Progenitor, so if this youth dared to insult a powerhouse like that, then why would he not be
fearless when confronted by Bai Teng?
"Next question: why did you smile earlier?" Bai Teng demanded.

Lu Yin was confused by the question. "Smile? When?"

"Don’t bother trying to pretend. I saw you smile when you first saw Long Ke and Wang Zheng upon
arriving. Who were you smiling at?" Bai Teng asked coldly.

Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior didn't smile."

Bai Teng’s hand shot out, and he pressed it onto “Yu Hao’s” shoulder before carefully enunciating each
of his words. "The God of Food can protect you while you’re here, but there’s no guarantee that he can
keep you safe everywhere else. My Celestial Frost Sect is one of the four ruling powers, and I know all
about your relationship with the Xia family. You should really be trying to get my Celestial Frost Sect’s
support."

Lu Yin was forced to answer. "Sect Master, this junior really was not smiling, but there’s nothing that I
can do about it if you don't believe me."

Bai Teng’s hand pressed down with even greater force.

Bai Weiwei frowned a short distance aways. The Celestial Frost Sect wanted to recruit Yu Hao, but Uncle
Bai Teng's behavior was a bit harsh. This could easily affect the sect's plans to win Grandmaster Gu Yan
over to their side.

Lu Yin’s expression changed slightly once he realized that Bai Teng was attacking him. Lu Yin’s physical
strength was too absurd, and if Bai Teng used just a bit more force, then he would notice that something
was wrong. Realizing this, Lu Yin grunted and stepped back. Immediately, the God of Food appeared
right in front of Lu Yin, and the man stood in the way of Bai Teng. "Junior, do you think that this old man
doesn’t even matter? You’re done speaking to Hao Yu."
Bai Teng lowered his hands. He looked past the God of Food at Lu Yin and then glanced back at Long Ke
and Wang Zheng, only to see that the other two patriarchs were staring back. Bai Teng said, "Finish
questioning him."

"There’s no point," Long Ke replied.

Bai Teng’s eyes narrowed. "This matter is extremely important. I hope that neither of you will give
anything less than your best efforts."

Long Ke laughed, and then looked over at “Yu Hao.” "Prof. Hao Yu, it looks like I’ll need to bother you."

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "I understand."

He then started walking slowly over towards Long Ke. Lu Yin did not move fast or slow, and nothing
seemed out of place in his actions. Despite that, Bai Teng’s eyes never left the young man.

The sect master was absolutely certain that he had seen the young man smile when he had first seen
Long Ke and Wang Zheng, but which of the two had he been smiling at? This was what Bai Teng was
most curious about.

Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai had stepped a short ways back. They were both extremely curious about what
had happened to bring out all the Envoys guarding the Junior Progenitor Planets.

Lu Yin walked closer and closer to Long Ke, until only six meters separated the two men. Just one more
step would allow Lu Yin to Possess Long Ke, but he did not do so.

Long Ke asked the same questions that he had directed towards Bai Weiwei and Bai Lin, touching on
nothing aside from the trio’s whereabouts and motivations for their trip, though a few more questions
regarding Yu Hao’s seclusion were brought up. The patriarchs were not fools. It was clear that there was
something suspicious about the situation, even if it was impossible for these three people to have hid
anything from the God of Food.

The exchange continued between the two men, and the questioning soon ended.

"Alright, you can go now," Long Ke said.

Just as Lu Yin was about to take a step forward, Long Ke continued, saying, "Yu Hao, my White Dragon
Clan welcomes your visit any time you are willing to see us."

Grandmaster Gu Yan was an extremely attractive recruit to all four ruling powers.

Lu Yin was not surprised by the invitation, and he even expected to receive a similar invitation from
Wang Zheng before this matter concluded.

Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you, Patriarch Long Ke, for your consideration."

Lu Yin then took a step forward, and Long Ke momentarily went stiff. Lu Yin’s perspective almost
instantly shifted as he Possessed Long Ke's body.

Immediately, Long Ke’s body opened its mouth to say something, though his face was purposely turned
so that Bai Teng could not see what was mouthed.

The sect master’s eyes went still.

Lu Yin instantly returned to his own body, and he purposely made a show of moving stiffly as he walked
away, though he approached Wang Zheng as though nothing had transpired. "Is there anything that
Senior Wang would like to ask this junior?"
Wang Zheng waved a hand dismissively. "There’s no need for that, but if Prof. Hao Yu is ever interested,
you are welcome to come to visit my Wang family."

While the invitation was worded differently, the meaning was exactly the same. The Wang family was
also hoping to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan.

This also meant that Lu Yin had been approached by all four ruling powers, each eager to recruit
Grandmaster Gu Yan. Still, Lu Yin purposely did not reveal his thoughts on the matter to anyone, and he
only offered a few polite words.

Bai Teng mentally reviewed everything that he had just seen. Long Ke had mouthed something, as well
as Yu Hao’s reaction. There was also the smile that Bai Teng had seen on Yu Hao’s face when the young
man had first seen Long Ke. Bai Teng was absolutely certain that the smile had been directed at either
Long Ke or Wang Zheng.

It's Long Ke. Bai Teng stared at the other patriarch. Long Ke had some connection to Yu Hao; at the very
least, the two had met before.

After the questioning concluded, none of the three people had revealed anything suspicious, so the God
of Food sent them off.

The patriarchs watched the three people leave, and Wang Zheng complained, "What a waste of time."

Long Ke replied casually, "Not completely. This gave us all a chance to meet Yu Hao ourselves. The child
is from the same generation as Long Tian, but he is already a three-tribulation Envoy. How did he pull
that off? Are Gu Yan’s methods really that miraculous? Could it be some strange sourcebox array that’s
responsible for his progress?"

Wang Zheng replied, "That’s certainly possible. While sourcebox arrays and cultivation are two entirely
different things, one needs a powerful cultivation base to become a qualified Array Master. Without
sufficient strength, it’s impossible to control the forces that Array Masters need to wield. Progenitor Hui
was not known for his combat strength, and he was certainly much weaker in a fight than my Wang
family’s Progenitor, but no one ever dared to underestimate Progenitor Hui when he used his sourcebox
arrays.

"In fact, the only reason why we’ve been able to continue fighting against Aeternus for so long is all
thanks to the sourcebox array Ceaseless Impetus, which Progenitor Hui created."

Long Ke's expression fell. "But the Forsaken Land’s trespassers also gained access to our Perennial World
through one of his sourcebox arrays."

Wang Zheng grew excited as he continued to say, "Grandmaster Gu Yan is the most accomplished Array
Master in the entire Perennial World, and there’s no telling just how many sourcebox arrays he might
have mastered. It’s possible that he is already approaching Progenitor Hui’s level."

The man then looked back out at the Middle Ocean. He had been a bit curt when extending the
invitation to Yu Hao, but the youth defied understanding. After all, he surpassed the Junior Progenitors.

The same thought occurred to Long Ke, and he stared out at the Middle Ocean bright eyes.

Bai Teng said nothing at all, though he occasionally shot glances over at Long Ke. There was no telling
what was going through Bai Teng’s mind.

"These are troubled times. Xia Xing’s disappeared, and the resources on the Junior Progenitor Planets
have been stolen. I feel that there are unknown elements at play in our Perennial World right now,"
Wang Zheng commented.

A thought suddenly occurred to Long Ke. "Do you remember that someone faced a Semi-Progenitor
stellular tribulation a few months ago?"
"Are you suggesting that that person might be involved?" Wang Zheng was taken aback.

Long Ke replied, "At this moment, we still have no idea just who it was who faced that tribulation, and
we also don’t know who is behind this Dealcut Association. They are able to control deployment matters
on the rear battlefield and even steal resources allocated to the efforts there, which defies belief. This is
not something that someone like Zuo Lingzhu could have pulled off."

"We just don’t have enough people to investigate everything. I can only hope that the New Corridor will
be quickly restored. We need to settle everything with Lu Xiaoxuan," Wang Zheng remarked.

Long Ke frowned. A Progenitor had been seen standing behind Lu Xiaoxuan. Long Ke could only wish for
the Grand Elder’s success.

Three people were traveling across the Middle Ocean, and they were hazarding some guesses as to
what might have happened at the Island of Hope. However, they could not figure anything out from the
information available to them, so they quickly gave up.

Lu Yin soon asked Tong Yu to switch with him again, and he moved away and headed back towards the
Island of Hope.

When Lu Yin had Possessed Long Ke, he had made the patriarch mouth a time and location. It had been
a show put on for Bai Teng’s sake, and while there had been nothing spoken for the sect master to hear,
Lu Yin was certain Bai Teng had figured out what Long Ke had mouthed. This meant that Bai Teng would
absolutely appear at the time and location that Long Ke had shared, and he would wait there to
interrupt them.

This was not something that Lu Yin had planned in advance. Rather, it was a sudden stroke of
inspiration. Bai Teng was so eager to accomplish something that he would never abandon any possible
clue.
So far, Lu Yin had only acquired half of the four ruling powers’ restriction methods for controlling the
members of Star Alliance. He still needed the portions that belonged to the Celestial Frost Sect and the
Wang family, and this might be an opportunity for Lu Yin. If everything worked out, he might be able to
capture Bai Teng when he arrived at the meeting place.

If Bai Teng could not figure out what Lu Yin had said while Possessing Long Ke, then the plan would
come to nothing, and Lu Yin could only say that he had overestimated Bai Teng.

Reality proved that Lu Yin was correct in his judgment of Bai Teng. The sect master had ordered Bai Lin
to continue to share his location. Then, Bai Teng had observed the Middle Ocean. The moment that Lu
Yin split off from the other two, the sect master looked up. "Sure enough, there’s something fishy going
on. Bai Lin is saying that Yu Hao is still on the paper boat, on their way to the Middle Realm, but he’s
clearly going somewhere else."

A smile appeared on the sect master’s face, and he quickly chased after Lu Yin to see where the young
man was going.

Chapter 2224: Capture

After Bai Teng left, Long Ke appeared. He had succeeded in transforming his branch family of the White
Dragon Clan into the main family. This success was not only because the previous main family had been
too close to the Lu family, but also because Long Ke himself was extremely observant.

He had watched Bai Teng question Yu Hao, and something had felt off about the situation. Bai Teng had
constantly been observing Long Ke, but Long Ke had also been keeping an eye on Bai Teng.

Thus, as soon as Long Ke saw Bai Teng leave, the patriarch chased after the sect master.
Bai Teng believed that he knew Lu Yin’s destination and that he would be able to learn something by
following the young man. However, Bai Teng had never imagined that Long Ke would be following him
as well.

Long Ke had once wanted to use Long Qi’s existence to remove Long Quan. The patriarch of the White
Dragon Clan had a mind that Bai Teng could not fathom.

It was in this manner that Lu Yin arrived at a certain deserted island, with Bai Teng following close
behind. The sect master hid himself within the waters of the Middle Ocean while observing Lu Yin, and
further back, Long Ke trailed behind Bai Teng.

Lu Yin found his current situation truly bizarre. What the hell was going on? Bai Teng’s appearance was
planned and expected, but Long Ke’s arrival was a surprise. What’s more, Bei Teng was too much of an
idiot to even realize that he had been followed.

Fortunately, Lu Yin had been on guard the entire time, and so he hid himself the moment he noticed
Long Ke. Only Bei Teng caught a glimpse of Yu Hao, while Long Ke saw nothing at all.

Behind Bai Teng, Long Ke also found the situation to be quite odd. Just what was Bai Teng looking at?
Aside from a few astral beasts, there was absolutely nothing on the deserted island, but Bai Teng acted
like he had found something.

Lu Yin shook his head, Bai Teng might be an idiot, but even he would not arrive without some sort of
protection in place. If the sect master suspected that Yu Hao was capable of stealing the resources from
the Junior Progenitor Planets while keeping the entire thing hidden from the God of Food and the
powerful guardians on each planet, then the man would definitely be very careful and have made
adequate preparations.

If Lu Yin acted hastily when attacking the sect master, it would likely instantly expose him to the four
ruling powers.
However, while Bai Teng had made his preparations, Lu Yin had made his own. One was Progenitor
Smoke, and another was Truesight.

Lu Yin’s first thought had been to attack Bai Teng with Truesight, but after thinking the situation
through, Lu Yin had realized something. Since Bai Teng dared to follow him, Lu Yin had to be prepared
for an attack as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor’s, and Lu Yin would expose himself if he failed.

In that case, it was best to ask Progenitor Smoke to step out.

Lu Yin took out the mirror and entered the pocket dimension to speak with Progenitor Smoke.

The woman instantly refused. "No. Who do you think I am? Do you think that I would stoop so low as to
help you with such a trick? What a joke!"

Lu Yin smiled apologetically. "Of course it’s not just that. Rather, if this junior wants to rescue the
survivors of the Lu family, I need to capture Bai Teng. While he is an idiot, he’s not completely stupid. He
must have made some preparations, and I’m worried that I won’t be able to deal with them. That’s why
I’m forced to ask you to interfere, Senior."

"Listen to yourself! An idiot, but not stupid? Does such a person exist?" Progenitor Smoke rolled her
eyes.

Lu Yin was forced to reveal something. "Senior, please look at this."

He pulled out the needle-like weapon.

Progenitor Smoke grew a bit curious and looked over. "That? Isn’t that the weapon that Lu Buzheng and
the other guy used to try to break me free? What about it?"
"Senior, please test its toughness now," Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke used a bit of strength to test the weapon, but there was no reaction at all. She used
more force, increasing her power more and more until she used all the strength available to her in her
current state. Even then, the needle-like weapon showed not even the slightest hint of any damage.

"It's so tough, but I can’t see anything special about it. I’ve never focused on training my physical
strength." Progenitor Smoke tossed the weapon back to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin solemnly stated, "Senior, this weapon is at least five to ten times stronger than it was before."

This was surprising for Progenitor Smoke to hear. "It’s that much stronger? How did you do that?"

She did not doubt Lu Yin's claim, as she knew that Lu Yin would not dare to lie to her.

Lu Yin also was not just spouting off random nonsense. While he did not know exactly how much the
weapon had improved after being Enhanced, he felt that his estimate should be fairly accurate, given
the amount of star essence he had spent on it. The weapon now likely approached the Progenitor realm
in terms of power.

How large was the gap in strength between Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors? It was not something
that could be summarized as a mere increase in power, as it was impossible for even ten Semi-
Progenitors to put up a fight against a Progenitor, not unless the Semi-Progenitors in question were
absolute freaks like Bai Xian'er or Qing Ping.

"It’s this junior’s innate gift. I can use star essence to improve the performance of certain items." Given
Lu Yin’s current status, there were certain things that needed to gradually be discussed, and others that
needed to be slowly revealed.
He felt that at least a few people likely already suspected his innate gift of being able to improve power
vessels. He had already revealed the giant mechanical arm that he had picked up from the treasury in
Endless Weave’s warfront. Even back then, some people had most likely started to suspect that Lu Yin
was capable of improving the performance of his items. Sooner or later, he would not be able to conceal
this part of his innate gift.

Of his die’s six different abilities, Blackhole Disassembly had already been revealed to the Technocracy,
and others might have potentially realized that Lu Yin had the ability to Enhance items, just by analyzing
his equipment. Gift Copy could be easily exposed if Lu Yin used it too frequently to borrow other
people’s innate gifts. As for Possession, Tian Dou had already unraveled that ability, though he was also
dead. Blackless God had also been involved in that matter, so it was not completely impossible for Lu
Yin’s Possession ability to be known to the Skygod.

It was possible that almost all six of the abilities of Lu Yin’s die had been exposed, and Lu Yin no longer
intended to keep everything a complete secret.

Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "You have a second innate gift that allows you to do
something like that? That’s genuinely amazing. Even Old Fu isn’t as impressive as you."

Lu Yin just shrugged. "Even if it’s amazing, it burns through too many resources. So, now you know what
happened to all the resources on the Junior Progenitor Planets, Senior."

Progenitor Smoke nodded, but curiosity filled her eyes. "Show me how you use your innate gift."

"I can't use it for now. After each use, I have to rest for a long, long time. Otherwise, my innate gift
would be too freakish."

"True. There’s a balance to all things in the universe, and there’s no innate gift that’s truly flawless. In
that case, how far can you improve this needle-like weapon? Is this the limit?" Progenitor Smoke asked.
Lu Yin replied, "This junior doesn’t really know, but Senior, time is running out. Please help me capture
Bai Teng as soon as possible. Otherwise, I’ll be exposed to Long Ke as soon as he lands on this island, and
then I’ll be in a great deal of trouble."

Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "You’re actually sending one of the masters of the Nine Mountains
and Eight Seas on an errand like this? You really know how to have fun, kid."

The woman then left the pocket dimension within the mirror, which allowed Lu Yin to heave a sigh of
relief. It was becoming more and more troublesome to ask this woman for help.

In the waters near the deserted island, Bai Teng started to drift upwards a bit. Just where had that brat
gone?

The man was clenching his cosmic ring. If Yu Hao had indeed stolen the star essence from three of the
Junior Progenitor Planets, then he had to have a top powerhouse working with him. Bai Teng
understood this, and yet he had still been bold enough to chase after Yu Hao. Naturally, the sect master
had made some preparations, and he had also reported the current situation to the Progenitor. Bai Teng
was not trying to personally capture the thief who had raided the Junior Progenitor Planets, but rather
just expose the criminal.

More and more people in the Celestial Frost Sect were no longer paying any attention to Bai Teng, and it
was just a matter of time before Xian’er left seclusion. As soon as that happened, the position of sect
master would be hers. Bai Teng was unwilling to lose his position, even to his own daughter. Thus, he
had to accomplish something of note, and he would do whatever it took to succeed.

Even as his mind continued to race, Bai Teng still could not find any hint of Yu Hao’s presence on the
deserted island.

The sect master was in a bit of a rush. Yu Hao had disappeared, but where was Long Ke? The White
Dragon Clan’s patriarch should have arrived by now.
Far away, Long Ke was still observing Bai Teng. Just what was this idiot doing?

Wisps of fog twined around Bai Teng just above the ocean’s surface, but Bai Teng did not react at all. It
was only after the fog completely surrounded him and cut off his connection to his cosmic ring that Bai
Teng’s expression changed drastically. He instinctively tried to take out the treasure given to him by his
Progenitor, but he was too late, and he was instantly dragged into the mirror by the surrounding fog.

Further away, Long Ke was deeply disturbed by the sight of Bai Teng’s mysterious disappearance.
However, Long Ke was also unable to react in time, and he was also captured by the fog, instantly losing
consciousness.

Lu Yin watched from the deserted island as both Bai Teng and Long Ke collapsed. The first step of his
plan could be considered a success.

He threw Bai Teng onto Zenith Mountain, just like what he had done with Xia Xing's clone. Then, Lu Yin
Possessed Long Ke's body. As for Lu Yin’s own body, he asked Progenitor Smoke to help him conceal it.
He wanted to make sure that no one saw anything other than Long Ke. Lu Yin absolutely did not want to
be discovered.

Progenitor Smoke became quite curious about what Lu Yin intended to do.

Some time later, Lu Yin guided Long Ke’s body back to the Island of Hope. Lu Yin’s own body never
moved more than five meters away from Long Ke, though due to Progenitor Smoke’s wei, no one could
see Lu Yin’s body, not even the God of Food.

Lu Yin had gradually gained a deeper understanding of Progenitor Smoke. While the woman was not a
powerful combatant, her wei was absolutely perfect for capturing people, hiding things, and other utility
tasks.

Also, he had come to understand that, when Progenitor Smoke had claimed that not even Progenitor
Chen would be guaranteed to be able to break her free from her trapped situation, that was not
because her wei was overly powerful. Instead, it was more of an indication of how perfectly suited wei
was for trapping and restraining people. Pure strength might not be enough to free someone from
Progenitor Smoke’s wei.

After understanding this particular detail, Lu Yin had lost confidence in freeing the Progenitor with the
needle-like weapon. Even if Progenitor Smoke had exaggerated things slightly, it was quite possible that
an ordinary Progenitor would not be strong enough to free her. Regardless of how much Lu Yin
Enhanced the needle-like weapon, it would only be able to touch upon the power of the Progenitor
realm at best. Unless…

Lu Yin guided Long Ke's body back to the Island of Hope, avoiding other people as much as possible
along the way, but he soon caught Wang Zheng's attention.

Wang Zheng had quickly noticed that both Bai Teng and Long Ke had left, but he had been too busy to
follow after the two men.

When Wang Zheng saw Long Ke return, he moved forward to ask about where the two patriarchs had
gone, but Wang Zheng quickly noticed that Long Ke was injured. There was blood at the corner of his
mouth, and he was acting like he was afraid of being seen. Long Ke quickly cleaned his face and returned
to his clan’s Junior Progenitor Planet.

Wang Zheng's eyes flashed. Clearly, something had happened. He immediately tried to contact Bai Teng
through his communication crystal, but his crystal could not connect to the other man. Wang Zheng
moved on to call Long Ke, and after waiting for a long time, Long Ke finally answered Wang Zheng’s call.

"Brother Long, where did you just go? I wasn’t able to find you," Wang Zheng asked.

Lu Yin was still controlling Long Ke's body, and he replied, "I achieved a bit of insight into my cultivation,
so I wasn’t paying attention. What's wrong, Brother Wang?"

Wang Zheng asked, "Brother Long, do you know where Bai Teng went?"
Long Ke laughed. "Why would I know anything about that? Well, if there’s nothing else that you need,
Brother Wang, I would like to go into seclusion."

It was quite clear that Long Ke was eager to end the call.

Wang Zheng glared at the communication crystal in his hand. There was clearly something wrong with
Long Ke.

Lu Yin ended the Possession and then left the Island of Hope while hidden by Progenitor Smoke's wei.
He traveled quickly, quickly joining back up with Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai. They had no idea that Bai
Teng, the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect, had just been kidnapped.

After grabbing Bai Teng, Lu Yin relaxed a great deal. He smiled more when he looked at Bai Weiwei,
which caused the young woman to think that her professor had some feelings for her.

After a few days of traveling, Lu Yin and the others arrived back in the Middle Realm, and they continued
to travel towards Virtue Archives. After they returned, news came out that the Celestial Frost Sect had
arrested Long Ke on the Island of Hope. The news shook the Perennial World.

Long Ke was the patriarch of the White Dragon Clan, not some lowly cultivator, but the Celestial Frost
Sect had still arrested the man. This enraged the White Dragon Clan, and it shocked both Shenwu's Sky
and the Wang family.

However, this matter was actually related to Wang Zheng, as his words had led to Long Ke’s arrest. After
all, Long Ke had been arrested because he was the primary suspect in Bai Teng’s disappearance and in
the loss of the resources on the Junior Progenitor Planets.

In the Higher Realm, at the gates of the Celestial Frost Sect, Long Ke was beyond furious. Despite his
status as the patriarch of the White Dragon Clan, he had actually been captured and arrested by the
Celestial Frost Sect like a common criminal. This was a humiliation that he would never be able to live
down.

"Patriarch Long Ke, what is your connection to my sect master's disappearance?" an old man demanded
in a stern voice. This man was Wu Yao, and he was a Semi-Progenitor who had been recruited by the
Celestial Frost Sect.

Chapter 2225: Spearhead

There were countless cultivators in the Perennial World, and Semi-Progenitors were not limited to only
appearing in powerful families or sects. On rare occasions, independent cultivators could also become
Semi-Progenitors, or they could rise up from small families or sects. However, all Semi-Progenitors
would be forced to join one of the four ruling powers, and if not, then the Semi-Progenitor would be
sent to the rear battlefield. This was the four ruling powers’ method of maintaining control over the
Perennial World’s Semi-Progenitors, and it was quite similar to how Star Alliance was used to control
Envoys.

Still, not even the four ruling powers dared to push too hard when it came to Semi-Progenitors.

Wu Yao had been an independent cultivator, and he had been known for being ruthless and cruel.
Millions of corpses lay in his wake, and he had also taken the initiative to join the Celestial Frost Sect on
his own. After all he knew that if he had not done so, he would have been banished to the rear
battlefield and forced to fight until his death.

Long Ke stared back at Wu Yao. "I had nothing to do with that."

Wu Yao’s voice dropped low. "Patriarch Wang Zheng is a witness to the fact that you are somehow
connected to our sect master's disappearance."
Long Ke turned to glare at Wang Zheng, who then stepped forward. "Brother Long, I saw for myself that
when you returned to the Island of Hope, you were injured. Senior God of Food can also verify that you
left at the same time as Sect Master Bai Teng."

Long Ke softly answered, "I did leave right after Bai Teng, but I never did anything to him. I don't even
know how I got back."

"That’s ridiculous. Patriarch Long Ke, do you really expect us to believe such a thing?" Wu Yao mocked.

Long Ke felt incredibly wronged. He truly had no idea how he had returned to the Island of Hope. His last
memory before finding himself on the island had been seeing Bai Teng disappear. There was nothing at
all after that. The next thing that Long Ke could recall was awakening on the Island of Hope, already
injured.

Just what had happened? Who had injured him? Had Bai Teng gone missing?

"Wang Zheng, did you personally see me attack Bai Teng?" Long Ke demanded in a loud voice.

Wang Zheng shook his head. "I never claimed that you attacked Bai Teng, but simply that you are
somehow connected to his disappearance. I have no idea if you attacked him or not, but the Celestial
Frost Sect is already looking into this."

Long Ke looked back at Wu Yao. "What has your Celestial Frost Sect found?"

Wu Yao sneered. "Nothing."

"In that case, why arrest me?" Long Ke roared. "Do you think that my clan’s Progenitor Long will just let
this go? Your Celestial Frost Sect has not reached the level of the Lu family! You can’t just pass judgment
on me without cause!"
Wu Yao shouted back, "We may not have found anything, but you are still the chief suspect! For
someone to snatch the resources of the Junior Progenitor Planets from right beneath the God of Food’s
watch, there must be a truly powerful expert behind this. Dealing with a mere sect master would be no
issue at all. Long Ke, denying things won’t help you at all."

On the other side of the Higher Realm, in Shenwu’s Sky, Xia Ziheng and several others were paying close
attention to the Celestial Frost Sect’s interrogation of Long Ke.

"Why would Long Ke attack Bai Teng? Given Long Ke’s strength, it’s impossible for him to capture or kill
Bai Teng quietly. Someone else must have acted to make Bai Teng vanish without attracting even the
God of Food’s attention. Such a person has to be incredibly powerful," Xia Ziheng said.

Xia Xing thought aloud, commenting, "That matches with how the resources on the Junior Progenitor
Planets were stolen, but why would Long Ke attack Bai Teng now of all times? That just doesn't make
sense, even if he did want to attack. After all, the God of Food saw Long Ke leave with Bai Teng, even if
Wang Zheng hadn’t noticed him return alone and injured. On top of that, if the person apparently
behind Long Ke dealt with Bai Teng, then how did Long Ke end up injured?"

"Everything about this is strange. It just seems wrong," Xia Ziheng agreed.

At that point, the Semi-Progenitor glanced over at Xia Shenfei, who was drinking nearby. "Shenfei, what
do you think of all this?"

Despite Xia Shenfei’s alcoholism, no one would dare to underestimate him. Despite his abuse of alcohol
during the time when the four Junior Progenitors had competed against each other, Xia Shenfei’s
cultivation had never fallen behind any of the other three. Later, in order to infiltrate Realmless, he had
completely stopped drinking for twenty years, which showed just how ruthless he could be even on
himself. He had remained sober for twenty years, and he had risen through the ranks and even snuck
into Realmless’s headquarters, which had facilitated the destruction of a large part of Realmless. Xia
Shenfei’s abilities were unquestionable.
Xia Shenfei lowered the gourd full of wine. "By analyzing the current situation, one possibility is that
Long Ke attacked Bai Teng spontaneously, possibly because Bai Teng discovered something. The other
possibility is that Long Ke is being framed by someone."

Xia Xing frowned. "Wang Zheng personally saw Long Ke when he returned to the Island of Hope. You
think that he could be being framed? By whom? Wang Zheng?"

Xia Shenfei let out a long sigh. "That doesn’t really add up either. There’s no reason for Wang Zheng to
frame Long Ke."

"There’s no way anyone could be framing him. Wang Zheng personally saw Long Ke return. The only way
the man could be framed is if someone could control him," Xia Xing countered.

That possibility was immediately dismissed. With the God of Food’s presence on the Island of Hope, how
could anyone manage to raid the Junior Progenitor Planets, take control of Long Ke, and then
manipulate the man into having a conversation with Wang Zheng without the God of Food ever noticing
a thing? It was impossible for any Semi-Progenitor to do so. Only Progenitors could pull such things off,
and why would a Progenitor bother to do such a thing?

"There’s one last possibility." Xia Shenfei took another sip of his wine before opening his blurry eyes.
"Someone messed up and acted on their own."

Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng glanced at each other in disbelief. Someone made a mistake? That could only
mean someone from the Celestial Frost Sect.

Instantly, the two men started reevaluating everything that they knew about the situation. If the
Celestial Frost Sect was the one that had taken action, then everything fell into place, including even Bai
Teng’s disappearance. It was possible that Long Ke's injury was indeed from a fight with Bai Teng. But in
this scenario, Bai Teng would be fine after the fight, and Long Ke might simply not want to reveal the
truth. It was also possible that Bei Teng had purposely disappeared after Long Ke had returned to the
Island of Hope, just to make Long Ke look suspicious.
This would perfectly explain Long Ke's inability to say anything to clear his name of being involved with
Bai Teng's disappearance.

However, why would the Celestial Frost Sect have done such a thing?

Xia Ziheng stared at Xia Xing. "If the Celestial Frost Sect is also behind your clone’s disappearance, then
they seem to want to seize total control of Star Alliance and also recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan. With their
sect master’s disappearance, no one will suspect them at all, and at the same time, these recent matters
at the Island of Hope have created rifts and doubts towards the Wang family and the White Dragon Clan.
It all fits."

Xia Xing took a deep breath. "If this is true, then who do you think took action?"

"That woman." Xia Ziheng did not hesitate at all.

Xia Xing nodded and continued down this line of thought. "Such schemes are not at all surprising coming
from her. This matter creates distrust towards both the White Dragon Clan and the Wang family, while
my Shenwu's Sky would stop considering the possibility that the Celestial Frost Sect captured my clone.
As far as the Celestial Frost Sect is concerned, their only loss is Bai Teng, who’s nothing more than a
figurehead. This is a vicious move. It’s even possible that they stole the resources from three Junior
Progenitor Planets, while leaving the Wang family’s planet untouched. Simultaneously, they’ve
manipulated things to force more grudges onto the White Dragon Clan, while also making the Wang
family look like possible thieves.

"It’s a clever scheme, and it covers everything while muddying the waters in the Higher Realm. There’s
only one thing left for them to do." Xia Xing turned to look at Xia Ziheng, and the two both said in
unison, "Get Yu Hao."

Xia Shenfei opened his eyes once again. "If the Celestial Frost Sect really is behind everything, then after
creating chaos in the Higher Realm, their next task will definitely be to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan and
then gain control of Star Alliance, if at all possible. Unfortunately, I’m quite sure that they are able to
force the clone that’s been captured to give up our portion of the restriction."
Upon seeing the ugly expression on his father’s face, Xia Shenfei quickly commented, "Father, don't get
upset. I’m not looking down on your clone, but the Celestial Frost Sect is just capable of using too many
tricks."

"I know."

Xia Shenfei continued to say, "If Shenwu's Sky wants to stop them, then the only ones we can work with
are the Wang family and the White Dragon Clan. After seeing what’s happened to Long Ke, I’d guess that
they won’t dare to do anything against the Celestial Frost Sect for some time. If the White Dragon Clan is
out of the picture, then our only possible ally is the Wang family.”

"That's also why the star essence was left untouched on the Wang family’s Junior Progenitor Planet. It’s
a ploy by the Celestial Frost Sect to prevent the Wang family from being able to move against them," Xia
Ziheng blurted out, finally understanding the last piece of the puzzle.

Xia Ziheng and Xia Xing glanced at each other. The two men felt chills run down their backs. "That
woman's completely vicious, just like the Lu family of the past. We need to tell the White Dragon Clan
and the Wang family what we’ve learned of as soon as possible. If the Celestial Frost Sect succeeds in
taking control of Star Alliance and Grandmaster Gu Yan, then we’ll all be at a severe disadvantage."

"If that woman’s using these kinds of schemes, then it’s possible that she’s already approaching her next
breakthrough. She might also have been the one to steal the star essence from the three planets, as
she’s certainly able to do something like that while keeping everything hidden from the God of Food,"
Xia Xing said solemnly.

Xia Shenfei coughed. "Wait, we’re just speculating, so we can’t be too aggressive in our actions. After all,
what we’re thinking might not actually be correct."

Xia Ziheng shook his head. "This should be what happened. Bai Weiwei has continuously tried to win
over Yu Hao in Virtue Archives. The Celestial Frost Sect’s goals have been known for a long time already,
and while we found traces of someone using the Lifeseizer Palm where the sect master’s clone was
attacked, it is just as likely to have been the Celestial Frost Sect’s Celestial Suppression."

Xia Shenfei continued mulling things over. While their guesses appeared to be the most likely possibility,
had they actually discovered the truth?

There were times when people could mentally connect a series of events using complicated clues, and
they would automatically believe their assumptions to be true. In fact, the more complicated the
connections, the more convinced people would be that they had discovered the truth.

From the disappearance of Xia Xing's clone to the disappearance of Bai Teng, the three men had
concocted a series of connections, and everything pointed at the Celestial Frost Sect being the culprit.

Who could know that Lu Yin, who was actually behind everything that had happened, had not actually
put much thought into his actions? He had simply captured Bai Teng because of a passing thought, and
Long Ke’s presence on the Island of Hope had been a complete coincidence. The timing had been too
perfect. While Lu Yin had not intended to frame the Celestial Frost Sect, and it was even possible that he
could come up with such a plan, he had simply not put much thought into the ramifications of his
actions.

Regardless, Xia Ziheng and the others eventually placed the guilt for Lu Yin’s crimes firmly onto the
Celestial Frost Sect. It was all because of how the four ruling powers were constantly in conflict with
each other and struggling for dominance.

As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they were feeling very confused at this moment. Long Ke did not seem to
be lying, but Bai Teng was missing, and Long Ke remained the most likely suspect. It was impossible for
the Celestial Frost Sect to simply allow Long Ke to leave. Unfortunately, the prolonged arrest only served
as confirmation of the Xia family’s speculation. It was soon decided that they would reach out to the
White Dragon Clan and the Wang family and then secretly cooperate to prevent the Celestial Frost Sect's
plan from succeeding.

In Virtue Archives, Lu Yin spent two days resting after his return, and he then went to see Prof. Wei. He
sat with her and listened to a story that she told.
"Throughout the long history of the Perennial World, more Progenitors have appeared than just the
ones who are currently alive. Some died on the rear battlefield, while others disappeared, and no one
knows where they might have gone. Progenitor Wen, who you’ve been looking into, was killed on the
rear battlefield, and he was supposedly taken down by a Progenitor from Aeternus." Prof. Wei spoke in a
casual tone, but when she saw how closely Lu Yin was paying attention, she asked, "Do you enjoy
learning about history, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin nodded. "I would love to learn more about various Progenitors."

Prof. Wei shook her head. Her expression was completely calm and clear, like a gentle tea. "All I know
about is history, which means that, even if we don’t consider Progenitors, there’s a great deal of
information about Semi-Progenitors that I don’t know about. If you want to learn more about matters at
that level, you should speak with the headmaster."

Lu Yin then asked a different question. "Prof. Wei, what do you know about the masters of the Nine
Mountains and Eight Seas?"

Prof. Wei shook her head again. "I really barely know anything at all."

"Could you tell me what you do know? Anything at all would be great," Lu Yin encouraged.

Prof. Wei gave a small smile. "Very well. In that case, we’ll talk about Progenitor Chen first. His name
was originally Xia Shang, and he was born in a branch family of Shenwu's Sky’s Xia family. Shenwu's
Sky…"

Lu Yin had a very relaxed every time he met with Prof. Wei. It felt as though he was sitting and observing
the long river of history slowly flow by. While it was impossible to change anything in these stories, it
was still quite pleasant to watch and hear about them.
Chapter 2226: The Second Sword Attack

Nong Siniang was completely the opposite of Prof. Wei. The young woman was very noisy, though
cheerful. As soon as she discovered that Yu Hao had returned to Virtue Archives, Nong Siniang glued
herself to his side, even when he went to visit with Prof. Wei. Still, there were a few irritating things
about the young woman.

"A sword spar?" Lu Yin was surprised.

Prof. Wei also gave Nong Siniang a curious look.

Nong Siniang pursed her lips. She felt a bit offended and frustrated. "That Liu Que is just too arrogant!
All I said was that his sword looks like our hoes, and he answered by saying that our hoes aren’t worthy!
How ridiculous! Prof. Hao Yu, don’t you agree? Doesn't his broken, chipped sword look like a hoe?"

Lu Yin found this argument a bit weird, but he did not comment on it. If a sword’s hilt was bent to the
side, it might look a bit like a hoe, but he would not admit that out loud. "So you challenged him to a
fight?"

"Hmph! Our hoes can plow the ground to grow food, or they can be used to remove the earth and dig
graves. What can he do with his broken sword? All his toy is good for is fighting! Our hoes are not
limited to just agriculture." Nong Siniang clenched her fist as she ranted.

Lu Yin was completely speechless, and he looked at Prof. Wei, who shrugged.

Prof. Wei found the entire argument to be hilarious. "I heard that the Seed Garden’s Nong family is able
to use their hoes in a very powerful manner. I would love to see it for myself."
Nong Siniang held her head up high in a proud manner, but she soon crumpled. She looked over to ask
Hao Yu for help. "Prof. Hao Yu, even if my family can use our hoes in a powerful manner, I’m not very
good at it. I- I can’t beat Liu Que. What should I do?"

"What are you hoping for?" Lu Yin felt rather puzzled.

Nong Siniang's eyes lit up. "When you introduced yourself in your first class, you mentioned that you are
good at giving pointers. Could you help me with that? Even if I can’t defeat Liu Que, at the least, I don't
want to embarrass my Nong family’s hoe."

As the young woman spoke, she pulled out her hoe.

An odd expression appeared on Lu Yin’s face. He actually had a hoe as well, and it was one that he had
picked up from the Sixth Mainland’s Nong family. Actually, that Nong family also focused on farming and
using farm equipment; could the two families have come from a common ancestor?

Nong Zaitian had claimed that his hoe was a power vessel that Nong Laohan had discovered in the ruins
of the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect, but Lu Yin felt like that story might have been made up by Nong
Laohan. It was much more likely that the hoe was an inherited weapon of the Nong family.

"Professor, please observe a few of my attacks and see if you can come up with any suggestions for me."
Nong Siniang did not even give “Yu Hao” the opportunity to refuse, and she immediately clenched her
hoe and prepared to release a few attacks. The Liu family was as famous as the Sword Monument that
they protected, but a hoe was not typically acknowledged as a weapon.

While hoes were not as established a weapon as swords, Lu Yin had already seen both Nong Sanniang
and Nong Lie use battle techniques specifically designed to be used with a hoe. The Nong family’s battle
techniques revolved around farming, but they were still very powerful, and they were even good
enough to compare to the four ruling powers’ battle techniques. Nong Sanniang had even been
powerful enough to challenge the four Junior Progenitors.
While Nong Siniang was not as impressive as Nong Sanniang had been at the same age, Siniang was still
quite skilled with the hoe, and most people were far from qualifying as her opponents.

Some time later, Nong Siniang was gasping for air while looking at Lu Yin with high expectations. "Well,
Professor? What do you think?"

Lu Yin felt rather embarrassed. "I haven't seen Liu Que's sword skills, so I can’t really make any
comparison."

Nong Siniang rolled her eyes. "Professor, are you able to see through my Seed Garden’s battle
techniques at all?"

Lu Yin shook his head. Even if he was able to see through the battle techniques, he would not admit it.

Prof. Wei spoke up. "Are you going to use Plowing the Land?"

Nong Siniang looked at Prof. Wei in surprise. "Yes. You know about that, Prof. Wei?"

Lu Yin grew curious. "What are you talking about?"

Nong Siniang explained, "My Nong family’s battle techniques are dependent on belief, a sort of
persistence. When we use our battle techniques, the images of everyone we’ve ever observed farming
and using hoes overlaps, which produces an incredible momentum for our techniques. It can be thought
of as both a battle technique and a secret technique, though it doesn’t work against anyone who’s too
strong. Still, if Prof. Hao Yu can use a hoe to perform Plowing the Land, then I can impose that image
onto the ones that I already have. Then, your technique will be merged into the power of my own
Plowing the Land."

Lu Yin arched a brow. How was this anything different from a visualization method? While it could not
be regarded as a complete visualization method, it was one that was unique to the Nong family. Using a
visualization method directly on a battle technique was not how the four ruling powers used their
versions of visualization methods, but they had also stolen theirs from the Lu family.

"Professor, can you please help me?" Nong Siniang begged.

Lu Yin had to ask, "If this works by combining the images of everyone that you’ve seen using Plowing the
Land, that must already be a lot of people. Why ask for my help as well?"

Nong Siniang laughed. "One more is still one more."

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "What do I need to do?"

"Just use Plowing the Land, Professor. All you need to do is limit your strength to the peak of what I can
control when using Plowing the Land, which is about thirty cycles. As long as you maintain a power level
of about that much, the image of you using Plowing the Land will merge with what I already have. The
more combat power that you can exert within the limitations of the power level, the more helpful it will
be for me," Nong Siniang explained.

Lu Yin reluctantly took the hoe. "So, basically, you just need me to do a bit of farming?"

Nong Siniang nodded. In truth, she had asked “Yu Hao” to help her prepare for the spar with Liu Que
because she wanted to watch her professor do a bit of farming. This was a unique pastime of the Nong
family. All of the members of the family enjoyed seeing people working the fields and sweating like
rainfall. It made them feel closer to the earth.

As for the excuse of combining the image of “Yu Hao’s” movements with what Nong Siniang already
possessed, it would not really improve her move by much. If it was that easy to strengthen the
technique, then the Nong family would have already completely suppressed the four ruling powers.
Lu Yin held the hoe, raised it high, and then suddenly slammed it down. Since he had agreed to help, he
would do so properly. He maintained a level of strength comparable to a thirty cycle Enlighter while
unleashing the maximum level of combat power that he was capable of with this restriction. This was
nothing difficult, as he just needed to increase his pure physical strength.

When Lu Yin had been a thirty cycle Enlighter, he had already been capable of fighting Envoys on his
own, and he had even surpassed the combat power of regular Envoys. For example, he had even
surpassed a peak one-tribulation Envoy like Shi Xin.

The hoe fell, and while Nong Siniang was unable to see anything special about “Yu Hao’s” movements,
Prof. Wei's eyes lit up. "Siniang, you’ve been blessed!"

Nong Siniang was simply obsessed with watching the beautiful sight of “Yu Hao” tilling the soil, so she
did not even register Prof. Qing Wei's words.

Prof. Wei smiled and commented, "Go find Liu Que. You’ll give him quite the surprise."

Only then was Nong Siniang roused from her daze, and she reluctantly took her leave.

After Nong Siniang was gone, Prof. Wei turned back to “Hao Yu.” "Prof. Hao Yu, you certainly have some
well-hidden secrets. The combat power that you just released is truly astonishing. Liu Que is going to be
shocked."

Lu Yin shrugged. "I just did my best. It’s my responsibility to help when a student requests it."

"So, if I want to ask Prof. Hao Yu for help in the future, will you help me as well?" Prof. Wei stared at Lu
Yin.

Lu Yin replied, "As I should."

Prof. Wei smiled and then resumed sharing historical anecdotes with Lu Yin.

Elsewhere in the academy, Nong Siniang found Liu Que, and the swordsman frowned. "I don't have time
to play with you."

Nong Siniang taunted the young man, "Liu Que! You’ve mocked the hoe, and today, I want to prove its
worth!"

Many students nearby started shouting. Nong Siniang was quite popular among the students while Liu
Que, despite being amazingly powerful, was rather cold. Thus, he had made no friends at all.

Liu Que calmly replied, "Alright. I'll exchange one attack with you, but no more than that."

Nong Siniang was eager to start the spar, so she pulled out her hoe. "You look down on people, but
don’t force your perceptions onto others! Just be harvested like an obedient radish!"

The hoe rose high as Nong Siniang stepped forward, and the moment she was in front of Liu Que, the
hoe dropped down.

Liu Que looked up. His sword instantly appeared in his hand from its scabbard. He did not truly look
down on the hoe, as that was impossible. The Nong family was comparable to the Liu family, though the
Nong family’s battle techniques were even more mysterious. Instead, Liu Que looked down on Nong
Saniang. If he were confronted by Nong Lie or Nong Sanniang, Liu Que would not have been nearly as
condescending.

Liu Que knew that he was stronger than any of his peers from his generation. As far as he was
concerned, the only ones who could compare to him were the people from the same generation as the
latest Junior Progenitors.
"Plowing the Land!" Nong Siniang yelled, and countless images of hoes appeared and started to overlap.
This sight was something that Liu Que had expected. While the names of the Nong family’s battle
techniques sounded simple and unpretentious, the techniques were truly profound and impressive.
There was a deep power to them, but in the end, regardless of how powerful a battle technique might
be, it was impossible to compensate for the difference in strength between Liu Que and Nong Siniang.

Liu Que's sword rose up from below as he released a single slash.

Clang!

A deafening sound rang out, and the indifferent expression finally left Liu Que’s face. He almost lost his
grip on his sword as an overbearing strength passed through from the descending hoe. The power
reverberated through the sword and Liu Que’s upraised arm, and overlapping vibrations ripped through
everything. Liu Que let the momentum flow through his body and shifted his sword to the right while
spinning his body in a circle to disperse the force. The sword followed along, and stopped with the tip
pointing at Nong Siniang's throat.

A bitter expression painted Nong Siniang’s face. So, she still ended up instantly being defeated?

"Who have you seen in your Nong family who could defeat me as an Enlighter?" Liu Que demanded as
he stared at Nong Siniang.

Nong Siniang blinked. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Liu Que pulled his sword back, still staring at Nong Siniang. There was no longer disinterest in the
swordsman’s eyes, but rather powerful curiosity. "Tell me the names of those that you’ve seen farming."

Nong Siniang rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"You just lost."

Nong Siniang sneered. "If I lost, then I lost. What? You want me to give you my body as well after that
spar?"

"Nong Siniang, I'm not toying with you. Your strength is nowhere near enough to force me to use a
second attack," Liu Que stated quietly.

Nong Siniang suddenly shouted, "That's right! You used two attacks! You aren’t as powerful as you
claimed, if you had to use a second attack to deal with me. I’ll tell you right now that my sister doesn’t
need two moves to defeat me, which means that you’re still far behind my sister."

It did not matter what Liu Que said; Nong Siniang ignored everything, which left Liu Que completely
helpless.

Nong Siniang was not stupid. While she had seen a few powerhouses use hoes and perform Plowing the
Land, only a select few of those people contributed to her image, and she was familiar with the strength
of all of those people. The only exception was Prof. Hao Yu. In fact, even Prof. Wei had said that Nong
Siniang would be able to surprise Liu Que after seeing Hao Yu use Plowing the Land.

Nong Siniang had played dumb because she did not want a battle maniac like Liu Que making trouble for
Prof. Hao Yu.

After finally getting rid of Liu Que, Nong Siniang patted her chest. "What a pain!"

Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of her, and it was holding a gourd. The smell of alcohol was so strong
that Nong Siniang’s eyes almost started watering.

She glared at the person who had just appeared in front of her, quite irritated. "Who are you?"
"Have you heard about the legend that claims that a drop of wine can dissolve all sorrows from your
heart?" The man did not seem capable of standing up straight, and his words slurred. It was quite clear
that he was drunk.

Nong Siniang turned around to get away from the man, but he waved a hand and caused a drop of wine
to fly out of the gourd and float in front of Nong Siniang's eyes.

"Tell me the names of everyone that you’ve ever seen use Plowing the Land." The drunk spoke slowly,
and the light of the Undying Bird’s flames finally illuminated his face. Xia Shenfei had arrived in Virtue
Archives.

Just as Nong Siniang was about to answer, someone else appeared: Headmaster Wen.

The headmaster stared at Xia Shenfei. "Child, while there’s no problem with you visiting my academy,
attacking my students is going too far."

Xia Shenfei offered a respectful bow as soon as he saw Headmaster Wen. "Greetings, Senior Wen Lai."

Chapter 2227: Testing The Waters

Headmaster Wen looked at Xia Shenfei and calmly replied, "Out of respect for your recent contributions
to humanity, we’ll just forget about this matter. I don’t want anything unpleasant to happen in my
academy, neither for you nor my students."

Xia Shenfei looked somber. "This junior understands."

Headmaster Wen then took Nong Siniang away, and Xia Shenfei let out a burp. He had watched the
match between Liu Que and Nong Siniang, and Xia Shenfei was also quite curious about Nong Siniang’s
newfound strength that had forced Liu Que to make a second move. There was too vast a difference in
strength between the two for something like a battle technique to compensate for it.

The only possibility was that Nong Siniang had observed someone who had the combat strength to cross
realms and defeat Liu Que while having the same level of cultivation as Nong Siniang use the technique,
but there was no one like that in Seed Garden. It had been completely impossible for Nong Siniang to
force Liu Que to use that much strength in the past. Thus, for her to suddenly gain such strength,
something had to have happened while she was studying in Virtue Archives. Xia Shenfei was very curious
about who the responsible party might be.

It was quite impressive for anyone to have a combat strength sufficient to defeat Liu Que while only
having Nong Siniang’s cultivation. In fact, it would have been beyond even Xia Shenfei in the past.

However, since the headmaster had interfered, Xia Shenfei had to drop the matter.

He was in Virtue Archives to see Yu Hao. Xia Shenfei had always felt that there was something rather
strange about Yu Hao’s sudden appearance, or rather, everything else that had occurred since then.
While it could be just a coincidence that so many incidents had occurred after Yu Hao’s return, Xia
Shenfei found that true coincidences were exceedingly rare.

It was just a short time later that Xia Shenfei found “Yu Hao” by the lake shore. Lu Yin was preparing for
his afternoon class, and was quite surprised to see Xia Shenfei arrive. "Xia Shenfei?"

Yu Hao should absolutely be able to recognize Xia Shenfei.

A smile spread across Xia Shenfei's face. "You and I have never met."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Who wouldn’t recognize one of the four Junior Progenitors? We certainly did
meet before."
Xia Shenfei stared into “Yu Hao’s” eyes. "When and where was that?"

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he stared back at Xia Shenfei. The young man calmly stared back at the
professor, just waiting for an answer.

All of a sudden, a person shot over, causing Lu Yin and Shenfei to look over at the same time. It was Liu
Que, and he stared intently at Xia Shenfei. Liu Que’s eyes were filled with excitement and bloodlust.
"You’ve finally shown up."

Xia Shenfei laughed. "It looks like this one’s a battle maniac. This is going to be a bit of a pain."

He then looked back at Lu Yin. "Yu Hao, we'll see each other again."

Xia Shenfei then tore through the void, fleeing the area. As for Liu Que, he instantly grew serious. "Xia
Shenfei, don't run!"

The student instantly took off after the Junior Progenitor.

Lu Yin remained quietly standing in the same place, though his expression fell. Xia Shenfei had been
testing his identity of Yu Hao. Had the two ever met? Lu Yin had no idea, and neither did Kui Luo. Xia
Shenfei had always stayed in the Higher Realm, so if he had ever met Yu Hao, it would have had to be
there, decades ago.

Lu Yin had taken a risk, as he had not known if the two had any history between them. The gamble had
paid off, as it seemed like Xia Shenfei had indeed met Yu Hao before. However, when had that
happened? And where?
Lu Yin hurried back to the stone pillar that was his residence. After arriving, he took out Zenith Mountain
and entered. He needed to speak with Xia Taili.

Xia Taili was surprised by the question. "Yu Hao? How do you know about him? Are you back in the
Perennial World?"

Lu Yin said, "That's right, I'm back in the Perennial World."

Xia Taili instantly got excited, only for Lu Yin to smash her with reality again. "But I’m not letting you go. I
can’t risk you getting away and reaching out to Shenwu's Sky."

Xia Taili gritted her teeth. "Are you going to keep me your prisoner forever?"

"While people may not stay in seclusion for an entire lifetime, it's perfectly normal to train for tens,
hundreds, or even thousands of years at a time. It’s perfectly common for cultivators to stay in seclusion
for long periods of time," Lu Yin replied.

Xia Taili wanted to beat this bastard up, but the difference in strength between had already been made
clear. She suppressed the urge.

"However, as long as you tell me about Yu Hao, I can let you go." Lu Yin offered a condition.

Xia Taili sneered. "Do you think that I’m an idiot? Why would I care if you release me just a few years
sooner?"

"Two years," Lu Yin offered.

Xia Taili stared at him, her eyes large. "Two years?"

Lu Yin nodded. "That's right. I'll let you go, completely free, within no more than two years."

"For real?"

"As long as you tell me the truth."

"Deal!"

"Start talking."

Xia Taili pursed her lips, and she started to get a bit worried. "I’ll have to think about this… Yu Hao isn’t
someone very well-known. He just happened to marry into my Xia family. Honestly, I wouldn’t even
remember him if not for the fact that he’s pretty good-looking. He’s from..."

Xia Taili did not say very much, as she knew very little about Yu Hao. Lu Yin also did not say anything to
jog the girl’s memory, as he did not want to tell Xia Taili about what he was doing.

"Right, that guy also almost became my big brother’s sworn brother one time." Suddenly, Xia Taili
remembered something important.

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Your big brother? Xia Shenfei?"

Xia Taili nodded and laughed. "My big brother’s a drunk. He spends all his time drinking, and he even
ended up getting betrayed in the Dominion Realm because of it. Even though he likes to drink, he
doesn’t drink very high-quality wine. When he drinks too much, he sometimes likes to force people to
admire him. If that person is someone whom my brother admires, he’ll push to become sworn brothers.
Wu Taibai was one of those people. My brother said that Wu Taibai has a long-term vision and the
courage to do what he believes in, even if it’s something outrageous. So, my big brother tried to force
Wu Taibai to become his sworn brother, but Wu Taibai shot him down!”

"Then, there was a weird little fruit that’s like a living creature in Seed Garden. My brother thought that
it was cute, so he tried to become sworn brothers with it, only to be rejected by the Nong family. As for
Yu Hao, my brother admired him because he’s the best looking man in the Perennial World. He tried to
become sworn brothers again, only to be stopped by Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng."

Lu Yin blinked. "So, in the end, Yu Hao didn't become sworn brothers with your brother?"

"Of course not! That guy just married into one of our branch families. More specifically, he married that
bitch Xia Zhitong. There’s no way he deserves to become my big brother’s sworn brother," Xia Taili spat
out.

Lu Yin felt a bit curious. "Other than that, was there anything else that ever happened between Yu Hao
and your brother?"

"There shouldn’t be. Yu Hao never went back to the Higher Realm, let alone Shenwu's Sky. He and Xia
Zhitong are my Shenwu's Sky biggest embarrassment." Xia Taili clearly thought very little of Yu Hao.

After she finished her explanation, Xia Taili gave Lu Yin a suspicious look. "Why do I get the feeling that
you’re interested in the connection between my big brother and Yu Hao?"

Lu Yin set a hand on Xia Taili's shoulder, and to Xia Taili’s great confusion, told her, "Thank you."

With that, Lu Yin left Zenith Mountain.

Xia Taili was completely stunned, and she could not help but think that she might have just been tricked.
That same afternoon, after Lu Yin’s lecture had finished, Xia Shenfei returned to repeat his previous
question. "When and where?"

This time, Lu Yin became angry. "I know that your Xia family never liked me, but I've changed! Even if
Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng still feels the same way as back then, he wouldn’t dare to try stopping you
from becoming my sworn brother now. Do you still want to try?"

Xia Shenfei arched a brow. So this man really was Yu Hao. Only four people knew about that particular
matter: Xia Shenfei himself, Yu Hao, Xia Ziheng, and Xia Taili, who treated the whole thing as a joke. Taili
was still in the Forsaken Land, and Xia Ziheng was a Semi-Progenitor. Thus, the only way for this person
to know about that matter was for him to be the real Yu Hao.

After spending so many years as a part of Realmless, Xia Shenfei had developed a habit of seeing
beneath the surface. He always considered the worst possible option, and in the current situation, Yu
Hao might be an imposter who was powerful enough that not even Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng could
see through the disguise.

However, if this person was a Semi-Progenitor in hiding, then it would still be impossible for him to
know about Xia Shenfei’s previous exchange with Yu Hao.

The only possibility left was that this person was indeed the real Yu Hao.

After staring at “Yu Hao’s” face for an extended moment, Xia Shenfei took a sip of wine. "I hope the day
will come when you can take me to visit Grandmaster Gu Yan."

The drunkard then turned around and stumbled away.

After Xia Shenfei left, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He had passed this test, but if Xia Shenfei had more
doubts, then it would not be nearly that easy to deal with him. A few things needed to be sped up.
The more actions that Lu Yin took, the higher the possibility that he would expose himself. This time, Xia
Shenfei had arrived to test “Yu Hao,” but the next visit might not just be a test.

Lu Yin would not underestimate the four ruling powers. They were victims of their own cleverness, but
Lu Yin was just as susceptible to make the same mistake as them.

He needed to strengthen his position even further.

Lu Yin left Virtue Archives to go see Yu Chuan, only to discover that the man had been taken away. Lu
Yin immediately reached out to Xia Ziheng, using the contact information that he had been given.

"Star Alliance doesn’t belong to my Shenwu's Sky, and their members are required to report to the four
ruling powers as a whole. Yu Chuan’s been absent for too long, so he needed to return. Don't worry,
though. We won't let anything happen to him," Xia Ziheng replied.

Lu Yin asked about Xia Shenfei as well, but Xia Ziheng had not known that Xia Shenfei had gone to visit
Virtue Archives.

This news let Lu Yin breathe a sigh of relief. No matter how suspicious Xia Shenfei might be of him or
what his arrival might suggest, it was something Lu Yin could deal with for the time being. More
importantly, it was not Shenwu’s Sky that was doubting Lu Yin’s identity as Yu Hao.

Before the call ended, Xia Ziheng made it a point to warn Lu Yin not to get too close to Bai Weiwei. It
seemed to Lu Yin that his attempt to pin Xia Xing’s disappearance on the Celestial Frost Sect had worked,
though it might have been too effective. Xia Ziheng did not sound suspicious of the Celestial Frost Sect,
but rather certain that there was evidence proving their guilt.

However, Bai Teng had also disappeared, so why did Xia Ziheng sound so certain?
Lu Yin found the matter slightly confusing, but he did not care enough to look into it. As long as no
suspicions were directed towards Yu Hao, he did not care what they thought of each other. For the time
being, it was more important to appease Progenitor Smoke.

In the pocket dimension within the mirror, Progenitor Smoke gave Lu Yin a weird look. "You want me to
poke myself with a needle? What a genius…"

Lu Yin shrugged. "Kui Luo isn’t around, and I have no idea where my senior brother might have gone. My
strength is clearly not enough to help you or release you any further."

Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. Still, she gripped the needle-like weapon and stared at the fog.
Slowly, her hand rose. Fog gathered around the snow-white hand, condensing more and more. An
unimaginable amount of fog gathered together, merging and roiling.

Lu Yin's eyes widened. He had never seen Progenitor Smoke actually release an attack before. He had
only ever seen the woman use her wei to hide things, people, and actions. Lu Yin had no idea how
powerful the Progenitor’s attacks were.

Lu Yin could not see the power of the gathered wei, but he could at least sense that an unfathomable
power had gathered at Progenitor Smoke's hand. It felt as oppressive and overbearing as the simulated
universe in Lu Yin’s chest, and with a flash of light, the needle-like weapon stabbed deep into the fog,
opening an ever-widening hole. When the fog finally stopped moving, Progenitor Smoke's eyes were
glowing. "Not bad."

Lu Yin felt quite curious. "Senior, how much of your strength were you able to release?"

Progenitor Smoke glanced over at Lu Yin, a smile still on her face. "Guess."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "This junior truly has no idea."

"Then just forget about it." Progenitor Smoke stretched her waist. "It’s too bad that it’s still not even
close to my full strength. In the end, a weapon is a dead thing, so there’s no way that it can completely
free me."

"Why don't you use the slipper that this junior used before?" Lu Yin probed.

Progenitor Smoke hated the very idea. "I don't want to, and you aren’t allowed to touch my wei with
that nasty thing."

Lu Yin licked his lips and smiled. "See, Senior? This junior did my best to help you. May I ask you for a
favor?"

Chapter 2228: Uninvited Guest

"What are you going to do this time?" Progenitor Smoke asked sharply.

Lu Yin replied, "Well, this junior wants to go to the Higher Realm. Would it be possible to use your wei to
create a replica of this junior that pretends to be in seclusion here in the academy?"

"Of course. That’s simple enough to do," Progenitor Smoke said.

Lu Yin coughed. "Of course, the replacement can’t be noticed or seen through by Headmaster Wen or
anyone else."
Progenitor Smoke answered, "If you had asked me just a short while ago, the Semi-Progenitor level
strength that I had access to would not have been enough to do that, but things are different now. You
don’t have to worry—they won’t be able to notice anything unless they deliberately destroy the place
where you’re undergoing seclusion. If that happens, you’ll be completely out of luck."

Lu Yin frowned. This was a good point. What if someone purposely attacked wherever he chose to go
into seclusion? Headmaster Wen and the others from Virtue Archives would never do such a thing, but
that was not necessarily true for the people from Shenwu's Sky. As soon as Xia Ziheng or anyone else
from the four ruling powers started to have doubts about Yu Hao, they might be willing to act against
him, even inside the academy. What should he do?

Lu Yin considered the situation for a moment and then looked back at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, could
you please help this junior to make someone else look like me?"

"This is something small enough that I can agree to help you given your diligence in helping me,"
Progenitor Smoke replied.

Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and quickly found Liu Shaoge.

After considering several different people, Lu Yin had realized that no one was more suitable for such a
role than Liu Shaoge. The man was a natural when it came to blending in and keeping himself hidden. In
fact, he was likely even better at such things than Lu Yin.

Liu Shaoge readily agreed, seeing as he was in no position to refuse.

Of course, a Seal of Death was also left inside the man’s body, as there was no other way for Lu Yin to
trust Liu Shaoge.

After seeing Liu Shaoge adopt Yu Hao’s appearance, Lu Yin quickly shared everything that had recently
happened while pretending to be Yu Hao. "The only issue is lockbreaking, but you can just refuse to do
any of that because of physical discomfort or something."
Liu Shaoge gave a small smile. "Don't worry about it."

Lu Yin had to admit that Liu Shaoge was far more similar to Yu Hao than Lu Yin. Liu Shaoge was able to
smile more naturally, and he was also more… hypocritical overall, at least in Lu Yin's eyes.

There was an unspoken rule among the four ruling powers in the Higher Realm, which was that the
height of each of their headquarters could not be higher than the others.

There was the cloud that the Celestial Frost Sect sat upon, the peak of Dragon Mountain, the cage of the
dragon imprisoned by Shenwu's Sky, and the orb of light that floated above the landmass that housed
the Wang family. If a perfectly level plane was placed in the Higher realm and the heights of the four
ruling powers were compared, then each of the four headquarters would be at the exact same height.
None were the slightest bit higher or lower than any of the others.

Of the four headquarters, the landmass that belonged to the Wang family was the most difficult to reach
because they lived on a hand. Rather, they lived on a landmass that was shaped like a hand that floated
in the sky. Anyone who wanted to step foot onto that landmass would find that reaching it was a
hundred times more difficult than simply entering the Higher Realm.

Not everyone qualified to step onto the Wang family’s floating landmass.

Lu Yin had no difficulties reaching the Higher Realm. Once there, he passed over mountains, lakes, and
oceans, and he also saw various cities and towns. None of the cities were independent forces, as every
one of them belonged to one of the four ruling powers. They were the only forces that were allowed to
exist in the Higher Realm. Everyone else there was only support for the four ruling powers, providing
servants, resources, mining efforts, food, and more for them.
Lu Yin could not help but feel rather impressed as he stared at the massive hand that floated high in the
sky. "That should be an actual hand, though I have no idea who it could have belonged to. Only a
colossal giant’s hand could be that big."

The hand-shaped landmass that housed the Wang family was not terribly large, and all who lived on it
were members of the Wang family. If Lu Yin wanted to obtain the Wang family's portion of the
restrictions that sealed the members of Star Alliance, then he needed to at least set foot on that hand.

He had not yet developed a plan to obtain their portion of the restriction method. The extent of his
plans consisted of arriving and seeing what he could do. At this point, he could only take things one step
at a time.

Next to Lu Yin, Elder Qing Xing commented, "I accompanied Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong here to the
Wang family’s home, but what I found most impressive about this place was not the landmass they live
on, but rather the glowing ball above it."

Lu Yin looked up further and saw a sphere that looked like a sun.

"It’s said that that ball once burned a Progenitor to death," Elder Qing Xing explained.

Lu Yin's expression changed. "Burned a Progenitor to death?"

Elder Qing Xing replied, "It's a legend, and no one knows if there’s any truth to it or not. Still, each of the
four ruling powers have their own foundation. Even the weakest of the four, the White Dragon Clan, can
wake up the Ancestor Python. There’s no telling what the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu’s Sky, and the
Wang family might be capable of doing when backed into a corner."

Lu Yin knew that the man was warning him not to enter the Wang family’s headquarters under disguise.
If Lu Yin tried that, danger would strike everyone involved with him.
After hearing Elder Qing Xing’s warning, Lu Yin grew even more nervous, and he stared at the ball of
light for a long, long time. "Let's go find Lei Wu."

Lei Wu was the member of the Hidden Earth Society whom Lu Yin had seen when he had Possessed an
assassin many years ago. Lei Wu had been trying to enter Dragon Mountain, and he was originally from
a city beneath the mountain. However, he had failed to gain the protection of the White Dragon Clan, so
instead, Lei Wu had traveled to the Wang family’s headquarters. This was because one of the senior
members of the Wang family was also a member of the Hidden Earth Society, and they could at least
offer Lei Wu a bit of protection.

Another member of the Hidden Earth Society had become a high-ranking member of the White Dragon
Clan, and while that person was not ranked high enough to determine the overall direction of the White
Dragon Clan, they had still been influential enough to protect Lei Wu. Unfortunately, that person had
died during the battle on Dragon Mountain, which had prevented Lei Wu from seeking refuge in the
White Dragon Clan. The man had been left with no choice but to travel to the Wang family’s
headquarters.

Lei Wu was Lu Yin’s key to entering the Wang family’s headquarters.

It was impossible for Lu Yin to force his way onto the hand-shaped landmass. The Wang family was a
monstrous power with multiple Progenitors, so Lu Yin did not feel comfortable trying to sneak in even
with Progenitor Smoke's power. He did not want his cover to be blown and all of his previous efforts to
be destroyed in one risky gamble.

He had already altered his appearance again. Instead of looking like Yu Hao, Lu Yin now had the
appearance of a very average-looking man. Lu Yin had taken on the appearance of someone from Lei
Wu’s family.

Some distance in front of Lu Yin, directly beneath the Wang family’s headquarters, there was a massive
cluster of multiple cities that were all interconnected. These cities were perfectly safe, as no fighting was
allowed in the shadow of the Wang family’s headquarters.

In one of these cities in the urban cluster, Lei Wu felt completely exhausted.
After failing in the fight to gain control of his city, he had first gone to Dragon Mountain, hoping to
receive the help of someone from the Hidden Earth Society. But instead, he had instead encountered an
assassin. If that killer had not inexplicably committed suicide, Lei Wu would have died there.

As for the Hidden Earth Society member who had been a part of the White Dragon Clan, he had died
during the chaos that had erupted on Dragon Mountain after Lu Xiaoxuan had been exposed. Lei Wu
had then been forced to work for over a decade before he could travel to the Wang family’s territory
and get in touch with the members of the Hidden Earth Society who were a part of the Wang family. It
was only after completely depleting the Lei family’s wealth that Lei Wu had successfully obtained the
opportunity to freely enter the Wang family's headquarters.

The struggles that Lei Wu had overcome in traveling from Dragon Mountain to the Wang family’s
territory were unimaginable. Most of the people in his family had nearly died. The Higher Realm was
simply too big and too dangerous.

Lei Wu had finally obtained the opportunity to freely enter the Wang family’s headquarters, and he
would likely be placed in a city that belonged to the Wang family. Lei Wu could work towards taking
control of that city, as he had before, but before any of that could happen, something terrible had
occurred: a senior member of the Hidden Earth Society had reached out and asked Lei Wu to help bring
someone into the Wang family’s headquarters.

The order absolutely stunned Lei Wu. Even an idiot would instantly understand that this person had evil
intentions, and as soon as the Wang family went looking for them, Lei Wu would be discovered.
Regardless of what happened to the person who wanted to sneak into the Wang family, Lei Wu would
be done for.

Even if he was lucky enough to not simply be eliminated by the Wang family, it would never be possible
for him to travel to a territory controlled by another one of the four ruling powers. For starters, the Lei
family simply did not have the financial means to bear such a burden.

Lei Wu desperately wanted to refuse the request, but he was not even given the chance to do so by his
senior in the Hidden Earth Society. The fact that Lei Wu had been approached instead of the Hidden
Earth Society member who was already part of the Wang family made everything crystal clear: Lei Wu
had been chosen because he was insignificant.

The Hidden Earth Society existed throughout the entire Perennial World, but just because it was a secret
society where its members helped each other, that did not mean that the members were selfless.
Between Lei Wu and the Hidden Earth Society member who had joined the upper ranks of the Wang
family, it was easy to determine who could be more easily sacrificed.

"Grandpa, someone’s here." Lei Wu's grandson, Lei Yan, approached, a heavy expression on the young
man’s face.

Lei Wu’s grandson had been a young boy when the two of them had been attacked near Dragon
Mountain, but in the years since, the young man had risen up to become a Hunter. He had matured into
a reliable-looking young man.

The Lei family’s struggles in the recent decades had left Lei Wu both physically and mentally exhausted.
Lei Yan had also suffered from ailments, as the young man had simply endured too much.

The Lei family was quite large. The members of the entire family had been given the right to freely enter
and leave the Wang family’s headquarters after they received approval. Their status in the city where
they had settled down was quite good, and their home was massive, occupying an entire section.

At this moment, two strangers were standing outside the Lei family's mansion, and they were both
staring straight at Lei Wu. The two people’s vision pierced through the void, allowing them to see Lei Wu
very clearly, and they smiled at him.

Lei Wu's heart sank. The person that he was supposed to help had arrived. He wearily addressed the two
strangers. "Please, come in."

He then turned and requested some tea to be served. No matter Lei Wu’s unwillingness to help, there
were always certain niceties that needed to be addressed.
Soon, the two strangers entered the room.

Lei Wu greeted them with a smile. "Distinguished guests came to my door, but I was too far away to
personally greet you at the gate. I hope that you will forgive this rudeness."

One of the strangers laughed. "Do you know us, Patriarch Lei?"

Lei Wu replied, "I don't know the two of you, but since you’ve been sent to me by our mutual
organization, then you can only be friends. I wonder, which of you wants to enter the Wang family’s
headquarters?"

The two men glanced at each other in surprise. "We both need to get up there."

Lei Wu's expression changed dramatically. "I agreed to the society’s request to take one person, but I
have no way to get two people in."

"Society? What society?" the other stranger asked curiously.

Just as Lei Wu was about to answer, he realized something: these two people were not part of the
Hidden Earth Society!

The patriarch’s eyes flashed, and his expression quickly recovered. "Naturally, I’m part of a society of
people living in these nearby cities who all want to curry favor with the Wang family. I periodically help
other members reach the Wang family’s headquarters, and those who are lucky are able to stay. Those
who aren’t lucky won’t even have their corpse returned. Were you two not sent to me by the society?"

"No, but we do want to visit the Wang family’s landmass," said the first stranger.
Lei Wu bluntly refused, "Since that's the case, I'm sorry, but I can't help you two. Please leave."

"There’s no need for this bullshit." The second stranger's voice was soft, but a terrifying aura suddenly
enveloped Lei Wu and Lei Yan.

The two men grew pale, and they stared at the stranger in terror. "Ste- stellular energy?"

The first stranger shook his head in a helpless manner. "There are times where there’s no reason to be
crude and rude. We need this man to get into the Wang family’s headquarters, and if some flaw is
discovered in their behavior because of your actions, can you afford to take responsibility?"

"Hmph." The pressure disappeared.

Both Lei Wu and Lei Yan heaved sighs of relief. Their backs were already drenched. This was a major
problem, as two unexpected guests had arrived.

"Se- Seniors, why have you come to see my Lei family? There are many other families in these cities who
are also able to freely enter and leave the Wang family’s headquarters, and my Lei family is ranked at
the very bottom." Lei Wu felt quite puzzled.

"We don't need to explain anything to you. If you don't take us to the Wang family’s headquarters, then
the Lei family will disappear," the second stranger said. While his words were simple, they gave Lei Wu
chills. It was quite clear that this man was not joking.

"I understand." Lei Wu had no choice but to agree.

"We want to wait here in your home for someone. While we’re waiting, everything needs to continue
like normal. We won’t interfere in any of the Lei family’s activities, so just pretend like we’re not even
here," said the first stranger. He then asked to be shown to some guest quarters to rest.
Chapter 2229: Deductions And Alliances

Lei Wu’s eyes flickered as he watched the two strangers leave his room. These two men had not been
sent to him by the Hidden Earth Society, which meant that someone else was after his Lei family. What
would happen when the people from the Hidden Earth Society arrived? Could he afford to wait around
and see?

No, waiting was not an option. Terror filled Lei Wu's eyes. While the Hidden Earth Society was a secret
society that remained well hidden, they wielded influence in many organizations throughout the entire
Perennial World and were actually quite powerful. The Hidden Earth Society remained hidden simply
because being discovered would cause all of them to be eradicated and destroyed.

Lei Wu did not believe that the people whom the Hidden Earth Society were sending his way could deal
with the two strangers who had just arrived, especially since they were clearly waiting for the people to
arrive. It also seemed like these two strangers were not on good terms with the Wang family. If they
were willing to work against a monster like the Wang family, then they were part of something that the
Hidden Earth Society could not afford to provoke.

All of these thoughts ran through Lei Wu’s head, leaving him increasingly anxious. He quickly decided
that he needed to find a way to get in touch with the Hidden Earth Society and report what had just
happened.

However, despite his wishes, Lei Wu could not send a message to the Hidden Earth Society. The two
strangers were always watching him, and even though they were not physically present, there was
always some pressure lingering around Lei Wu like a subtle threat, and he did not dare to act rashly.
Even after two days, Lei Wu still hadn’t found any way to avoid the strangers’ notice long enough to
send a report to the Hidden Earth Society. Unfortunately, Lu Yin arrived that day, and he arrived
unaccompanied.

As Lu Yin stared at the Lei family’s home, he remembered being chased from Dragon Mountain. He
really did have a fated connection with these people. In the past, he had Possessed an assassin sent to
kill Lei Wu. It was then that Lu Yin had learned that the Hidden Earth Society also existed in the
Perennial World. If not for Lu Yin, Lei Wu and his grandson would have died to that assassin. At present,
Lu Yin wanted to sneak into the Wang family’s headquarters, and the best way for him to do so was to
use the Hidden Earth Society, who had a member who was a relatively influential member of the Wang
family.

While the Hidden Earth Society’s member in the Wang family had a high position, he was not
responsible for determining who was allowed access to the Wang family’s headquarters. That
responsibility was controlled by another division of the family, which meant that the Hidden Earth
Society’s member in the Wang family was not actually as conveniently placed as Lei Wu. In fact, using Lei
Wu was the most inconspicuous way for Lu Yin to get to where he wanted.

"Please inform the patriarch that an acquaintance has come to visit him," Lu Yin stated to one of the
mansion’s guards.

The man hurried inside to make a report.

Lei Yan soon arrived at the gates, and he saw Lu Yin. Lu Yin had already changed his appearance, so he
looked very average. There was nothing special about his features at all.

"Who are you? You know my Lei family?" Lei Yan asked as he looked at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin smiled. "Please tell Patriarch Lei Wu that an old acquaintance has come to see him."

Lei Yan frowned. "My Lei family doesn't have any acquaintances from this place. You can leave."
With that, the young man turned around and went back inside.

Lu Yin was stunned. What did this mean? Elder Qing Xing had clearly made contact with Lei Wu through
the Hidden Earth Society.

The door closed, and Lu Yin frowned before turning around and leaving.

Once the door closed, Lei Yan heaved a sigh of relief. He was also aware that this person had been sent
by the Hidden Earth Society to the Lei family to infiltrate the Wang family’s headquarters. Lei Yan had
reached the same conclusions as his grandfather, and he was also aware that if things went south, their
Lei family could be exposed, along with the entire Hidden Earth Society.

Lei Wu heaved a sigh of relief, as the two strangers in his home had not cared about the sudden visitor,
and the patriarch secretly praised his grandson for doing such a good job. The young man had spent
years traveling with Lei Wu, and he had developed a wary and cautious demeanor.

"Patriarch Lei Wu." A voice suddenly spoke from right behind Lei Wu. The sound startled the man, and
he spun around, only to see Lu Yin smiling at him.

"You- who are you?"

When Lei Yan also saw Lu Yin, the young man grew pale. "Didn't I send you off? My Lei family doesn’t
know you, so please leave."

Lei Wu's heart dropped. This was the man sent by the Hidden Earth Society? Things were about to grow
complicated, and his family was about to be exposed.
Lu Yin was surprised at this reaction. "Why are you going back on your word? Have you forgotten your
identity?"

An ugly expression covered Lei Wu's face, and he kept winking at Lu Yin. "Of course I’m happy to do
what was agreed upon, but I first need to be paid by your organization. This isn’t the right time, but I’ll
make it up to you next time. You need to hurry up and leave now."

Lu Yin just sat down, completely ignoring the man.

At this moment, one of the two strangers suddenly appeared, and he gave Lu Yin a cold stare before
turning towards Lei Wu. "Is this the person sent by that society that you mentioned? Does he want to
get into the Wang family’s headquarters as well?"

Lei Wu nodded. "It isn’t easy to get people in, and I can’t take more than two at a time. Even if the
people I’m bringing are already known to the Wang family, they won’t let more than three people in at a
time. If this person goes, then only one of you can go, which is why I wanted to drive him away. I was
going to have the society tell him to wait for the next opportunity."

The stranger coldly replied, "There’s no need to wait. This time will be fine."

Lei Wu was surprised by this response, and Lu Yin looked over at the stranger.

"It's hard to find any opportunity to get into the Wang family’s headquarters, even if one risks their life.
In order to avoid any mishaps, this person should just disappear." After he finished speaking, the
stranger pressed a hand down towards Lu Yin.

Lei Wu sighed. Unsurprisingly, this was how things turned out. This person really wanted to die.

The hand struck Lu Yin's shoulder, and a terrifying burst of stellular energy surged in an attempt to
destroy Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin did not move or even react. The stranger was startled, and he stared at
Lu Yin in shock. This was the first time that the man had actually taken a look at Lu Yin. He tried to attack
again, but Lu Yin still did not move. His only reaction was to smile at his attacker.

The stranger's expression changed, and he quickly tried to retreat, but Lu Yin grabbed the man’s arm
and twisted it, forcing the man to the floor in an instant.

Lu Yin placed a foot on the man’s back. "What were you trying to do just now?"

Lei Wu and Lei Yan blankly stared at the sight, unable to understand what had just happened. This
stranger who had taken up residence in their home was an Envoy, but he had just been flung to the floor
and stomped on. Had he been faking his cultivation realm of an Envoy?

The stranger stared up at Lu Yin in disbelief. "Who are you?"

Lu Yin bent over, his foot still on the man’s back. A smile shone down on the incapacitated man. "Sure
enough, you’re from Shenwu's Sky, aren’t you?"

The stranger's expression changed drastically. "Are you from the Celestial Frost Sect?"

Lei Wu and Lei Yan were both taken aback. Shenwu's Sky? The Celestial Frost Sect?

Lu Yin also felt quite confused. He had assumed that this stranger was from Shenwu’s Sky because he
was about as strong as Xia Shenfei and the other Junior Progenitors. What’s more, this man also had an
impressive mastery of the Divine Martial Armor. However, why was this man assuming that Lu Yin was
someone from the Celestial Frost Sect?

Eh? Lu Yin’s head whipped around to look in a specific direction. The void warped, and a massive
amount of stellular energy surged some distance away, only to be instantly suppressed. The second
stranger in the Lei family’s home stared at Lu Yin in complete shock.
A smile appeared on Lu Yin's face, and his own energy flickered. The second stranger’s brain was rattled,
and he swayed before crumpling to the floor.

The stranger beneath Lu Yin’s foot felt his scalp go numb. This person had easily suppressed both of
them. "Yo- you’re a six-tribulation powerhouse!"

Lei Wu was stunned. How could the Hidden Earth Society have sent such a strong person to him?

Lu Yin stomped down on the man's left leg, and the stranger’s fierce expression disappeared, his
aggression replaced with fear. Lu Yin’s right foot had smashed down on the exact location of the man’s
stellular energy vortex.

"Release even a bit of your strength, and you’ll be crippled," Lu Yin casually commented.

The stranger stared up at Lu Yin in horror. "So, the Celestial Frost Sect was already prepared. Even if we
went to this tiny Lei family, we still ended up being targeted by you."

Lu Yin was growing increasingly curious about the situation. Just why was this person so sure that Lu Yin
was part of the Celestial Frost Sect?

"Let's discuss who you are and what you’re doing here," Lu Yin replied calmly. He then looked up and
waved a hand at Lei Wu and Lei Yan.

The two men glanced at each other before quickly leaving. They were both quite confused about what
was happening. Was this person from the Celestial Frost Sect or the Hidden Earth Society?

Lu Yin had already captured the two men who had tried to intimidate the Lei family, and one of the two
men was not a stranger to Lu Yin. He was Xia Yuan.
Running into Xia Yuan in this place was a surprise, but his presence confirmed that the two men were
from Shenwu’s Sky.

Xia Yuan had been knocked out, and Lu Yin made no attempt to rouse the man. Instead, Lu Yin focused
on the man underfoot. "What? You don’t want to talk to me? That’s fine. I'll just destroy your stellular
energy vortex."

"Wait! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" the man shouted in frustration. "You already know everything, so what do you
even want me to say?"

The man suddenly remembered something, and he looked up at Lu Yin in surprise.

Lu Yin understood that the man had just realized that Lu Yin might not be a part of the Celestial Frost
Sect, and that had roused the man’s interest greatly.

The man swallowed. "Are you actually from the Celestial Frost Sect?"

"Last chance," Lu Yin answered coldly.

The man started talking quickly, "Senior, let me speak! I’ll talk!"

The man’s expression turned ugly as he took some time to think. "We’re from Shenwu's Sky, and we
came here to deliver a letter to Wang Zheng, the Wang family patriarch. There’s no need to hide
anything anymore. Since the Celestial Frost Sect sent you here, Senior, then they clearly know about
everything. However, if they didn’t send you, then my Shenwu’s Sky would like to invite you to join the
three of us in our alliance to stand against the Celestial Frost Sect."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "A three-way alliance?"

"Yes. My Shenwu's Sky, the White Dragon Clan, and the Wang family want to form an alliance to stand
up to the Celestial Frost Sect," the man stated solemnly.

Lu Yin blinked. "Tell me more."

The man replied, "I honestly don’t know much myself. I’m just a messenger. Xia Yuan should know more.
You can ask him, Senior."

Lu Yin said, "Tell me what you do know."

The man thought for a bit before answering. "To my understanding, the disappearance of Xia Xing, my
Shenwu's Sky’s sect master, might have been done by the Celestial Frost Sect. As for Long Ke, they most
likely captured him in order to get his clan’s portion of the restrictions that control Star Alliance. I heard
about this from Xia Yuan, who learned of these matters from Semi-Progenitor Ziheng. Like I said, Xia
Yuan knows more as I learned everything that I know from him."

Lu Yin was getting more and more curious about this matter. Bai Teng had gone missing, but why did
Shenwu’s Sky believe that the Celestial Frost Sect were the ones behind Xia Xing’s disappearance? Why
were they so confident in this information?

As for Long Ke, Lu Yin had planned on spreading that misinformation from the very beginning. Long Ke
was supposed to be suspected of attacking Bai Teng, so it was only to be expected that the Celestial
Frost Sect would capture the man. Still, what did this have to do with Xia Xing?

Lu Yin quickly roused Xia Yuan to question him.

The man was initially reluctant to say anything, but Lu Yin had countless means of getting someone to
speak. In the end, Xia Yuan revealed the theory that Shenwu’s Sky had reached, leaving Lu Yin utterly
dumbfounded. "The Celestial Frost Sect is trying to use Bai Teng's disappearance to cover up the fact
that our sect master was captured by them. Who would ever consider such a thing? How could Bai Teng,
a sect master, vanish without creating the slightest bit of disturbance? The God of Cookery was close to
where the sect master disappeared, and Long Ke had no motive to attack Bai Teng. Still, Long Ke’s been
arrested, and it was even Wang Zheng who testified against him.

"Our evidence is that nothing is mere coincidence: the Celestial Frost Sect used Wang Zheng to testify
against Long Ke, and then they locked up Long Ke in the Celestial Frost Sect. It’s all a part of their plan to
get the full method to control Star Alliance, but they’ve also created a great deal of hatred between the
Wang family and the White Dragon Clan. More importantly, while the Celestial Frost Sect has also lost
their sect master, Bai Teng was never anything more than a figurehead. In fact, rumors have been
rampant for years that Bai Xian'er will become the Celestial Frost Sect’s next sect master.

"By sacrificing Bai Teng, they will potentially undermine the White Dragon Clan, take control of Star
Alliance, and even force the White Dragon Clan and the Wang family to practically go to war. Everything
benefits the Celestial Frost Sect, but since we were able to deduce their motives and actions, we intend
to cooperate with the Wang Family and the White Dragon Clan to deal with the Celestial Frost Sect."

Lu Yin finally understood. "You thought that the Celestial Frost Sect would deliberately prevent you from
working together with the Wang family, which is why you hid your identities and came here to try to use
Lei Wu to sneak into the Wang family’s headquarters. So you’re deceiving the Celestial Frost Sect rather
than the Wang family?"

Xia Yuan nodded. "Exactly! That woman in the Celestial Frost Sect is too cunning. If we had approached
the Wang family openly, then she’d definitely notice, and there’s no way she doesn’t have something
already set up to stop us from uniting. This decision wasn’t just made by Shenwu's Sky, but also with the
White Dragon Clan."

Chapter 2230: Convergence

"Is this what the Progenitor of Shenwu's Sky's decided on?" After hearing Xia Yuan's story, Lu Yin had
another question.
Xia Yuan replied, "I don't know about that. All that I know is these deductions came from Ancestor
Ziheng."

"Where’s the letter? Show me," Lu Yin commanded. He realized that he had greatly underestimated the
friction between the four ruling powers. He had deliberately gotten close to Bai Weiwei, left behind
traces of the Lifeseizer Palm during the battle when Xia Xing had disappeared, and then even
orchestrated a supposedly impossible heist of robbing nearly all the star essence from the Junior
Progenitor Planets. Finally, the fact that he had kidnapped Bai Teng had created one too many
connections, and Shenwu’s Sky had started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Lu Yin could even see how, if he did not know that he was the real culprit behind everything, it could be
seen that the Celestial Frost Sect was the most suspicious party. It was not unreasonable for the
Celestial Frost Sect to have deliberately sown confusion. After all, what other reason could there be for
Bai Teng’s disappearance?

The timing of Bai Teng's kidnapping was just too convenient, and the fact that Long Ke had been present
and looked suspicious made things even worse. Since both the robbery of the Junior Progenitor Planets
and Bai Teng’s disappearance had taken place without the God of Food noticing anything, it meant that
a Semi-Progenitor had to have taken action. All of the events lined up perfectly to support Shenwu’s
Sky’s conclusion, or rather, their conjectures.

Lu Yin let out a long breath. Everything was an unintentional result of his little ploys. He had not tried to
orchestrate any grand plan, and he could not even be thought of as having enacted a clever plan.
Rather, his actions had been mistakenly interpreted as cleverness. The main cause of this
misinterpretation was that no one believed that a mere Envoy could accomplish all that Lu Yin had
pulled off, and even most Semi-Progenitor were not capable of doing so. However, Shenwu’s Sky’s
conclusions also showed how close they were to seeing through the truth of the matter.

Lu Yin looked at the jade slip that contained the message for Wang Zheng. The message had been
personally written by Xia Ziheng, and in it was all of Shenwu's Sky's conjectures. It also stated that they
had already formed an alliance with the White Dragon Clan to stop the Celestial Frost Sect.
Lu Yin had no idea if Wang Zheng would be willing to join the alliance, but it was clear that the man
would at least become very wary of the Celestial Frost Sect.

Lu Yin started thinking; how should he influence the situation?

It was clear that Yu Hao's presence had continuously fanned the flames, and that was because almost
everyone believed him to be Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice. As soon as Yu Hao became sufficiently
influential, the four ruling powers would absolutely contact Grandmaster Gu Yan directly, and then Lu
Yin would be exposed as a fraud.

It was vital to reduce Yu Hao's importance.

Lu Yin could see that Shenwu’s Sky’s letter to Wang Zheng not only presented the sect’s conjectures, but
also served as a warning for Wang Zheng to be careful of the Celestial Frost Sect’s attempts to deceive
him.

If their various suspicions proved true, then the Celestial Frost Sect would be targeted by both Shenwu's
Sky and the White Dragon Clan. All they needed to do was determine the Wang family’s position.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. The Wang family was the only one still missing from the tripartite alliance, which
meant that, if they were attacked in the coming days, the attack was practically guaranteed to have
come from the Celestial Frost Sect.

In that case, did it mean that all that Lu Yin had to do was attack the Wang family?

"Senior, might I trouble you to share with my Shenwu’s Sky if you are old?" Xia Yuan asked while staring
at Lu Yin. While this man looked quite young, given his strength, he had to be an old monster. It was
quite likely that the man was using a disguise. Xia Yuan’s greatest fear at the moment was not that this
person really was from the Celestial Frost Sect, as there was no point in hiding that.
No, Xia Yuan was afraid that this powerhouse would purposely get closer to the Celestial Frost Sect and
cause them to raise their guard. However, even that fear was predicated on the assumption that the
Celestial Frost Sect had not yet realized that the other three had learned the truth.

Lu Yin stared at Xia Yuan. "I'm not a part of any of the four ruling powers."

Xia Yuan's eyes flashed. "Given your strength, you can’t be nameless, Senior. This junior doesn’t dare to
ask for your name. All I would ask of you is to allow me to wait for a short while. Shenwu’s Sky will not
forget your kindness."

"Is anyone from the White Dragon Clan going to come?" Lu Yin asked.

Xia Yuan saw no reason to hide anything. "Yes."

"Who?"

"This junior doesn't know. Ancestor Ziheng was the one who got in touch with the White Dragon Clan."

"Why doesn’t Shenwu's Sky simply reach out to Wang Zheng directly with a communication crystal?
Why use this method?" Lu Yin asked, as this did not seem very logical.

Xia Yuan was genuinely surprised by the question. "Senior, do you not know that conversations held
with communication crystals can be intercepted?"

"How does that work?" Lu Yin had never heard about this before.

Xia Yuan replied, "Communications crystals transmit conversations and images by causing the two
crystals to both resonate with the same frequency. In fact, the communication crystals are made from a
material that can transmit vibrations through the void. The resonance that forms is a spatial
phenomenon, so as long as someone who has comprehended the power of space is involved, then it is
possible to intercept communications. There are people in the Celestial Frost Sect who have reached the
void god realm of their domain, and while it’s impossible for them to intercept all the communications
that occur in the Perennial World, doing so on a targeted basis is certainly possible, such as targeting
communications to and from the Wang family."

Lu Yin knew very little about how communication crystals functioned, but this was not what he had
expected. Could communications through crystals be detected by someone who had mastered their
domain to the void god level?

Wait, did that mean that Mr. Tang could have intercepted Lu Yin’s call to Realmless? That call had been
made from inside Virtue Archives.

"Are you saying that it’s easy for a domain master to intercept conversations made with communication
crystals?" Lu Yin hastily asked.

Xia Yuan answered, "From what this junior understands, it is not that simple. After all, this is something
that involves the power of space. Still, as far as we are concerned, if there’s even a remote chance, we
won’t take the risk."

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. This was good to hear, as it meant that Mr. Tang had most likely not
overheard Lu Yin’s conversations that had taken place through his communication crystal, not unless the
man had been purposely spying on “Hao Yu.” However, this also meant that it was not entirely
impossible.

Still, Mr. Tang was a fellow instructor in Virtue Archives, so even if he learned that “Hao Yu” had
contracted Realmless to attack Xia Xing, Mr. Tang clearly had not shared that information with Shenwu's
Sky. If he had, the Celestial Frost Sect would not be under suspicion.

Of course, it would be best if Mr. Tang did not know, and that was the most likely case.
Xia Yuan told Lu Yin everything. Lu Yin then imprisoned the man on Zenith Mountain, along with the
other person from Shenwu’s Sky. After that, he called Lei Wu.

"I'm from the Hidden Earth Society," Lu Yin stated.

Lei Wu let out a sigh of relief. "That's wonderful to know. I thought that you were really from the
Celestial Frost Sect."

Lu Yin gave Lei Wu a sharp look. "It would be best if you forget about everything that just happened."

Lei Wu quickly replied, "Senior, don't worry. This junior doesn't remember anything."

There was a moment of silence, and then Lei Wu asked, "When would Senior like to go to the Wang
family’s headquarters?"

"I’m waiting for someone else to arrive and go with me," Lu Yin answered.

Lei Wu felt rather puzzled.

Lu Yin then proceeded to alter his appearance to that of Xia Yuan while standing in front of Lei Wu,
much to the amazement of the man and his grandson.

Lu Yin looked at the two men. "Your only job is to get us to the Wang family’s headquarters. What
happens after that has nothing to do with you, so just act as you normally would."

Lei Wu did not dare ask any more questions. "This junior understands."
Lu Yin nodded. He had decided to impersonate Xia Yuan and approach Wang Zheng with that disguise,
just to see if there might be an opportunity to capture the patriarch. Besides, it would be much better to
enter the Wang family’s headquarters with someone who knew the place a bit.

Elder Qing Xing had mentioned a legend regarding the orb of light in the sky above the Wang family’s
headquarters. Supposedly, that orb had once burned a Progenitor to death. Lu Yin was under no
illusions that he was powerful enough to force his way in.

The White Dragon Clan’s representatives arrived two days later, and the person who appeared was
quite a surprise to Lu Yin: Long Tian.

Lu Yin had assumed that the White Dragon Clan would send someone from a branch family, like Xia
Yuan. The fact that they had sent Long Tian was quite a surprise.

Of the four most recent Junior Progenitors, Bai Shaohong was dead, and Wang Su was imprisoned in the
Fifth Mainland. As for Xia Shenfei and Long Tian, they were the only two still in the Perennial World, Lu
Yin had run into both of them on his trip.

Long Tian was accompanied by a powerhouse from one of the White Dragon Clan’s branch families, who
had nearly reached his third stellular tribulation. This man was quite powerful, comparable to Xia Yuan.
As for Long Tian, he was at the same realm as Xia Shenfei, a one-tribulation Envoy.

The Perennial World’s four Junior Progenitors surpassed all others from the same generation. Wu Taibai,
who had once been one of the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Three Skies, was right at the cusp of
becoming an Envoy. The Fifth Mainland’s true universe had been drained, which prevented elites like
Yuhua Mavis from increasing their cultivation level. Without that restriction, they would have been able
to reach about the same level as Wu Taibai. Out of everyone who could be considered Lu Yin’s peer by
age, the most powerful were undoubtedly the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era.

Each of the former Dao Chosen had become a two or three-tribulation Envoy.
Lu Yin could not help but wonder what sort of reaction there would be if he dragged the former Dao
Chosen into the Perennial World and had them compete with the best geniuses of the current
generation.

Long Tian's innate gift was Seizing, and he could even seize space, which was similar to the void god level
of domain cultivators. Lu Yin actually wanted to see the expression on Long Tian’s face if he ever ran into
Chu Yuan's ability to control the power of time.

"Brother Xia, we meet again." The powerhouse from the White Dragon Clan was familiar with Xia Yuan,
and he stepped forward to greet him.

Lu Yin was worried that he would expose himself, so he coughed and said, "Let's go as soon as possible.
I’ve suffered a few injuries, so I can't delay."

Long Tian frowned. "If you’re injured, then why did Shenwu’s Sky send you? Was there no one else
available?"

Lu Yin flinched at the proper time, and then looked rather offended. "My Shenwu’s Sky has many
powerhouses, and all I need to do is warn a few people. Is that not your goal in coming here?"

"Even if the Celestial Frost Sect wants to attack all three of our powers, it's impossible for them to move
so quickly. Their level of strength can’t overwhelm the rest of us, and the Progenitors are still watching.
Your Xia family is growing increasingly prudent." Long Tian made no attempt to act polite.

Prudent was just a polite way of calling them timid.

Lu Yin had no idea why Long Tian was being so rude to the Xia family, but he answered in a frigid tone.
"My injuries are merely a small inconvenience. When we visit the Wang family, I hope that Junior
Progenitor Long will say a few more words so that the Wang family will clearly understand the current
threat facing us."
Long Tian had only said a few words so far. There had to be a reason why he was acting so rudely
towards the Xia family.

When Lu Yin had been using the alias of Long Qi, Semi-Progenitor Ni Huang had engaged Long Qi to the
Xia family’s Xia Taili. Not only had this blatantly ignored Long Tian’s sister, Long Xi, but it had also
isolated his father, Long Ke. Essentially, Ni Huang had created a new main family of the White Dragon
Clan, and even though Long Tian had managed to safely return from the Dominion Realm, it was quite
possible that his family would be replaced as the main family of his clan.

No one knew if Long Xi was dead or alive, and Long Tian’s father had been captured by the Celestial
Frost Sect. He was in a terrible mood. Furthermore, Xia Shenfei's time spent infiltrating Realmless and
then exposing them had contributed greatly to the entire Perennial World, causing the other Junior
Progenitor to completely overshadow Long Tian. The young man was feeling quite depressed.

Long Tian desperately needed to save his father and restore the dignity of the main family of the White
Dragon Clan. On top of that, he was eager to accomplish something great, as he did not want to be
surpassed and left behind by Xia Shenfei.

This was the primary reason why Long Tian had made the trip to visit the Wang family. He intended to
lead the alliance between the White Dragon Clan and the Wang family against the Celestial Frost Sect.

"Are you the only one who came from Shenwu's Sky?" the three-tribulation Envoy asked.

“Xia Yuan” replied, "There’s no point in sending too many people, as the Lei family can only get two
people through at a time."

Long Tian looked towards Lei Wu, who was standing outside the room. "Let’s not waste any time. Let's
go."

It was necessary to either fly or teleport to reach the Wang family’s headquarters from the cities below
it.
Dozens of beams of light connected the cities to the floating hand, and they were the main means of
transportation. Lei Wu led Lu Yin and Long Tian towards one of them.

Not everyone was allowed to ascend to the Wang family’s headquarters. Aside from members of the
direct family itself and independent cultivators who had sworn loyalty and become the family’s vassals,
the only other people given access were some small families who were responsible for purchasing daily
goods.

Lei Wu was allowed to freely come and go because his family had been assigned the task of stocking
spices and seasonings for the Wang family.

Spices were not considered an important material, which meant that Lei Wu actually needed to pay to
receive such a job. Otherwise, it would have been assigned to someone else.

Lu Yin and Long Tian followed Lei Wu up to the Wang family’s headquarters without encountering any
issues. The other powerhouse from the White Dragon Clan stayed in the Lei family home, waiting.

Chapter 2231: Going With The Flow

Lu Yin and the other two stepped out of the beam of light and looked around. The place around them
looked no different from the land down below. There were still mountains, rivers, and jungles just like
below. The only difference was that there were no cities, only massive family compounds.

"Hundreds of millions of people live here on this floating landmass. The vast majority are descendants of
the Wang family’s various branches that have multiplied over the course of countless years. Additionally,
there are a few people who have been greatly rewarded by the Wang family along with their families, as
well as a few prisoners who have been captured. This is the heart of the Wang family," Lei Wu briefly
said as an introduction.
Long Tian was unimpressed. "Let's go. We need to meet with Patriarch Wang Zheng right away."

He immediately started traveling in a specific direction.

Lei Wu had only been used to provide access to the Wang family’s headquarters because it was easy for
the Celestial Frost Sect to see whoever openly entered the place. However, after arriving, there was no
reason for the messengers to hide. The only danger they faced after being noticed was the possibility
that the Wang family would not join the alliance.

The Wang family’s hand-shaped landmass was not very large. At least, not for Envoys.

Lu Yin and Long Tian easily found the patriarch’s home. Long Tian had visited this place before, and since
Lu Yin was posing as an injured Xia Yuan, he followed behind Long Tian. This kept Lu Yin from exposing
himself as he did not know where they were going.

Long Tian never doubted his companion, and he reached out to contact Wang Zheng after arriving close
to the home of the Wang family’s direct line.

Lu Yin looked up at the glowing orb. The ball of light had supposedly incinerated and killed a Progenitor
before. Could it be true? The most powerful person in the history of the Wang family should be Wang
Fan, who controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Could this orb be something that
belonged to Wang Fan?

The two men did not speak to each other, and they waited in silence until someone from the Wang
family arrived. The Envoy then led them to the gate of the direct line’s home.

The direct line of the Wang family was Wang Zheng's line, and the Wang family’s direct line had never
changed. Wang Zheng was a descendant of Wang Fan, and the current patriarch was actually the
Progenitor’s son, his youngest son.
Of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon Clan’s main family was the most unstable, and their
foundation was also the shallowest. Whichever family was the strongest within the clan would become
the main branch. On the other hand, the main branches of the other three families of the four ruling
powers were extremely stable. This was because each of them were directly descended from a
Progenitor. This meant that the Xia, Wang, and Bai families were all in unassailable positions within their
individual organizations.

As Lu Yin traveled towards the direct line’s home to meet with Wang Zheng, he saw many of the Wang
family’s cultivators. It was clear that most of these people were not from the direct line, but rather from
branch families.

The Wang family was a powerful force that had flourished since the Heavens Sect era. Even the branch
families had many geniuses, which was completely different from the White Dragon Clan.

It was not long before the two messengers met with Wang Zheng in the main hall.

"Greetings, Uncle." Long Tian offered a respectful bow.

Lu Yin also bowed. "Greetings, Senior."

He was unsure if this was the proper way for Xia Yuan to address Wang Zheng, given the man’s status in
the Xia family, so Lu Yin could only hazard a guess.

Wang Zheng stared at Long Tian. "You’re here because of what happened to your father."

"Yes."

Wang Zheng’s voice dropped low. "I merely reported what I saw. I never intended to frame your father.
If your father is innocent, the Celestial Frost Sect will release him, as Progenitor Long won’t allow them
to go too far. You can leave."
Long Tian and "Xia Yuan" glanced at each other, and then they offered the two letters to Wang Zheng at
the same time.

The patriarch was puzzled by these actions.

"If you have any questions, a quick glance at this will answer them, Uncle," Long Tian said.

Wang Zheng took the jade slip from Long Tian and examined it. The man’s expression instantly changed,
and he quickly examined the letter from Shenwu's Sky as well.

Lu Yin had already seen the contents of the letter from Shenwu's Sky, and he knew that it fully detailed
their conjectures. He believed that the White Dragon Clan’s letter most likely held similar contents, so
Wang Zheng’s reaction was only to be expected.

After Wang Zheng finished examining the two jade slips, he grew incredibly solemn. He stared at “Xia
Yuan.” "Is this what Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng believe to be true?"

Lu Yin nodded and coughed twice. "Everything that’s been observed has only served to confirm the sect
master and Semi-Progenitor Ziheng's speculations. Examine the situation carefully, Senior. If the
Celestial Frost Sect is not the culprit, then why did Bai Teng disappear without the God of Food noticing
anything? Senior God of Food is a peak Semi-Progenitor who is comparable to the White Dragon Clan’s
Grand Elder Ni Huang. Unless a Progenitor personally took action, no one could make Bai Teng
disappear without a sign."

Long Tian spoke up as well. "My father has absolutely no reason to move against Bai Teng. Truthfully,
you should already be aware of the situation within my White Dragon Clan, Uncle. Our family’s
foundation is too shallow, and our main family is failing. Without my existence, the branch families
would have already surpassed us, and my father might not even be the patriarch right now. My father’s
always been concerned about the internal stability of our clan, so why would he ever attack Patriarch
Bai Teng?"
Wang Zheng’s mind was racing.

Lu Yin continued. "Virtue Archives’ Yu Hao is supported by Grandmaster Gu Yan, and the Celestial Frost
Sect has been sending Bai Weiwei to get closer to Yu Hao. While I don't know what sort of promises they
might have made, it’s quite clear that Yu Hao is getting closer to the Celestial Frost Sect. If our suspicions
are true, then this means that, not only does the Celestial Frost Sect want to win over Grandmaster Gu
Yan, but they also want to gain control of Star Alliance. If they succeed, none of us will be able to
compare to them when it comes to forces beneath the Progenitor level."

Wang Zheng arched a brow. "Even if the Celestial Frost Sect gains complete control of Star Alliance, they
still won't be able to completely overpower the rest of us."

"Uncle, you just said it yourself—they won’t be able to overpower the rest of us. We were able to guess
what the Celestial Frost Sect’s plans were, which is why we moved in secret to speak with you to form
an alliance between our three forces. But what if we had not grown suspicious of them?" Long Tian
presented an alternative scenario.

Lu Yin could not help glance over. Long Tian was quite convincing.

This last argument swayed Wang Zheng. It was indeed true that if the Celestial Frost Sect’s plans had not
been seen through, then gaining Grandmaster Gu Yan and complete control of Star Alliance would
elevate the Celestial Frost Sect’s strength to a level that none of the other three powers could even
come close to on an individual level.

"Even if the Celestial Frost Sect is able to greatly surpass our three forces in the Envoy and Semi-
Progenitor levels, what about the Progenitor realm?" Wang Zheng still did not fully believe it. "Can the
Celestial Frost Sect really overwhelm our three Progenitors all alone?"

Long Tian frowned. "This is something that we have been unable to understand ourselves. It’s possible
that the Celestial Frost Sect assumed that they would not be seen through until after they secretly
managed to gain control of Star Alliance. Don’t forget, Uncle, how the Lu family was exiled in the past."
Wang Zheng's heart dropped, and his brow furrowed.

Lu Yin's eyes were serious. Long Tian knew the truth behind the Lu family’s exile? That should be
impossible. Lu Yin had already questioned Xia Xing's clone about the matter, but the clone had not
known anything. If not even Xia Xing’s clone knew, then Wang Zheng should not know anything either,
given his personal strength. Lu Yin had also spent a long time reviewing Long Ke’s memories, and had
found nothing. How could Long Tian know?

Wang Zheng sat back down and stared at Long Tian. "You’re saying these things because you want my
help in saving your father."

"I won't deny it, but if our suspicions are accurate, then does the Wang family want to follow in the Lu
family’s footsteps?"

Unconsciously, Wang Zheng's fingers trembled.

Lu Yin spoke up next. "Regardless of whether or not our suspicions are valid, the three of us should still
unite against the Celestial Frost Sect. They’ve grown too strong, especially her."

Lu Yin was very worried that he would be discovered as an imposter, especially since he knew very little
about the actual inner workings of the four ruling powers. All he could do was address matters that he
did know about.

Still, his words were quite effective.

"Once she leaves seclusion, there’s no telling what she will do next. No one wants to be treated like the
Lu family was," Wang Zheng muttered to himself. He looked up at Lu Yin and Long Tian. "No matter
what, you only have speculations. Still, since you’re here, I’ll agree to temporarily form an alliance with
you. However, I will only agree to work to restrain the Celestial Frost Sect, nothing more. I will not
actively attack the Celestial Frost Sect. We need to remain clear that humanity’s greatest enemy is
always Aeternus."

Lu Yin and Long Tian both nodded.

Wang Zheng rubbed his head. "Truthfully, regardless of whether Bai Teng is missing, or even dead, none
of it has anything to do with me. I’ll go visit the Celestial Frost Sect again and find a way to rescue Long
Ke."

"Thank you, Uncle," Long Tian said gratefully.

Long Ke had been imprisoned within the Celestial Frost Sect because they suspected that he was
involved in Bai Teng's disappearance. If the White Dragon Clan did not want to openly attack the
Celestial Frost Sect, then their only option was to ask Wang Zheng to step forward and alter his
testimony. Otherwise, war would break out.

However, war was highly unlikely. Bai Teng meant nothing to the Celestial Frost Sect in the grand
scheme of things, while Long Ke was relatively unimportant to the White Dragon Clan as a whole. Even
though the White Dragon Clan’s amassed wealth and power was relatively lower than the other three
powers, they were still one of the four ruling families. There were always powerhouses on the outside
willing to join them if the White Dragon Clan was keen on recruiting them.

Long Tian was the most desperate White Dragon Clan member to save Long Ke.

"Senior, with all due respect, how many members of your Wang family know your family’s portion of the
restrictions placed on the members of Star Alliance?" Lu Yin asked, bringing up another point.

Wang Zheng replied, "Four: our Progenitor, myself, Elder Wang Si, and Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun, who
is currently stationed on the rear battlefield."
Wang Xun was the third array base’s general, and he was one of the Wang family’s Semi-Progenitors.

"Our Progenitor can be dismissed, and Elder Wang Si is currently hunting down the last member of the
Lu family in the Fifth Mainland. As long as I don't leave my home, the Celestial Frost Sect can do nothing
to me," Wang Zheng concluded.

"So, their only option is General Wang Xun," Lu Yin said.

Wang Zheng laughed. "That’s also impossible. No one would dare to attack a general on the rear
battlefield. Doing so would cause too much discord, and if that happened, all four of our ruling powers
would be punished as one. It is an inviolable rule that the rear battlefield cannot be manipulated, which
is why we took such strong actions and erased the Dealcut Association after they were exposed for
secretly manipulating the allotment of resources assigned to the rear battlefield."

"If our speculations are valid, then the Celestial Frost Sect has already captured Xia Xing, the sect master
of Shenwu's Sky, and arrested my father. This means that they already have acquired two portions of
the restriction, in addition to their own. The Wang family’s portion is all that they’re missing, and they
will definitely find a way to go after you, Uncle. You are the only one they could possibly target," Long
Tian warned.

Wang Zheng sneered. "As long as I don't leave this place, no one can touch me."

Lu Yin suddenly spoke up, "Don't forget about how our sect master disappeared."

Wang Zheng’s eyes instantly narrowed.

Xia Xing had disappeared in the Middle Realm. No one had expected the man to suddenly make such a
journey, but he had.

"Why did Xia Xing go to the Middle Realm?" Wang Zheng asked.
Long Tian also looked over at the fake Xia Yuan.

There were some rumors floating around regarding Xia Xing's disappearance, but few people were fully
informed of what had happened. After all, it was related to Yu Hao, and everything related to that young
man was an embarrassment to Shenwu’s Sky. It was only natural that they had not publicly released any
of the information.

Only the Celestial Frost Sect understood that it was because Bai Weiwei had gotten too close to Yu Hao.

Lu Yin was put in an awkward position, but he did reveal the reason for Xia Xing’s trip to the Middle
Realm.

Wang Zheng frowned. "Grandmaster Gu Yan is certainly worth recruiting. It makes sense for Xia Xing to
travel to the Middle Realm for such a purpose. Still, isn’t this Yu Hao quite suspicious?"

"For now, no. Our sect master was attacked by Realmless after they were hired to kill him. Aside from
my Shenwu’s Sky, only Headmaster Wen and Yu Hao knew of the sect master’s visit. However, Ancestor
Ziheng has mentioned that it is also possible for Bai Weiwei to have learned of it, as she and Yu Hao
have gotten very close to each other," Lu Yin replied.

All of the circumstantial evidence continued to point towards the Celestial Frost Sect, and Lu Yin
continued to push the boat along. It would be best for him if these three forces united against the
Celestial Frost Sect, though all hostilities would vanish as soon as Yu Hao was revealed as a fraud. After
all, many of the speculations stemmed from Yu Hao’s identity.

As soon as Yu Hao was revealed to be Lu Yin, everything would unravel. The four ruling powers were not
fools, and this tripartite alliance would instantly fall apart.
Chapter 2232: The Vicissitudes Of Life

For the time being, the situation was favorable to Lu Yin. He hoped to encourage hostilities between the
four ruling powers for as long as possible while doing his best to not be caught.

Long Tian quietly said, "If Sect Master Xia Xing was lured out by Yu Hao, then what about you, Uncle? It’s
possible that the Celestial Frost Sect will find a way to lure you out as well."

Wang Zheng shook his head. "There's nothing that can make me leave."

However, the moment the man spoke, all three people instantly thought of the same person.

"Wang Xiaofan."

"Wang Xiaofan."

"Xiaofan."

The three men glanced at each other. They all knew that if anyone could lure Wang Zheng out at this
moment, it could only be Wang Xiaofan.

Wang Zheng dearly loved Wang Xiaofan. The patriarch’s son had not originally been named Wang
Xiaofan, but on the day of his birth, Progenitor Wang Fan had appeared. He had liked the baby and
asked for his name to be Wang Xiaofan. Without the Progenitor’s request, no one would ever dare to
use the name Wang Xiaofan.
The moment Wang Xiaofan's name had been announced, he had instantly become the most important
person in the entire Wang family. After all, he had been named by the family’s Progenitor himself, which
meant that he already had a close connection to a Progenitor. There was a very high possibility that
Wang Xiaofan would eventually become the family’s patriarch.

On top of that, Wang Zheng loved his son a great deal.

If anything happened to Wang Xiaofan, it would be impossible for Wang Zheng to safely remain hidden
in the Wang family’s headquarters.

"Come! Tell me where Xiaofan has been recently!" Wang Zheng shouted.

Someone quickly entered the room and reported everywhere that Wang Xiaofan had done over the past
year, as well as his current location. There were always powerhouses surrounding Wang Xiaofan to keep
him safe. Whenever he left Virtue Archives, those protectors would follow him. Of course, there were no
bodyguards within Virtue Archives, as Headmaster Wen did not allow any of the students to have
protectors within the academy grounds.

For the most part, Wang Xiaofan had stayed within Virtue Archives during the last year. There was
nothing that stood out, with the sole exception of something that had started two days ago. Wang
Zheng's expression fell when he heard this last bit of news.

For the past two days, people had been antagonizing Wang Xiaofan and trying to lure him out from
Virtue Archives, calling for him by name to spar with them. The people had been loud and extremely
insulting.

The Wang family would not normally pay any attention to such a thing, but the current situation was
different. Xia Xing had disappeared during his trip to the Middle Realm to visit Yu Hao. If the Celestial
Frost Sect was behind it as Shenwu's Sky suspected, then it was possible that they were also targeting
Wang Xiaofan in an attempt to lure Wang Zheng out.
"Uncle, someone is obviously targeting Xiaofan," Long Tian immediately said.

Lu Yin also interjected. "Wang Xiaofan is being used to lure you out, Senior. The person challenging
Wang Xiaofan will definitely have no connections to the Celestial Frost Sect, as they’ll make sure to keep
themselves completely separate from this matter. However, as soon as you move out, Senior, the
Celestial Frost Sect will have endless plans in place to deal with you."

Wang Zheng immediately ordered a message be sent to Wang Xiaofan, telling the young man to not
take even half a step out of Virtue Archives. As for Wang Zheng, he instantly started making plans to go
visit the Celestial Frost Sect.

Lu Yin was afraid that the man would actually attack the Celestial Frost Sect.

Wang Zheng softly said, "I'm not stupid. I know that it won’t be easy to stop them, but I also know that
Long Ke won’t easily give up what he knows. I’ll go now and take him away. We should still have time."

"Uncle, aren't you worried that the Celestial Frost Sect will attack you?" Long Tian was quite concerned.
Of course it was not that he was worried about Wang Zheng himself. Rather, if anything did happen to
the Wang family’s patriarch, it needed to happen after Long Ke was rescued.

Wang Zheng replied, "I’ll be publicly and openly going to visit the Celestial Frost Sect, and I’ll be sending
a report to my ancestors as well. Who would dare to move against me?"

The man then immediately left and made his way towards the Celestial Frost Sect.

As for Lu Yin and Long Tian, they both stayed behind.

"I hope that Patriarch Wang Zheng can save your father," Lu Yin said with apparent sympathy.
Long Tian still looked quite upset.

Before leaving, Wang Zheng gave orders for the Wang family to treat both “Xia Yuan” and Long Tian as
honored guests.

Given the fact that he was finally in the Wang family’s headquarters, Lu Yin naturally wanted to take a
look around.

The Wang family’s headquarters could not be considered large to an Envoy, but that was because they
were able to travel through the void and the true universe. However, for an ordinary human, let alone
traversing the entire landmass, they would not even be able to cross a single lake in an entire lifetime.

Lu Yin was visiting as a guest, so it was a given that certain places were off limits. He was only given
access to the public areas.

"What's up ahead?" Lu Yin asked. He was currently in a random corner of the landmass, and he could
not clearly see what was in front of him. Anything off in the distance was blurry, as there was some
invisible power blocking the way.

The member of the Wang family who had been given the task of hosting “Xia Yuan” during his stay
replied, "My Wang family’s homeland produces some special ores. Up ahead are our mines."

Lu Yin nodded. "So that's what it is."

He was posing as Xia Yuan, so he did not dare to ask too many questions, as a single mistake could easily
expose him.

The four ruling powers all understood each other. Given Xia Yuan's status, if a special ore was mined in
the Wang family’s headquarters, then it would be impossible for him to not know of it. If Lu Yin asked
further questions, his escort would definitely start to get suspicious.
Lu Yin would never underestimate the four ruling powers, so he did not dare to reveal even the tiniest
flaw.

However, just as he was about to move away, he saw a familiar figure. Was that… Xiao Can?

Lu Yin was staring at a group of people who were digging in the ground far away. They were quite
packed together, and he estimated there to be about a million people. The only reason why Lu Yin had
noticed Xiao Can was because the man was currently being beaten.

Lu Yin lifted a foot and was just about to head over, but his escort quickly stopped him. "Senior, our
patriarch asked this junior to show you around our home, but this place is not open to you."

There was actually no need for the man to say anything, as Lu Yin had already intended to stop. He had
felt a chill, indicating that some sort of danger was ahead of him. If he moved closer, he would likely be
in trouble.

They were only mining ore, but the area was protected with defensive measures that felt dangerous to
even Lu Yin. This was highly unusual.

"Can you bring that person out here for me to speak with?" Lu Yin pointed at Xiao Can.

The escort grew embarrassed.

Lu Yin's expression fell. "Are you trying to tell me that I can’t even speak with a mere miner?"

"All this junior can do is submit a request," the escort replied.

Lu Yin waved impatiently, and the man ran off to send a request to someone else.

The man soon returned, and he asked "Xia Yuan" to wait where he was while the escort entered the
mining area to retrieve Xiao Can. As the escort entered the restricted area, Lu Yin felt the same chill as
before. It felt as though someone was staring at him, and it made his hair stand on end.

Lu Yin's eyes darted about, but there was nothing to be seen. After a moment, he quietly watched as
Xiao Can was brought out.

Xiao Can was holding onto a shoulder that clearly was giving him a great deal of pain. He had just been
badly beaten. If he had not survived the rear battlefield, he would not have been able to endure the
severity of the beating just now.

When Xiao Can arrived and saw Xia Yuan’s face, the man felt quite confused, as he had no idea whom he
was meeting.

"Senior, do you know this person?" the escort asked "Xia Yuan." When he saw that the honored guest’s
expression was growing dangerous, the man quickly continued to say, "Please don't get upset, Senior.
These miners that my Wang family uses are never allowed to leave this place alive, regardless of their
past or connections. This is why my Wang family keeps records of everything related to these prisoners.
Please don't take any offense, Senior."

Lu Yin grew increasingly curious. What could be so important about these miners? Still, he stopped
asking questions and instead focused on Xiao Can, who was staring back at Xia Yuan’s face in absolute
confusion.

"You don't remember me?" Lu Yin asked.

Xiao Can shook his head. "Have we met?"

The man’s voice sounded much hoarser than when Lu Yin had last spoken with him on the rear
battlefield. On top of that, Xiao Can looked quite different. He had looked like a young man before, but
he was a middle-aged man now. It looked like it was impossible for Xiao Can to stand straight, and Lu Yin
also noticed that the man’s cultivation had not improved at all. He looked incredibly miserable.

Lu Yin replied in a light tone, "We met on the second array base. I was there with General Xia Yan."

Xiao Can's eyes went wide. "The second array base? I only ever went there once."

Lu Yin nodded. "You went there to give the Root of Intelligence to the Lu family’s Lu Xiaoxuan. I saw you
after that meeting with the general. If I remember correctly, you’re Xiao Can, correct?"

Xiao Can's eyes dimmed. He had thought that he was about to meet an old friend, possibly one who
could save him, or at the very least, provide him with a bit of comfort. Unexpectedly, he had run into
someone else from the four ruling powers. "You should be part of the Xia family. What do you want
from me?"

"Why are you here?" Lu Yin asked.

The brows rose on the escort’s face next to Lu Yin, but the man did not interrupt.

Xiao Can laughed in a self-deprecating manner. "Why am I here? It’s for your four ruling powers’ benefit,
of course."

Lu Yin grew puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Xiao Can looked at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin could see sarcasm and powerful hatred concealed deep in the
man’s eyes. "Why are you asking about this? I’ve already had every last bit of value wrung out of me by
the Wang family. As far as they’re concerned, the only thing that I’m still good for is mining. I’m
worthless to your Xia family, so there’s no need to waste your time on me."
Lu Yin could not help but glance over at his escort.

The man's eyes were a bit cold, as he clearly did not care for Xiao Can's attitude. The prisoner would be
disciplined again after returning to the mines.

"Senior, this man refuses to learn from us, and talking to him is just a waste of time. Why not just throw
him back?" the escort asked.

Lu Yin frowned. "My conversation has nothing to do with you."

The man from the Wang family stopped speaking, but his eyes grew even colder when he looked back at
Xiao Can.

Lu Yin also returned his attention to Xiao Can. "I'm simply curious. Why did you end up here when you
were discharged from the rear battlefield?? Did you do something to offend the Wang family?"

Xiao Can snorted in an exhausted manner. "Don’t be ridiculous. All four ruling powers are the same. No
matter what, I’ll die of old age in this place, so it really doesn’t matter if I speak to you or not."

Xiao Can then turned around and started walking back towards the mining area.

"Maybe I can help you," Lu Yin suddenly called out.

Xiao Can hesitated.

The expression on the escort’s face instantly changed. "Senior, he works as a miner for my Wang family.
All of our miners here are forbidden from ever leaving. They will live and die in this place. Senior, please
do not try to interfere."

Lu Yin frowned. "He’s just a miner. I’ll talk to Senior Wang Zheng and ask him to let this man go. Besides,
he’s no longer worth anything to your Wang family."

"No matter if he’s worth anything or not, it’s impossible for him to ever leave this place. Such a thing has
never happened before, which you should already know." The escort was starting to get rather curt with
Lu Yin. If they were anywhere else, the man would not dare to speak to Xia Yuan in such a tone, as the
escort was just an Enlighter. But here, in the Wang family’s homeland, things were different. On top of
that, Lu Yin had just requested something that the escort believed to be impossible, so he felt that
refusing without reporting the request would not be an issue.

Lu Yin became more curious than ever, and he slowly replied, "I know your Wang family’s rules, but few
rules can never be bent or broken."

The escort frowned, but he remained silent. No matter what, no miner would ever be allowed to leave.

Xiao Can turned back to look at Lu Yin. The man’s eyes flickered, though Lu Yin could not tell what the
man was thinking.

"Talk to me. Maybe I can help you," Lu Yin repeated.

This time, the escort remained silent. There was no reason to argue with this person from the Xia family
who was overstepping their bounds. Not even Shenwu’s Sky’s sect master could take any of the miners
away from the Wang family’s homeland.

Xiao Can stared at Lu Yin. "Why would you help me?"

Lu Yin replied, "I never said that I would help you, just that I might be able to. I’m simply curious about
why you’re here. If I remember correctly, you traded a Root of Intelligence to be discharged from the
rear battlefield."

Xiao Can smiled and shook his head. "Like I already told you, the Wang family has wrung out every last
bit of value from me. They took everything from me, including my hidden Root of Intelligence. If that’s
what you want in exchange for helping me, too bad."

Chapter 2233: Repeated

Lu Yin's eyes flashed at Xiao Can’s response. "You’ve been imprisoned here because of the Root of
Intelligence from back then?"

Xiao Can had already become numb to his situation, and he answered in a voice filled with pure
exhaustion. "I was stupid, selfish, and too afraid of dying after arriving on the rear battlefield. I traded a
Root of Intelligence for an early discharge, and another one for General Wang Xun’s protection. If I
hadn’t been such a coward, I would have never been targeted by the Wang family, and I wouldn’t have
been trapped here for the rest of my life. Everything’s my own fault."

Lu Yin then understood; Xiao Can had been targeted by Wang Xun.

Lu Yin remembered Xiao Can saying that he had traded a Root of Intelligence for three years of
protection from the third array base’s General Wang Xun, and then he had traded another one for an
early discharge from the rear battlefield. Xiao Can had successfully survived the rear battlefield, only to
expose his wealth to the Wang family.

Wang Xun had not dared to attack Xiao Can on the rear battlefield, but he had immediately targeted the
young man after his discharge.
Xiao Can had been desperate to escape the rear battlefield, but Wang Xun had likely been even more
desperate for the young man to leave.

This was just how life played out. If Xiao Can had not been so desperate to save himself from the rear
battlefield and had not done everything possible to obtain an early discharge, then his life would have
gone very differently. While it was indeed quite possible for him to have died on the rear battlefield, he
had since come to believe that such a fate would have at least been better than slavery.

Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the word “karma.” Could such a thing be real?

Lu Yin stared at Xiao Can's departing back. If at all possible, Lu Yin wanted to save the man, not because
of the Roots of Intelligence, but rather to learn about Xiao Can’s connection to Progenitor Hui.

How could an independent cultivator possess so many Roots of Intelligence? If Xiao Can were truly a
descendant of Progenitor Hui, then regardless of any other details, Lu Yin would want to save him.

***

Far away in the Higher Realm, Wang Zheng arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect.

The Celestial Frost Sect had assigned an acting sect master by the name of Bai Su. He was not a member
of the Bai family’s direct line, but was rather from a branch family. Bai Su could not compare to Bai Teng
in any way. Regardless of why or how Bai Teng had become the sect master, he was still a five-
tribulation powerhouse, while Bai Su was only a three-tribulation Envoy.

Elsewhere, such a person would be considered a powerhouse, but such strength was completely
insufficient to hold the position of sect master in the Celestial Frost Sect.
If not for the fact that the Celestial Frost Sect had eligible nominees for quite some time, Bai Xu would
have never been given that position.

Bai Su greeted Wang Zheng with a puzzled expression on his face. "Patriarch Wang Zheng, I hear that
you’re recanting certain details that you shared about my sect master’s disappearance. Is that correct?"

Bai Su was not alone, as many of the high-ranked members of the sect had gathered, including even
Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao.

Wang Zheng had a solemn expression on his face. He suppressed his suspicions concerning the Celestial
Frost Sect targeting his son before speaking. "I remember that, when Long Ke returned to the Island of
Hope, his eyes were dull. He seemed to not be in control of himself."

Bai Su was taken aback. "Are you certain?"

"Patriarch Wang Zheng, why didn't you say this before?" Wu Yao loudly demanded.

Wang Zheng replied, "I never considered the possibility. Long Ke kept insisting that he could not
remember how he had returned to the Island of Hope, but I just assumed that he was trying to deflect
questions. However, after I returned home and reflected on the matter, I realized that it is not
impossible for someone who’s capable of robbing the Junior Progenitor Planets without disturbing the
God of Food to also be capable of controlling Long Ke."

Bai Su and Wu Yao glanced at each other, and the other officials stared at Wang Zheng with clear doubt
in their eyes.

The patriarch was suddenly bringing up details that contradicted his original testimony, but the man’s
purpose was clear to see: he had come to prove Long Ke's innocence. Why? What could the White
Dragon Clan have offered the Wang family in such a brief amount of time to convince them to change
their tune?
There were certain things that Bai Su, as the acting sect master, could not openly say, but Wu Yao was
under no such reservations. "Patriarch Wang Zheng, you’re changing your testimony. Why? Could the
White Dragon Clan have bought off your Wang family?"

Wang Zheng grew furious. "Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao, do you realize what you're saying? You are
slandering two of the four ruling powers! Do you think that the Celestial Frost Sect’s protection is
enough to save you from my Wang family?"

Wu Yao's eyes grew cold. "You are clearly here for Long Ke, and there naturally has to be a reason for
you to change your testimony in such a short amount of time."

"As I said, I realized that the dullness that I saw in Long Ke's eyes when he returned means that that he
might have been under someone’s control. As for what you decide to do to Long Ke, I don't actually
care. I’m just here to report what I saw," Wang Zheng snapped back.

Bai Su was facing a dilemma. Wang Zheng had previously been the primary witness in the matter, and
his testimony had given the Celestial Frost Sect an excuse to arrest Long Ke. With Wang Zheng changing
his story, there was no longer a justifiable reason to hold Long Ke. Bai Su felt like he was being forced
into a reactive position by Wang Zheng’s words and that there was no way to keep Long Ke prisoner.
Since when had the Celestial Frost Sect become so passive?

Of course, Bai Su was also not terribly concerned. He was nothing more than the acting sect master, and
he had no ambitions regarding the position or of standing up to the Bai family’s direct line. Not to
mention, Patriarch Bai Wangyuan was still alive, as well as the powerful Bai Xian'er who was also part of
the direct line. Bai Su simply wanted to remain a puppet.

Wang Zheng remained a guest of the Celestial Frost Sect for two days, and he ended up leaving at the
same time as Long Ke.

The Celestial Frost Sect had no choice in the matter. Wang Zheng had simply needed to recant his
testimony to free Long Ke. Given the pressure that the White Dragon Clan and the rest of the four ruling
powers was putting on the Celestial Frost Sect, there was no choice but to release Long Ke. As for any
clues regarding Bai Teng's disappearance, the sect could only continue to investigate on their own.
Nothing had been done to Long Ke during his incarceration, as the Celestial Frost Sect did not dare to do
anything to him without first gathering concrete evidence that he had attacked Bai Teng.

"Thank you, Brother Wang, for restoring my innocence," Long Ke said gratefully. The patriarch looked at
Wang Zheng while feeling quite torn about the entire ordeal. After all, Long Ke had been arrested
because of Wang Zheng, but he had also been freed because of him. It was all rather confusing.

"Brother Long, don't you find this entire situation a bit strange?" Wang Zheng asked.

Long Ke felt quite puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"I was the one who confirmed your connection to Bai Teng's disappearance, and I am now also the one
who helped release you," Wang Zheng said.

Long Ke shook his head. "I am very grateful to you for speaking up for me, Brother Wang, but the
Celestial Frost Sect will not truly accept that I had nothing to do with Bai Teng's disappearance just
because of your words."

"I’m well aware of that. I would like to ask, have you suffered any hardships during your time in the
Celestial Frost Sect?" Wang Zheng asked while staring at Long Ke.

Long Ke shook his head. "Aside from the necessary questioning, I was treated no differently from when I
was their guest. I was even allowed to move around the sect, within reason."

Wang Zheng was stunned. Had the Celestial Frost Sect not tried to force Long Ke to give them the White
Dragon Clan’s portion of the restriction method for Star Alliance?
Wang Zheng proceeded to ask Long Ke many questions, but Long Ke only ever had one answer:
absolutely nothing unusual had happened to him during his confinement within the Celestial Frost Sect.

Long Ke intended to return straight to the White Dragon Clan, but that changed after he learned that
Long Tian was still a guest of the Wang family. On top of that, Wang Zheng also shared the conjectures
that Shenwu's Sky and the White Dragon Clan had come to regarding the Celestial Frost Sect.

Long Ke's expression turned quite ugly when he heard the suspicions. "The only thing that I’ll say is that
not even Semi-Progenitor Ni Huang could have kidnapped Bai Teng without the God of Food noticing. It
would have taken a Progenitor to pull that off. However, if the Celestial Frost Sect is actually behind
their sect master’s disappearance, then that would explain it."

"Brother Long, you just said that the Celestial Frost Sect didn't do anything to you, but I’m not sure if
that’s true," Wang Zheng commented.

Long Ke quickly replied, "I was definitely being controlled. I don't remember how I got back to the Island
of Hope at all. Are you saying that I may have been controlled while in the Celestial Frost Sect?"

Wang Zheng was unsure whether or not Long Ke had ever actually been controlled by someone. He had
said whatever he needed to force the Celestial Frost Sect to get Long Ke released as quickly as possible.
However, it seemed that Long Ke had truly been under someone’s control. If that was the case, then the
man must have also been controlled while he was in the Celestial Frost Sect. That would explain their
treatment of him, and it would also explain why Long Ke himself was ignorant of the matter.

Furthermore, this possibility explained why the Celestial Frost Sect had been willing to release Long Ke
at all: the White Dragon Clan’s patriarch had already exhausted his usefulness.

One conjecture had essentially been verified, and this suggested that the rest of the guesses were true
as well.
This was something that Lu Yin understood quite well, as Wei Rong had explained this concept to him
before. At the time, Lu Yin had not really considered the comment, but he had come to take it quite
seriously.

When Wang Zheng returned to his family’s home, chatting away with Long Ke, Lu Yin could see that the
men already believed that the Celestial Frost Sect was the culprit behind everything. There was no need
for Lu Yin to say another word.

"If we are right and the Celestial Frost Sect is only missing my Wang family’s portion of the restrictions,
then they will definitely do their best to come after me. What do the White Dragon Clan and Shenwu’s
Sky intend to do now?" Wang Zheng asked.

Long Ke looked over at “Xia Yuan.”

Lu Yin coughed. "This is something for those higher than me to decide. In this matter, I’m simply the
messenger."

Long Ke said, "There are many Envoys in Star Alliance. There are at least twenty more than the ones that
have been sent to the rear battlefield. We need to first find a way to move those twenty people beyond
the Celestial Frost Sect’s reach. That way, even if they obtain the full restriction method, it will still be
useless for them."

Wang Zheng agreed, "That’s true. The right to order Star Alliance is something shared by the four ruling
powers as a whole. If the Celestial Frost Sect can move the members of Star Alliance wherever they
want, then so can my Wang family. We need to find a way to hide as many members of Star Alliance as
we can. That way, the Celestial Frost Sect will not gain much even if they obtain the complete restriction
method. As soon as we are able to gather evidence showing that the Celestial Frost Sect attacked Xia
Xing, we can leave the rest to our Progenitors."

Upon hearing this conversation, Lu Yin realized he also faced a serious issue. Even if he was able to free
the members of Star Alliance, it would be impossible to do so if they were hidden from him.
This was a major problem.

These people had already guessed that the Celestial Frost Sect wanted to gain complete control of Star
Alliance, so they were coming up with a plan to counter that, but they were actually countering Lu Yin.

Lu Yin started thinking. He was lucky that he was currently posing as Xia Yuan, as it allowed him to learn
quite a bit of vital information.

He hoped to use Xia Yuan's identity to learn about where Wang Zheng and Long Ke intended to hide the
members of Star Alliance, but the two patriarchs never mentioned anything. They intended to simply
speak with Xia Xing himself.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Xia Xing's main body?

Long Ke did not want to remain at the Wang family’s headquarters for long, as he wanted to avoid
tipping off the Celestial Frost Sect. However, just as he was about to leave, he received news that left
Long Ke absolutely furious: the powerhouse from one of the White Dragon Clan’s branch families in the
city beneath the floating hand had been attacked and severely injured.

Long Ke was enraged, and he immediately led Long Tian down to the city, and Wang Zheng followed
close behind. He could not ignore something like this happening in the Wang family’s own home.

Lu Yin tagged along.

A small group quickly arrived in the courtyard of the Lei family’s mansion, and they found the man from
the White Dragon Clan lying on the ground. The Envoy had been seriously injured, but he had been
conscious long enough to send a message to Long Tian.

Long Tian helped the man up. "Who did this?"

Long Ke, Wang Zheng, and Lu Yin all watched.

The White Dragon Clan Envoy coughed up blood, but he still tried to bow as soon as he saw Long Ke.

Long Ke raised a hand to stop the man from forcing himself. "Who hurt you?"

The Envoy shook his head. "I don't know. I was waiting here in the courtyard when I was suddenly badly
wounded. I never even saw who attacked me."

Everyone listening instantly understood that the attacker had simply been much stronger than the
wounded man.

At this moment, Lu Yin was standing six meters away from Long Ke, while Long Ke was only one meter
away from Wang Zheng. A little further away, Long Tian was watching. However, they were clearly not
the only ones watching. Lu Yin looked up and glanced around. Sure enough, there were other experts
from the Wang family watching this courtyard. This was a rare opportunity, and whether or not Lu Yin
could successfully capture Wang Zheng all depended on these next few moments.

His eyes turned cold, and he took a step forward. The moment Lu Yin was within five meters of Long Ke,
he Possessed the man again. However, Long Ke’s body did not immediately move, as Lu Yin was
searching the man’s memories for information regarding the Wang family’s headquarters.

Chapter 2234: Confrontation

Memories surged into Lu Yin’s mind. He could not find any detailed information in Long Ke's mind
regarding the orb of light above the Wang family’s hand-shaped landmass. Long Ke only knew what Lu
Yin had already learned from Elder Qing Xing and a few others. The patriarch had heard that the orb had
once incinerated a Progenitor, but both who and how were mysteries.

However, Lu Yin did find some memories regarding the sourcebox array that protected the Wang
family’s headquarters.

Just like Dragon Mountain, the Wang family’s homeland was surrounded by a powerful sourcebox array,
though only the hand-shaped landmass was protected. The cluster of cities below were not included in
the protected area.

Lu Yin also checked for any memories concerning the Wang family’s powerhouses. Long Ke knew that
there was an outsider who had joined the Wang family. This man was a powerful Semi-Progenitor, and
he was the guardian of the Wang family’s homeland.

Each of the four ruling powers accepted outside powerhouses into their organizations. The White
Dragon Clan had two outsider Semi-Progenitors who had joined the family. One had been sent to the
rear battlefield, while the other had gone to Dragon Mountain to hide. Not even Long Ke knew who that
hidden Semi-Progenitor was, so Lu Yin could learn nothing from the patriarch’s memories. Naturally, the
outsiders who had joined the other three ruling powers must have similarly been sent to the rear
battlefield or stayed at their headquarters.

Lu Yin scanned Long Ke's memories as quickly as possible, but Wang Zheng soon spoke up again.
"Brother Long, my Wang family will be sure to properly apologize for this matter."

Lu Yin ended the Possession, pulled the slipper out of his own cosmic ring, threw it to Long Ke, and then
Possessed the patriarch again. The slipper was grabbed, and the Possessed Long Ke slapped Wang Zheng
in the head with the footwear. The Wang patriarch crumpled to the ground before he could even react.

If Lu Yin could attack himself, then things would not have needed to be so complicated, as a single punch
would have been enough to incapacitate the man. Wang Zheng could not resist Lu Yin’s physical might,
but the man would have had time to react if Lu Yin had tried to attack him. Wang Zheng was a true
powerhouse of the Wang family, but the man had never even considered the possibility that Long Ke
would attack. The only obstacle was that Long Ke was not strong enough for what Lu Yin needed, so the
slipper had been needed to be used to compensate for the lacking power.

Long Tian stared blankly at his father.

Lu Yin controlled Long Ke's body to smile at Long Tian before grabbing the unconscious Wang Zheng and
fleeing.

Long Tian was still supporting the wounded White Dragon Clan Envoy, and the young man stared blankly
into space, unable to understand why his father had suddenly attacked Wang Zheng. Suddenly, a single
word occurred to Long Tian: control.

Instantly, Long Tian’s eyes grew bloodshot, and he shot after his father. “Stop!"

A powerful pressure descended from above, and a stranger suddenly appeared. The void was sealed,
and countless white figures appeared. They all looked somewhat like humans, and like flowing water,
they charged after the fleeing Lu Yin.

Lu Yin's eyes grew cold. This person was a Semi-Progenitor. He had already known that it would not be
easy to escape, but luckily, Progenitor Smoke was still accompanying Lu Yin.

Lu Yin returned to his own body, which allowed Long Ke to regain his wits for a moment, only to fall
unconscious to Lu Yin's fist. Lu Yin pulled out the mirror and said, "Senior, I’m in trouble!"

Progenitor Smoke appeared and looked behind Lu Yin. "A Semi-Progenitor? What an interesting inner
world. This person’s quite curious."

After that, while Lu Yin could not see what the woman did, he was hit by a wave of dizziness. The next
thing he knew, all the cities in his sight vanished. They were instantly gone.
Beneath the Wang family’s homeland, the pupils of the Semi-Progenitor who had used their inner world
to capture the three fleeing people shrank sharply. Where had they gone?

Further down, Long Tian was feeling similarly confused. Where had those three people gone?

Let alone the people left behind, not even Lu Yin could understand what Progenitor Smoke had just
done. "Senior, what did you just do? Have you regained the strength of a Progenitor? You have, haven’t
you?!"

While Lu Yin had watched Progenitor Smoke use the Enhanced needle-like weapon to break through
more of the fog that trapped her, Lu Yin had not known just how much of Progenitor Smoke’s strength
had been freed. He only knew that she seemed a bit too strong, as the Semi-Progenitor who had been
trying to capture Lu Yin had not even been able to see them leave.

Progenitor Smoke proudly replied, "Take a guess."

She then turned around and saw Lu Yin’s newest prisoners: Wang Zheng and Long Ke. "You’re
kidnapping more people? Who are these two?"

"The patriarchs of the four ruling powers. That one’s the Wang family’s patriarch, and he’s the White
Dragon Clan’s patriarch," Lu Yin replied. As he spoke, he pulled out Zenith Mountain and imprisoned the
two men.

Progenitor Smoke was utterly speechless, and she gave Lu Yin an odd stare. "You are certainly ruthless
enough! You actually captured the leaders of all four ruling powers? There really aren’t any left."

Lu Yin actually felt a bit proud of himself. If he was being honest, most of what he had done was sheer
coincidence. He had only truly orchestrated Xia Xing’s capture. Bai Teng had simply been too convenient
to let pass, Wang Zheng had also walked into the perfect situation, and Lu Yin had simply been
unbelievably lucky to Possess Long Ke. Without so many incredible coincidences, he had no idea what it
would have taken to capture these four men.

"You really are sneaky enough to compare to Hui Wen," Progenitor Smoke mocked.

Lu Yin replied in a stern tone, "This junior just wants to rescue his own people and those in Star Alliance.
I never actually intended to attack these men."

"What if the Lu family has already been destroyed by Aeternus?" Progenitor Smoke shot back.

Lu Yin fell silent. He firmly believed that the Lu family had only been banished, and that they were still
alive and safe. However, if his family had been wiped out by Aeternus, then that would completely
change the severity of the four ruling powers’ crimes. Exiling and killing the Lu family were two
completely different matters. If his family was dead, would Lu Yin still be able to stay his hand for the
good of humanity?

Would he really be able to maintain his current attitude towards the four ruling powers?

When Lu Yin had first learned that the four ruling powers had destroyed the Lu family, hatred had filled
his heart. Shaman God had seen that, and it had developed a plan to take advantage of it, even going so
far as to help Lu Yin. As time passed, Lu Yin had become convinced that his family was still alive and
merely exiled. His faith in their survival had greatly diminished Lu Yin’s hatred towards the four ruling
powers, and he had been willing to reduce his desires for revenge more and more. Now, he was no
longer as determined to eliminate the four organizations.

However, if the Lu family was all dead, could he still remain so indifferent?

Progenitor Smoke stared off into the distance. "It’s impossible to truly ignore hatred. You can take your
revenge and do whatever you want to those who wronged your family. However, you must always
remember one thing: the bigger picture is still the most important thing. Those words were first spoken
by Hui Wen."
Lu Yin turned to look at Progenitor Smoke. Prioritize the bigger picture? That was something that he
could do.

If the entire Lu family had been killed, then Lu Yin would bury the four ruling powers alongside his
family. That was indisputable. However, the four ruling powers were also the primary force holding back
the Aeternals. This created a true conundrum for Lu Yin.

The four ruling powers had ignored what was best for humanity by banishing the Lu family, and if Lu Yin
treated them in the same way, then would he not be as great a traitor to humanity as the four ruling
powers? The only caveat was if he could replace the four ruling powers and take over their fight against
Aeternus.

Determination filled Lu Yin's eyes. It would not be an easy task to replace the four ruling powers. Simply
becoming a Progenitor would be completely insufficient.

Regardless, this was not the time for such thoughts. Whether or not the Lu family had survived or been
wiped out remained a mystery, and Lu Yin’s current goals were to save the members of Star Alliance and
the prisoners in Crimson Garden. While doing so, he also wanted to create as much trouble for the four
ruling powers as possible. That was what he could do for the time being.

No other goals could be achieved during Lu Yin’s current visit to the Perennial World.

Lu Yin had kidnapped both Wang Zheng and Bai Teng, and their disappearance should startle the four
ruling powers. Anyone who heard the news would struggle to believe it.

Who could kidnap the patriarchs of both the Wang family and the White Dragon Clan right beneath the
Wang family’s homeland? Not only that, but the culprit had also escaped.

The four ruling powers immediately connected with each other through communications crystals, and
Long Tian truthfully recounted everything that he had seen, including the fact that Long Ke had attacked
Wang Zheng. The attack had happened in plain sight of the Wang family as well as a Semi-Progenitor’s
vision. Thus, Long Tian did not dare to try to cover anything up.

"Long Ke attacked Wang Zheng? He slapped him unconscious with a slipper? Are you sure that this isn’t
a joke?" The Celestial Frost Sect’s acting sect master Bai Su was stunned. Could this be real?

More importantly, a slipper? Even if Long Ke wanted to attack Wang Zheng, where had he gotten a
slipper? How could a slipper knock Wang Zheng out cold?

"It’s quite clear that someone was controlling my father: Xia Yuan. He controlled my father, made him
capture Patriarch Wang Zheng, and then knocked my father unconscious," Long Tian explained.

Xia Xing spoke up. "Xia Yuan was with you?"

"It’s true that Xia Yuan is the most suspicious person involved," the Wang family’s Semi-Progenitor
guardian replied, "Patriarch Wang Zheng told me to secretly monitor Xia Yuan before he left our home.
It’s possible that the patriarch expected something, but he did not tell me anything specific. I saw the
man from the Xia family move closer to Patriarch Long Ke, pull out the slipper from his cosmic ring, and
throw it over to Patriarch Long Ke. Later, while escaping, Xia Yuan attacked Patriarch Long Ke and struck
him unconscious."

"How could Xia Yuan take out a slipper to deal with Wang Zheng?" Xia Xing was puzzled.

Long Tian was the White Dragon Clan’s only representative. There was no denying that the White
Dragon Clan had the weakest foundation of any of the four ruling powers. Their Grand Elder Ni Huang
was still in the Fifth Mainland, Long Ke had been captured, Long Quan was dead, and Long Laobui was
fighting on the rear battlefield. There had never been many powerhouses in the White Dragon Clan,
which meant that the only person who could fill in for their missing patriarch was Long Tian.

"If someone can control my father, then they can also control Xia Yuan. Or, is it possible that someone
was disguised as Xia Yuan?" Long Tian asked.
The Wang family’s Semi-Progenitor answered, "There was no evidence of any disguise."

"This is impossible," Xia Xing declared, "Xia Yuan has no reason to cooperate with Long Ke to attack
Wang Zheng."

"My father did not attack Patriarch Wang Zheng. He was being controlled. Xia Yuan also attacked my
father. Before the attack, we were all discussing-" Long Tian stopped suddenly in the middle of his
sentence.

Bai Su was surprised by the hesitation. "What were you discussing?"

Long Tian and Xia Xing both remained silent. Their conversation was something that not even the Wang
family’s Semi-Progenitor knew about.

"There's no need for a secret alliance at this time. Bai Su, everything has been orchestrated by your
Celestial Frost Sect! My clone, Long Ke, and Wang Zheng were all captured by your Celestial Frost Sect!"
Xia Xing directly stated. He was clearly accusing the Celestial Frost Sect.

Bai Su was beyond confused at this moment. "What are you talking about?"

Long Tian jumped in and sternly said, "Your Celestial Frost Sect sent someone to observe the Wang
family long ago. After discovering Xia Yuan and learning about our goals, you had someone impersonate
Xia Yuan and accompany my White Dragon Clan to lure out Wang Zheng so that he could be captured
along with my father. The Celestial Frost Sect is doing all of this in order to seize control of Star Alliance."

Bai Su started to understand the accusations, which only upset him. "Don't be ridiculous! My Celestial
Frost Sect’s Sect Master Bai Teng has also been taken."
"That's nothing more than a show put on by you. If not for your Celestial Frost Sect taking action, then
how could Bai Teng have disappeared without the God of Food seeing anything? Long Ke was just
controlled and made to attack Wang Zheng. You can claim that your Celestial Frost Sect is innocent, but
you are clearly behind all of this," Xia Xing said in a deep voice. He was almost entirely certain that Long
Ke had been controlled by someone and that that “Xia Yuan” was an imposter. The real Xia Yuan had
neither the motivation nor the strength to accomplish what had been done. For starters, Xia Yuan was
completely incapable of knocking Long Ke unconscious.

Bai Su was beyond stunned. He could not comprehend why everyone was suddenly leveling their spears
at his Celestial Frost Sect.

However, as Bai Su listened to Xia Xing and Long Tian’s conjectures that explained the recent events, the
acting sect master could not deny that everything sounded quite reasonable. In fact, if the Celestial Frost
Sect was not behind everything that had happened, then who did have the abilities to do it?

"Wait," the Wang family’s Semi-Progenitor suddenly interjected, "I am not aware of all of the facts, but
there is one thing that is undeniable—they were allowed to escape because of the assistance of a
Progenitor. If that person was not a Progenitor, then they definitely wield the strength of one."

Xia Xing shouted at Bai Su, "Your Celestial Frost Sect has a hidden powerhouse! Did Bai Xian'er do this?"

Bai Su shouted back, "You have no evidence, so don't spout nonsense! If you push this, I will bring in our
Progenitor!"

"I’ve already reported everything to our Progenitor, telling him that the situation is spinning out of our
control. Whether your Celestial Frost Sect is the one scheming to gain control of Star Alliance to gain an
advantage over the rest of us, or someone else is secretly manipulating events, the Progenitors will find
out. However, if your Celestial Frost Sect is indeed behind everything, then prepare for war!" Xia Xing
threatened.

Long Tian chimed in as well. "You had best hope that my father remains safe! If he’s been harmed, then
my White Dragon Clan doesn’t mind causing the White Dragon Rolls Over again!"
Chapter 2235: Investiture of the Gods

Bai Su’s eyes glinted dangerously after hearing the open threat. "Long Tian, don't forget that Long Ke
undeniably attacked Wang Zheng. How can you be so certain that Long Ke was being controlled by
someone? Maybe your White Dragon Clan is the one behind this, and you’re the ones who attacked the
Wang family.”

"I won’t be deceived by the Wang family either. All of this is nothing but conjecture, and it’s possible
that all of this is just being brought up to manipulate you into attacking my Celestial Frost Sect. As for us,
we have no intention of attacking the rest of you."

In the end, it did not matter what Bai Su said, as Xia Xing and the others would not even answer. There
was no way to deny that this latest incident had been very strange. Had Long Ke really been under
someone’s control? How did Xia Yuan have the strength to instantly defeat Long Ke? Why had Xia Yuan
worked with Long Ke to attack Wang Zheng? There were so many questions.

However, before the truth was revealed, it was important for the three organizations to unite and
prevent the Celestial Frost Sect from gaining any more power. The final decisions would be made by the
Progenitors.

As soon as Wang Zheng and Long Ke disappeared, the entire Higher Realm was sealed off. No one was
allowed to enter or leave. Unfortunately, such precautions were useless against Lu Yin, as he could not
be stopped by average cultivators.
He easily escaped from the Higher Realm and returned to Virtue Archives.

After arriving at the academy, he was startled to discover that the academy was actually enveloped by a
massive tree that nearly covered the entire Virtue District.

The fact that the tree covered most of the Virtue District indicated just how massive the tree was; it was
capable of holding multiple stars.

Lu Yin leaped over the branches, moving quickly towards Virtue Archives, only to be stopped by the
academy's sourcebox array. Virtue Archives had publicly announced that the academy’s students were
undergoing an intense training regime, and no visitors were allowed for the time being.

Lu Yin had wanted to sneak through with Progenitor Smoke's wei, but he was afraid that doing so would
expose Liu Shaoge. While considering his options, Kui Luo found Lu Yin.

"Kid, you're finally back." Upon seeing Lu Yin, Kui Luo proudly pointed at the massive tree. "What do you
think? This old man’s masterpiece is impressive, isn’t it?"

Lu Yin wondered, "Your masterpiece? You made this tree appear?"

"Of course! That old fart, God of Food, dared to mock me, so I decided to make him suffer this time." Kui
Luo grew noticeably happier with the situation as he thought about what had happened before.

Lu Yin was completely stunned. "How is this tree supposed to be your revenge against the God of
Food?"

Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "What? Do you think that this is a normal tree? Let me tell you a secret—this
tree is Virtue Archive’s greatest secret of all! Do you think that the sourcebox array is protecting the
academy? Wrong! It’s this tree!"
"How do you know about it then? What does this tree do?" Lu Yin was becoming increasingly curious
about the situation.

Kui Luo explained, "When I was younger, I studied in Virtue Archives by myself, and I was very interested
in the academy’s secrets. I actually spent most of my energy on this place back then. How could this run-
down school keep anything hidden from me? As for what this tree’s actually for, I have no idea. I just
knew that it would be a good idea to force it out, as that old God of Food fart’s got to be going nuts!
Hahahaha!”

Lu Yin turned and looked at Virtue Archives, feeling powerful empathy for the academy. It was never
good to offend anyone, but Kui Luo was infamous for being petty, unscrupulous, and merciless in his
revenge.

Lu Yin finally understood why Kui Luo had done nothing ever since Lu Yin had joined Virtue Archives. In
fact, Lu Yin had forgotten about how Kui Luo had said that he would get revenge on the God of Food.
Apparently, the old man had been working on just that this entire time.

"You don't know what the tree does? Then why force it out? Maybe the God of Food and the
headmaster are actually happy about this turn of events," Lu Yin said.

Kui Luo sneered. "Why don’t you go and ask them if they’re happy about it? Old Wen Lai has the ability
to bring this tree out, but he never did it, so I decided to help them out. Let’s head in now! I would have
already gone in a long time ago if I wasn’t waiting for you!"

"You can get in?"

"Don’t be silly. How do you think I’ll get it out?"

Lu Yin pursed his lips before following Kui Luo. They entered from the loophole that existed in the
academy’s defensive sourcebox array, and the two men had no issues passing through.
Once inside, Lu Yin saw that the tree’s enormous branches were hanging down, covering almost the
entire academy. Most of the locations used for lectures had been destroyed by the branches, including
the lake shore. However, none of the stone pillars had been damaged. In fact, the pillars were avoided,
as though they had been placed with the tree in mind.

Many students had gathered at the center of the academy. They had surrounded one of the pillars, and
the instructors were there as well. Lu Yin saw Prof. Wei, Prof. Zheng, and the rest, including Liu Shaoge,
who was posing as Yu Hao. However, Wu Taibai was missing from the instructors, and Xia Shenfei could
not be seen among the students either.

Lu Yin looked around, and he immediately saw a looming mountain. There was a sea beneath the
mountain that had drowned a large portion of the academy’s forest. Wait, a mountain and a sea… Why
did this seem so familiar?

Was this one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?

"Hey, old man. Is that the Mountain and Sea that the legends claim is hidden in Virtue Archives?" Lu Yin
asked.

Kui Luo shook his head. "No idea, but there has to be something in this school that can draw the
attention of the four ruling powers. I just don’t know if it’s their secret techniques, Progenitor Wen’s
Scriptures, or a Mountain and Sea. It could be any one of those things. If it is a Mountain and Sea, we
don’t know who it belongs to."

Lu Yin started to get excited, and he pulled out the mirror and called Progenitor Smoke.

The woman wanted to get upset, as every time it felt like she was about to make some progress with
Blood Alchemy, she would be interrupted by Lu Yin.
However, as soon as she emerged from the pocket dimension, she noticed the issue. "A Mountain and
Sea?"

Both Lu Yin and Kui Luo were staring at Progenitor Smoke. "Is that really one of the Mountains and
Seas?"

Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Definitely. There’s no mistaking this feeling."

"Who does this one belong to?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "How should I know? It was impossible for me to visit other people's
Mountains and Seas."

Lu Yin then had to ask, "Senior, do you know what techniques are in the inheritances of the Nine
Mountains and Eight Seas?"

Progenitor Smoke thought for a bit. "I know what some of them are, but most people kept such things a
secret. There were even some people who wouldn’t reveal their inherited techniques in battle. Most
people were very secretive about it, like Old Fu. No one ever learned about what he inherited from his
Mountain and Sea. Hui Wen's inheritance was related to fire, but I’m not sure of the specifics. Xia Shang
acted like a rich man wanting to flaunt his wealth, but even though he controlled two Mountains and
one Sea, he only ever revealed one inheritance. No one knows what the second one was.

"Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were both secretive and never revealed anything."

"What about Patriarch Lu Tianyi?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "Senior Lu Tianyi isn’t from the same era as the rest of us, so there
was no way for me to know about his Mountain and Sea’s inheritance. Besides, he was so strong that it
was basically impossible for anyone to force him to use his inheritance. He already had his Champions’
Stage, and with his Investiture of the Gods thrown in, he had more than enough options to deal with his
enemies."

Progenitor Smoke’s answer reminded Lu Yin that he had never asked anyone about what the Investiture
of the Gods actually was. He had heard it be mentioned by the four ruling powers, the Seven Skygods,
and even the former Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era.

"Senior, what is the Investiture of the Gods?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke was taken aback. "Haven’t you already met other members of your Lu family? Why
didn't you ask them?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "I forgot."

Progenitor Smoke looked over at Kui Luo. "Isn't this guy one of your Lu family’s retainers? Shouldn’t he
know?"

Lu Yin looked over at Kui Luo. The topic of the Investiture of the Gods had never come up, and Kui Luo
had never taken the initiative to mention it. It was true that Kui Luo should know something about it.

Surprisingly, Kui Luo actually shook his head. "While I saw the Investiture of the Gods be used in the
past, I didn’t understand what I saw."

"What does that mean?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

"The so-called ‘Investiture of the Gods’ is a roll of cloth. When it’s opened, someone will appear and
assist whoever from the Lu family controls the Investiture of the Gods. I saw it once on the rear
battlefield, but it was a long time ago, and that’s really all I saw, so I don’t know much."
Lu Yin looked back over at Progenitor Smoke. She reminisced for a bit, and when she spoke, both
admiration and envy could be heard in her voice. "The Investiture of the Gods can be thought of as the
second form of your Lu family’s Champions’ Stage, or an additional visualization method. It all depends
on how it’s used. However, as the name suggests, the Investiture of the Gods is a technique the Lu
family used to confer ranks to a person.

"In the Fifth Mainland, the Lu family stood above all others like gods and were the undisputed rulers.
They were able to completely control the entire Fifth Mainland because, no matter who the person may
be, as long as they belonged to the Fifth Mainland, they could be controlled by the Lu family. The
Investiture of the Gods ignores distance, and it’s not an actual person who is summoned to help the
wielder of the Investiture of the Gods, but rather some kind of summon with the same strength as the
real person. Basically, the Champions’ Stage can summon the dead, while the Investiture of the Gods
can summon the living."

Lu Yin's eyes grew large. "Summon living powerhouses?"

Progenitor Smoke nodded, and then she recalled something. "I was once summoned myself. Actually, all
of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were. Senior Lu Tianyi summoned all of us when he
confronted the full assault of the Aeternals alone. I don’t know what he did or how he accomplished it,
but that was something that not one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could have
done on their own. Not even Old Fu or Xia Shang could have stopped the full power of Aeternus like
that."

The woman looked at Lu Yin as she continued to explain, "The most terrifying thing about the Lu family
was never their Champions’ Stage or their visualization methods, but rather their Investiture of the
Gods. That was what gave them complete authority over the Fifth Mainland, as they could freely wield
the power of everyone within it. There is absolutely no way to deal with someone from the Lu family
who has awakened their innate gift of the Champions’ Stage and the Investiture of the Gods. That is not
the strength of one person as strong as a nation, but rather one person as strong as a Mainland."

Kui Luo gasped. "No wonder Lu Qi dared to rush down to the New World beneath the rear battlefield all
alone. Wherever he went, there were always at least four of the Twelve Marquises watching him. He
had a Champions’ Stage and also the Investiture of the Gods. Additionally, he used the Lu family’s
visualization method and countless power vessels, making him truly a freak of nature. Back then, he
wasn’t even a Semi-Progenitor, but not a single Semi-Progenitor was willing to face him alone.
"Oh, right, Lu Qi’s your father." The last sentence was directed at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was stunned. "You couldn’t have told me his name before now?"

"I remember mentioning it to you."

"I don’t!"

Lu Yin was growing increasingly confused as to how the four ruling powers had banished his Lu family.
With their Champions’ Stages, the Investiture of the Gods, and all their retainers, it was clear that the Lu
family had been so terrifyingly powerful that they could have destroyed all four of the ruling powers
combined. And yet, the Lu family had somehow ended up being exiled. There was something very wrong
about this no matter how Lu Yin thought about it.

It would not be long before Lu Yin settled his accounts. He first needed to rescue all of Star Alliance, as
well as the prisoners in Crimson Garden. After returning to the Fifth Mainland, it would then be time to
think about the four ruling powers. Lu Yin knew that he was still far from being their opponent. After all,
they had several Progenitors. Still, they were so desperate to kill him that they had sent an entire army
to the Fifth Mainland, and Lu Yin had obtained a large number of hostages as a result.

"Let's go see whose Mountain and Seas this is," Progenitor Smoke said.

Lu Yin immediately started moving towards the Mountain.

All of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were enormous, but the speed that Lu Yin and the other two
traveled at meant that they arrived very quickly.
They stopped at the base of the towering Mountain. There were three people standing above the Sea,
standing guard in three different directions, and they were stopping everyone from approaching the
Mountain.

Chapter 2236: Master

Wu Taibai, Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, Bai Weiwei, and Mr. Tang had all been stopped over the Sea.
The three people blocking the path to the Mountain were Headmaster Wen, the God of Food, and the
third was actually the old man who was the guardian of the library.

Lu Yin and Kui Luo did not reveal themselves, and Progenitor Smoke stayed next to the two and simply
stared into the distance.

"Headmaster, why can't we approach the Mountain?" Xia Shenguang was clearly frustrated.

"This is still part of my Virtue Archives, and I owe you no explanation. Return to the academy."

Xia Shenguang frowned. "If this is part of Virtue Archives, then you should allow us students to approach
the Mountain."

He had already spent several days trying to convince the headmaster to allow him access to the
Mountain, and the others with him were no different. None of them had had the slightest success.

Headmaster Wen simply stopped talking. A Semi-Progenitor’s strength suddenly pushed Xia Shenguang
and others back to the academy. "Go back. This place should not have appeared at this time."
"This has to be the work of Kui Luo. No one else would do something like this." The God of Food was
feeling quite the headache.

Headmaster Wen shrugged. "Why did you have to antagonize that old bastard? Our academy will only
suffer if he targets us."

The old guardian of the library popped in. "Let's just go find him and get rid of him. I don’t know how
we’ll handle whatever other plans he has."

"That old man studied here in Virtue Archives when he was young, and both he and his brother were
expelled for their behavior. They know the academy very well." Headmaster Wen sighed.

Lu Yin was able to overhear the conversation from the distance, and he gave Kui Luo an odd look. "You
were expelled?"

Kui Luo gritted his teeth. "That’s bullshit! My brother and I left this trashy school to go wander the
universe! Who was expelled?"

Lu Yin said, "Actually, the academy’s treated you pretty good. Virtue Archives has always known that Kui
Luo was actually you and your brother, but they never let anything leak. If they had ever said a word,
you and your brother would have had a rough time of things being chased by the four ruling powers."

Kui Luo was the most notorious Semi-Progenitor in the entire history of the Perennial World. He had
been chased and hunted down by the four ruling powers, as well as other major players, including even
the Lu family. And yet, the two brothers had never been caught, all because Kui Luo was actually two
people: Kui Zhe and Luo Or. Lu Yin had always assumed that the fact that Kui Luo was actually two
people was a secret known only by the Lu family, but he had just learned that Virtue Archives had
always known as well. For some reason, the academy had never revealed the information to anyone.

Kui Luo snorted contemptuously. "Do you really think that they did that out of kindness? It’s because
they don’t dare to let anything leak. Many people have studied in Virtue Archives over the ages, and
they will never reveal anyone’s secrets to the rest of the world. If they did, how would they ever be
trusted ever again? How would they be able to maintain their neutrality? They would have been
disbanded ages ago."

This was a valid point.

Lu Yin looked back over at Headmaster Wen and the others, and then at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior,
would you be willing to help this junior approach the Mountain and Sea to see if I can receive its
inheritance? Otherwise, I can at least see if it has a master."

Progenitor Smoke replied, "There’s no need for that. This Mountain and Sea already has a master."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "It has a master? Who?"

Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "How should I know? All I can tell is that it has a master. I just tried to
move my wei close to it."

"So are you saying that, even if Headmaster Wen and the others weren’t blocking the Mountain, people
still wouldn’t be able to get close? Then why are they there?" Lu Yin felt quite puzzled.

Kui Luo cackled. "There are only two reasons why they don’t want anyone to learn that this Mountain
and Sea has a master. One, the master wants to remain unknown and the second is to maximize the
value out of this place. Why do so many powerful organizations focus on this place? Because of this
Mountain and Sea. If it’s discovered that it has a master, then what will stop the four ruling powers from
moving against Virtue Archives? If they find out who the master is and aren’t happy about it, then they
might just kill that person and take the inheritance for themselves.”

Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Given how serious the academy is about this, it seems pretty clear that the
master of this Mountain and Sea is not an ally of the four ruling powers."
This thought caused Lu Yin’s eyes to light up, as he was also working against the four ruling powers,
which meant that the master of this Mountain and Sea was on Lu Yin’s side. It would definitely be best
to not let the four ruling powers learn about this matter and instead have it remain hidden.

Since the Mountain and Sea already had a master, then there was no point for Lu Yin to get closer to it.

Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension inside the mirror, and Kui Luo left the Mountain
and Sea. As for Lu Yin, he went to meet up with Liu Shaoge and swapped places without issue. Once
again, Lu Yin became Yu Hao.

Headmaster Wen and the other Semi-Progenitors who belonged to Virtue Archives were all guarding the
Mountain, and with Lu Yin’s current strength, no one could detect Liu Shaoge swapping to Lu Yin.

Xia Shenguang and many others were still unwilling to accept the Headmaster’s decision, and they
continuously tried to leave the academy to approach the Mountain. However, they were all repelled
again and again by Headmaster Wen. After half a month, the enormous tree finally disappeared, and the
matter ended.

Lu Yin returned to his residence atop the stone pillar, and then he reviewed everything that had recently
happened. The four ruling powers had to be in absolute chaos at the moment, but there was no way
they would make it public when they had no evidence or proof of anything.

This was best for Lu Yin; as long as the four ruling powers did not move too aggressively, they would not
be investigating him.

Lu Yin’s first priority was to get the final two parts of the restriction method from Bai Teng and Wang
Zheng.

After seeing the Higher Realm, Lu Yin had become quite anxious. As soon as he captured the leaders of
the four ruling powers, he had known that Shenwu's Sky would definitely share their theory that the
Celestial Frost Sect was attempting to seize complete control of Star Alliance. With all four leaders
missing, it meant that someone could absolutely take control of Star Alliance. With this knowledge,
where would they hide the members of Star Alliance?

Star Alliance would be considered an incredibly powerful force by any organization in the universe. As
long as a Progenitor did not get involved, Star Alliance could win practically any conflict. Lu Yin was
certain of this because Yu Chuan had told him that there were Semi-Progenitors in Star Alliance.

Elsewhere, Headmaster Wen and the others were feeling quite bewildered that the four ruling powers
had not interfered in the Mountain and Sea that had appeared in Virtue Archives. That was not how the
four ruling powers normally handled things.

"The four ruling powers don’t have any time to deal with us right now, as they’re dealing with their own
crisis. Wang Zheng and Long Ke have both disappeared." Headmaster Wen was quite stunned by the
news he had heard.

The old guardian of the library was similarly surprised. "First Xia Xing, then Bai Teng, and now both
Wang Zheng and Long Ke have gone missing. What's going on? Doesn’t the Celestial Frost Sect have
Long Ke imprisoned?"

Headmaster Wen shared all the recent news.

The God of Food exclaimed, "Who on earth is able to kidnap the leaders of the four ruling powers at the
same time? Long Ke must have been controlled by someone. Honestly, I noticed that, when he returned
to the Island of Hope, his eyes were dull. It seems like he must have been controlled by someone back
then as well. While he attacked Wang Zheng at the Wang family’s home, he was then knocked out by
the Xia family’s Xia Yuan, and then he was captured himself."

Headmaster Wen said, "So, Shenwu's Sky, the Wang Family, and the White Dragon Clan all suspect that
the Celestial Frost Sect is moving alone to gain control of Star Alliance, which is why Wang Zheng and
Long Ke were captured. They think that Bai Xian’er is behind all of this."
The God of Food quickly grew somber. "Bai Xian'er… If it’s her, then it’s possible that the Celestial Frost
Sect really is behind everything. That girl is unfathomable. She’s so young, from the same generation as
the Seven Heroes, or possibly even younger. Her cultivation has improved too quickly, and I can’t even
guess how strong she must be by now. Her talent is practically unheard of throughout history."

"The Celestial Frost Sect has always appeared strong to the outside world, while Shenwu's Sky and the
other two have always been wary of the Celestial Frost Sect. With them three joining forces, it doesn’t
really matter if the Celestial Frost Sect is guilty or not—the other three will make sure to suppress the
Celestial Frost Sect’s growth. In some ways, I expect them to be hoping that Shenwu’s Sky’s suspicions
are correct," the guardian of the library commented.

Headmaster Wen nodded. "That would be fine. If they’re busy dealing with each other, then they won’t
have time to make trouble for us. Still, Xia Shenguang and the others will definitely send a report to the
four ruling powers about what happened here recently. We’ll have to eventually deal with them."

"I’ll stay here for now. It’s best for me to be the one to handle this sort of thing," the God of Food
suggested.

At the same time, Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan were both submitting reports regarding the giant
tree that had appeared and covered all of Virtue Archives. As they were submitting their reports, they
also learned about what had happened to Wang Zheng and Long Ke.

"My father’s missing?" Wang Xiaofan was shocked. He stared at the image of a person on his
communication crystal. "What's going on?"

The person on the other end shared all that had happened.

Wang Xiaofan's face fell. "Long Ke attacked my father?"

"At this moment, everyone believes that Long Ke is being controlled by someone. He was likely
controlled when he returned to the Island of Hope before, and the Celestial Frost Sect is the primary
suspect. Shenwu's Sky, the White Dragon Clan, and our Wang family have all sent reports to our
Progenitors in an attempt to put some pressure on the Celestial Frost Sect. As long as our patriarch is
not dead, he will certainly be rescued."

Wang Xiaofan exhaled and looked up. The Celestial Frost Sect?

The Middle Realm and the Lower Realm were both quite peaceful at this time, but the Higher Realm had
become turbulent.

Shenwu's Sky, the Wang family, and the top members of the White Dragon Clan all made a trip to the
Celestial Frost Sect to demand that their leaders be returned.

Bai Su had no idea how to handle the situation. His own sect master had also gone missing, but people
were coming to him and accusing the Celestial Frost Sect of attacking the others. Long Ke had clearly
attacked Wang Zheng, and he had even used a slipper that had been given to him by someone from the
Xia family. Bai Su felt like the others were joining hands to attack him.

Bai Su had been contacted by both the Wang family and the White Dragon Clan as soon as Wang Zheng
had disappeared. But to his surprise, they had barged into the Celestial Frost Sect’s gates and
threatened to call out their Progenitors.

This was the most chaotic the four ruling powers had ever been ever since they had banished the Lu
family. Even to the public, the four ruling powers were practically at each others’ throats.

Bai Su and Wu Yao did their best to defend the Celestial Frost Sect, but every explanation that the two
men offered appeared feeble before the convincing story that Shenwu’s Sky painted of all the crimes the
Celestial Frost Sect had supposedly committed.

As things stood, only a Progenitor could induce a period of temporary peace for the four ruling powers.
A Progenitor did appear, but not one associated with any of the four ruling powers. Instead, it was the
Progenitor of Humility’s Gate, Mu Xie.

As soon as the middle-aged man emerged from the void, everyone from the four ruling powers bowed
as one. "We greet Progenitor Mu Xie."

"We greet Progenitor Mu Xie."

"We greet Progenitor Mu Xie."

...

Countless voices rang out at the Celestial Frost Sect’s gate, echoing in all directions.

Mu Xie had the appearance of a middle-aged man with an elegant mien and a calm demeanor. Although
there was a slight smile on his face, his eyes seemed capable of peering through everything.

"There’s no need to be so polite. This Progenitor was asked by Senior Progenitor Bai to uncover the
truth of this matter," Mu Xie stated indifferently.

Everyone offered another bow.

Bai Su heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Progenitor Mu Xie, for coming here. I ask that you bring
justice. My Celestial Frost Sect has never attacked Sect Master Xia Xing, Patriarch Wang Zheng, or
Patriarch Long Ke."

Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng then spoke up. "Several months ago, Xia Xing, the patriarch of my Shenwu's
Sky, disappeared. When we investigated the location of the attack, we found evidence that he had been
attacked by Realmless’s assassins. We also found evidence that the Lu family’s Lifeseizer Palm was used
during the attack, but that technique is identical to the Celestial Frost Sect’s Celestial Suppression. While
that caused us to make some guesses, the events at the Island of Hope played out shortly after…"

Xia Ziheng shared all of his conjectures and then offered a bow to Mu Xie. "Progenitor Mu, if the
Celestial Frost Sect is not behind all of this, then who else could have captured Bai Teng without the God
of Food seeing anything? After Xia Yuan and the others arrived at the Wang family’s homeland,
someone impersonated Xia Yuan, took control of Patriarch Long Ke, and forced him to attack Patriarch
Wang Zheng…"

Next, the Semi-Progenitor from the Wang family who had tried to stop Lu Yin from escaping stepped
forward. This man also made sure to be completely truthful about everything that he had witnessed.

Bai Su grew angry. "What a farce! Are they using nothing but speculation to accuse my Celestial Frost
Sect of these crimes? There is no denying that Bai Teng, our own sect master, has also disappeared!
Long Ke was the one who attacked Patriarch Wang Zheng, and Xia Yuan helped in the attack. And yet,
they are all accusing my Celestial Frost Sect of orchestrating everything! It’s absurd."

The two sides kept arguing and contradicting each other, though with Mu Xie present, no one dared to
devolve to actual violence.

Suddenly, Wu Yao spoke up. "There are certain details that we can no longer keep hidden."

Chapter 2237: Redirection

Everyone turned to stare at Wu Yao, even Bai Su. The acting sect master felt completely confused.
Hiding something? What are we hiding? Wait, it wasn’t really us, is it? Is there going to be a war? What
do I do?!
Bai Teng’s first impulse was to find a place to hide. He was only the acting sect master, and he did not
want to die. He had only been given this temporary position because no one in the main line of the Bai
family wanted it. However, Bai Teng was fully aware that his position was intended to only be held
briefly. He did not want to die, and he simply wanted a comfortable life.

Numerous thoughts flashed through Bai Su’s mind in an instant, and his expression changed constantly.

Wu Yao looked incredibly somber. "The truth is that Forgotten Ruins God is likely the one behind
everything."

Everyone's expressions changed drastically. "Forgotten Ruins God? The Skygod?"

Even Mu Xie's expression changed. "Forgotten Ruins God?"

Wu Yao nodded and continued, "In order to avoid arousing any suspicions, we never said anything, but
now, we can no longer remain silent."

He looked towards the people from the Wang family. "Forgotten Ruins God has already shown herself,
and she has done many things to develop Redbacks. My Celestial Frost Sect noticed a few clues, and
we’ve discovered that she is the most likely culprit behind the attack when Patriarch Long Ke was being
controlled."

"Ridiculous! If Forgotten Ruins God showed up, then why didn't your Celestial Frost Sect make things
clear from the beginning? On top of that, how can you even be sure that it was Forgotten Ruins God?
Clearly, your Celestial Frost Sect attacked, and you’re using the name of Forgotten Ruins God to deceive
and dominate the Perennial World!" Long Tian spoke up. As a member of the White Dragon Clan’s main
family, even if his cultivation was greatly inferior to a Semi-Progenitor’s, he still was qualified to speak at
this gathering.
Wu Yao looked at Mu Xie. "Progenitor Mu, the reason why my Celestial Frost Sect kept the matter of
Forgotten Ruins God’s appearance secret was out of respect for the Wang family. However, there are
some things that need to be revealed now."

The Semi-Progenitor looked back at the Wang family. "The true name of Forgotten Ruins God, one of the
Seven Skygods, is Wang Miaomiao. She is the matriarch and founder of the Wang family from the
Heavens Sect era."

Everyone was shocked, even Mu Xie, as this was something that he had never heard of before.

This was something that no one in the entire Wang family was aware of. In fact, even Progenitor Wang
Fan might not know about this. After all, when this information had been revealed in the Fifth Mainland,
it had been a surprise to Wang Si, let alone everyone else.

"Nonsense! While it’s true that there was a Redback in my Wang family, that was Wang Xiaoyu! She
instigated the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands and caused Progenitor Chen willing to fight
the Sixth Mainland to the death. We have never had any other Redbacks!" an older member of the
Wang family shouted angrily.

Wu Yao replied, "It’s definitely not nonsense. The truth is that Wang Miaomiao was the one who used
the Sit and Forget that trapped the four Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm. How else could Wang
Xiaoyu have deceived Progenitors as a mere Semi-Progenitor? The most likely method used to control
Patriarch Long Ke is also the Wang family's Sit and Forget."

"Where’s your evidence?" No one in the Wang family believed these accusations, and no one else did
either.

The Perennial World had not lost their history like the Fifth Mainland. The four ruling powers were
aware of what had taken place during the Daosource Sect era, and even had some small bit of
knowledge regarding the Heavens Sect era. Naturally, the Wang family knew the name Wang Miaomiao.
They had simply never thought that their founder matter would be dragged into the current matter.
Wang Miaomiao was a truly ancient existence.
Mu Xie stared at Wu Yao. "Does your Celestial Frost Sect have any evidence?"

Wu Yao held his head up high. "Of course. Our evidence originally belonged to the Lu family. Wang
Miaomiao's identity was something that Lu Tianyi, the patriarch of the Lu family, was aware of. When
the Lu family was exiled, my Celestial Frost Sect obtained some of their documents, including some that
belonged to Lu Tianyi. The fact that Wang Miaomiao is the Seven Skygods’ Forgotten Ruins God was in
the Progenitor’s personal notes.”

Regardless of whether or not the Wang family believed these allegations, Wu Yao would only dare to say
such things if he already had indisputable evidence.

Half a day later, the people from Shenwu's Sky, the Wang family, and the White Dragon Clan all left the
Celestial Frost Sect. Right after the dispersal, a group of powerhouses from all four ruling powers rushed
to the Middle Realm’s Yinshan District and started frantically searching for Forgotten Ruins God, whom
Wu Yao had brought up.

Inside the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Su went to speak with Wu Yao. "Is Forgotten Ruins God really behind
everything?"

Wu Yao said nothing at all. Bai Su was simply a puppet, and he was not qualified to know about certain
matters.

The leaders of the four ruling powers had all disappeared, and Wu Yao had no idea who was truly
behind it. He had pushed everything onto Forgotten Ruins God because Bai Xian'er had told him to do as
such. He had not expected the woman to deliver instructions to point fingers at Forgotten Ruins God.

Shenwu’s Sky and two other major powers had united against the Celestial Frost Sect. While they had
predetermined that the Celestial Frost Sect was the guilty party, they did not have conclusive evidence
to support those claims. Since everything was truly nothing more than speculation, the Celestial Frost
Sect had simply needed to provide a more reasonable possibility.
If there was evidence that the Seven Skygods had captured the four ruling powers' leaders and left
evidence implicating another party, then everyone could readily accept it.

As for evidence, there was no true evidence. The Celestial Frost Sect had only been able to prove that
Forgotten Ruins God was indeed Wang Miaomiao. Nothing more. There was absolutely no evidence that
Forgotten Ruins God had taken action.

Bai Xian'er had ordered Wu Yao to pin all the crimes onto Forgotten Ruins God, and this worked to
resolve the conflict. It was not really important if Shenwu's Sky and the other two powers believed that
Forgotten Ruins God was the culprit, as all that mattered was that their aggression needed to be
redirected. Without reliable evidence indicating who had kidnapped the leaders of the four ruling
powers, there would only be suspicions and no confirmations.

Knowing this, Wu Yao stared down towards the Middle Realm. Who was the true culprit? Did Bai Xian'er
know? Was it possible that she really was the one behind everything?

She was already the most likely suspect as far as Shenwu's Sky and the other two parties were
concerned.

Far away, in Virtue Archives, Lu Yin was ignorant that the Celestial Frost Sect had succeeded in
temporarily averting a crisis. While Lu Yin could create misunderstandings, Bai Xian'er could similarly
redirect those misunderstandings. Everything depended on the methods employed.

Lu Yin continued waiting for the four ruling powers to start making trouble in Virtue Archives. He was
not waiting for them to make trouble because of the missing patriarchs, but rather because a Mountain
and Sea had appeared within Virtue Archives.

The four ruling powers were very concerned about the Mountain and Sea that was hidden within the
academy, and they definitely would not ignore the appearance of such a thing, not even if they were
engaged in their own conflicts.
But even after Lu Yin waited for multiple days, enough time for him to give two lectures, there was still
no movement from the four ruling powers. Lu Yin decided that it was time to speak to Bai Teng and the
others and get the restriction methods from them as soon as possible.

Who could ever have imagined that the day would come when the leaders of the four ruling powers
would all be collected and imprisoned on a mountain?

Lu Yin looked at the trapped form of Bai Teng. He then looked over at Xia Xing's clone, Wang Zheng, and
Long Ke, feeling a wave of pride. He managed to capture the leaders of the four ruling powers, but he
might soon be able to do the same thing to their Progenitors.

The Lu family had once been capable of controlling the entire Fifth Mainland by summoning dead
champions with their Champions’ Stage and avatars of living powerhouses with the Investiture of the
Gods. Lu Yin would soon become capable of doing that as well.

The bindings slowly faded, allowing Bai Teng to regain his freedom. He opened his eyes and saw Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was not using his true appearance at this moment. If he revealed himself as Lu Xiaoxuan, it would
be impossible to discuss anything with Bai Teng. There was no denying that Lu Xiaoxuan wanted revenge
and would gladly kill Bai Teng, which meant that the sect master would never reveal anything about the
restrictions used to control Star Alliance. For this reason, Lu Yin used the face of a stranger, and it was a
very average-looking face at that.

Bai Teng looked at the stranger before him. The sect master’s eyes flickered as he tried to remember if
he had ever seen this person before. He desperately tried to understand who his captor was.

"Don't bother. You have no information about me whatsoever, though your four ruling powers will have
to deal with me a lot in the future," Lu Yin spoke slowly.
Bai Teng's expression fell. "Who are you? Why did you capture me?"

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "Do you know about the Dealcut Association?"

Bai Teng’s eyes flared. "Are you from the Dealcut Association?"

Lu Yin intended to pose as a member of the Dealcut Association when speaking to Bai Teng. After all, Lu
Yin needed a reasonable motivation to ask for the restriction method placed on Star Alliance. No matter
what, Bai Teng was the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect, not some average person. Lu Yin was
worried that Bai Teng would connect his kidnapper with the remnants of the Lu family, which would be
a problem. Lu Yin had no chance of capturing any other high-ranking member of the Celestial Frost Sect,
which meant that Bai Teng was his only chance to get their portion of the restriction.

However, Bai Teng’s reaction made it clear that he was familiar with the Dealcut Association, which
meant that Lu Yin’s original plan had to be scrapped. There was no telling just how much Bai Teng knew
about the Dealcut Association, and there had to be someone incredibly influential supporting the
association. Could that person actually be Bai Teng? This thought prompted Lu Yin to quickly answer, "I
was hired to capture you by the Dealcut Association."

The man’s expression instantly changed. "The Dealcut Association paid you to capture me?"

Lu Yin remained calm. Even if Bai Teng secretly controlled the Dealcut Association, there was no
problem with him making such a claim. After all, was it possible that there were no traitors within the
Dealcut Association?

Bai Teng's face contorted in an extremely ugly manner. "Who paid you?"

"I don't know. My contact was a young man named Zuo Shan, and he paid me enough to justify the risk
in capturing you. Things have become quite chaotic outside, and the Celestial Frost Sect is frantically
searching for you, but it’s hopeless. They will never find you," Lu Yin stated. There was a hint of a smile
on his face.

Bai Teng's eyes grew dark and cold. There was indeed someone with the name of Zuo Shan in the
Dealcut Association. The young man was Zuo Lingzhu's nephew. Lu Yin’s guess had been quite accurate;
Bai Teng did indeed have a great deal of knowledge of the Dealcut Association. He was not the one
controlling the secret society, though he was cooperating with them.

The sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect was nothing but a puppet, but Bai Teng wanted to truly gain
control of his sect. To achieve that goal, the Dealcut Association was but one of the man’s methods. He
had been trying to spread his influence, and the Dealcut Association was able to easily gain access to the
rear battlefield’s resources, and much of that access was directly due to Bai Teng’s support. He had
never expected them to send someone to capture him. What was the purpose?

"The Dealcut Association hired you to capture me? Why? If it's because the four ruling powers have
been trying to wipe them out, I really can’t do anything about that. Shenwu's Sky got their information
from Realmless, so there’s nothing that I can do to help," Bai Teng replied.

Lu Yin said, "The Dealcut Association wants to learn your portion of the restriction method used to
control Star Alliance."

Bai Teng's expression instantly changed. "You’re the one who captured Xia Xing's clone!"

Lu Yin's mouth curled up into a smile. "Not bad."

Bai Teng was left puzzled. "The Dealcut Association is insane to go after Star Alliance…"

He had assumed that he had been targeted because the four ruling powers had started trying to
eradicate the Dealcut Association, but it seemed that his capture was simply part of a larger plan. After
all, Xia Xing's clone had been captured even before Realmless’s headquarters had been destroyed.
"That’s none of your business, and it’s none of mine either. I’ll keep this simple: give me the restriction
method, and I won't kill you. Don’t tell me, and you die now. Those are the Dealcut Association’s
orders," Lu Yin said.

"I want to speak to Elder Qiu!" Bai Teng demanded.

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. Elder Qiu? The man who controlled Ceaseless Impetus on the rear battlefield? Was
he the leader of the Dealcut Association? "No one is coming from the Dealcut Association. I’m the only
one who will be speaking to you. Talk to me, or die."

"If I die, it will be completely impossible for the Dealcut Association to get that restriction method," Bai
Teng replied. "If you already went after Xia Xing, you must be really determined to get it, and only a few
people in the entire Celestial Frost Sect know it. Who could you guys target other than me?"

Lu Yin stared at Bai Teng. "Wrong. Not ‘you guys’ but ‘those guys.’ I have nothing to do with the Dealcut
Association."

Bai Teng's eyes lit up. "What are they paying you? I’ll double it if you just let me go."

Lu Yin arched a brow, feigning interest. He moved closer to Bai Teng. "Can you afford that?"

Bai Teng snorted contemptuously. "Anything the Dealcut Association can afford, the sect master of the
Celestial Frost Sect can as well! Of course I, Bai Teng, can afford it!"

"But you’re nothing more than a puppet sect master. In fact, there’s already an acting sect master in
place: Bai Su," Lu Yin retorted.
Chapter 2238: A Book

Lu Yin's response absolutely infuriated Bai Teng. He hated being called a puppet more than anything else
in the world. However, right before he lashed out, he realized something, and the sect master stared at
Lu Yin. "Bai Su’s already been made acting sect master?"

Lu Yin nodded. "He’s been cooperating quite well with your Celestial Frost Sect’s Semi-Progenitor Wu
Yao. It seems he’s quite happy as the sect master."

Bai Teng clenched his fists. Why should Bai Su be the acting sect master? That bastard was even more of
a puppet than Bai Teng had ever been!

The fact that the Celestial Frost Sect had made Bai Su the acting sect master so quickly showed that they
had never even considered rescuing Bai Teng. The more the man thought about this, the angrier and
more resentful he became. He stared at Lu Yin. "What did the Dealcut Associatio promise you? I’ll pay
you double to let me go. Not only that, I’ll let you join my Celestial Frost Sect. You should be aware that
my daughter is Bai Xian'er. Bai Xian'er."

As soon as Bai Xian'er was mentioned, Lu Yin's expression changed, and fear filled his eyes.

"No one knew about her when the red flowers rained down, but I can promise you this. If you kill me,
Bai Xian’er will never let you go! Why do you think the Dealcut Association hired you to do the job? They
have so many experts, and Elder Qiu is even a Semi-Progenitor. They could have easily captured me, but
they went ahead and hired you because they want you to take the fall. That way, Bai Xian'er's anger will
fall upon you rather than them," Bai Teng said.

Lu Yin frowned. "I can simply tell Bai Xian'er that I was hired by the Dealcut Association."

"You're being too naive! The Dealcut Association has incredible influence, and they’ll know when Bai
Xian’er leaves seclusion—you’ll never even get the opportunity to target them. What you’re saying is
impossible," Bai Teng threatened, "Do you think that you’ll get paid for kidnapping me? They’ll never
pay you. Elder Qiu will never let you go."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered, and he made it clear that he was being convinced. "I might have captured you,
but the Celestial Frost Sect hasn’t been able to find anything. How can Bai Xian'er find me?"

Bai Teng’s voice rose. "No one knows that my daughter owns a book that allows her to see the past and
the future. That’s what caused the Lu family to be exiled back then-"

The man suddenly let out a scream while in the middle of speaking.

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank, and he reached out to grab the sect master. "Keep talking."

Bai Teng's face grew pale, and his entire body was constantly trembling. Blood leaked from his eyes,
nose, and ears, and a terrifying roar rampaged through his body. He spat out a mouthful of blood and
suddenly passed out.

Lu Yin stared ahead, dazed. It was clear that Bai Teng knew exactly what had happened to the Lu family,
but he had been prevented from ever speaking of it. Just the small bit that the man had let slip had
caused him to suffer terrible repercussions.

It had long been clear to Lu Yin that Bai Xian’er was intimately connected with the Lu family’s exile, but
Bai Teng's words indicated that Lu Yin had actually underestimated just how much of a role the woman
had played. She possessed a book that could tell the future?

Could it be a Book of Destiny?

Bai Xian'er, the crimson flowers, and a Book of Destiny… Lu Yin knew that he was getting closer and
closer to the truth of his family’s exile, but it was impossible to get anything more from Bai Teng.
Lu Yin quietly stood and waited for Bai Teng to wake back up.

The man looked pathetic. His meridians had been destroyed, and his organs had collapsed. He was
bleeding everywhere. Still, the man was an Envoy, so even these terrible injuries would not cripple him.
He would recover, as long as his stellular energy vortex was not destroyed.

It took a long time for Bai Teng to wake up. He rubbed his head to soothe the pain and instantly
resumed coughing up blood.

Lu Yin looked at the man. "Did you say something that you shouldn't have?"

Bai Teng's pupils kept fluctuating. Terror filled his eyes. Was he really not able to speak about that
matter? Xian’er had mentioned a few matters that she believed were dangerous, but Bai Teng had never
dreamed that the consequences of barely mentioning even just one of those things would be so drastic.
Did Xian’er even see him as her father? It was clear that she did not mind killing him herself.

This moment of realization caused Bai Teng to feel cold as a powerful fear rose from the depths of his
heart.

He knew he was just a puppet sect master, and he would lose even his false position as soon as Bai
Xian’er left seclusion. Still, he had always believed that Xian’er was his daughter and that she would take
care of him. Bai Teng had been completely certain that he would always stay close to the peak of the
Perennial World.

It was only at this moment that he saw that his life or death truly did not matter at all to Bai Xian’er.

"Do you still want to continue your story?" Lu Yin asked.

Bai Teng bitterly replied, "There are certain things that I can't talk about."

"Like how we can't remember what happened to the Lu family?" Lu Yin asked.

Bai Teng felt truly helpless. "It's even worse than that."

Lu Yin stared at the man. "In that case, what can you tell me?"

Bai Teng took a deep breath, and then looked up at Lu Yin. Something had changed about the man. A
certain sharpness had left his eyes, though there was something else there as well. "Bai Xian'er has a
book that allows her to see the past and the future. If you kill me, no matter what the reason or method
you use, she will be able to find out, and she will avenge me. You will die without question. I swear this
on my life, my cultivation, and everything else that I have."

Lu Yin frowned. "As long as you give me the restriction method, I won’t kill you and will simply keep you
prisoner."

"She’ll still find out about it," Bai Teng replied.

Lu Yin laughed. "I don't believe you."

Bai Teng cleaned the blood that stained his face, only to smear more scarlet across half of his face. "You
only promised to capture me for the Dealcut Association because they promised to pay you. I already
told you that if you let me go, I will let you join the Celestial Frost Sect. I can swear that nothing will
happen to you, and we can even work together. With you helping me, the Dealcut Association won’t
dare touch me, and I’ll make sure to deal with Elder Qiu as soon as you let me go. You will make out
much better by working with me.

"You should already understand what it means to be part of the Celestial Frost Sect in the Perennial
World, as well as what it means to become enemies with the Celestial Frost Sect."
The fact that Bai Teng was willing to say so much proved that he had absolutely no consideration for the
possibility that he might have been attacked by the sole living descendant of the Lu family. Lu Yin stayed
silent for a moment. "You still must give me the restriction method. I promised to deliver that to the
Dealcut Association, and I will not go back on my word.”

As Lu Yin continued, he squatted down next to Bai Teng. “However, I can release you and allow you to
return to the Celestial Frost Sect alive, provided that you do what you said and pay me double what they
promised."

Bai Teng's eyes grew cold. "I’ll swear it."

Lu Yin dismissed the offer with a wave of a hand. "There’s no need to swear anything. Just pay up first.
That’s your only choice, even if you run the risk of me just changing my mind and killing you."

Bai Teng let out a shaky breath. "I don’t have any choice but to gamble."

"So, what’s the restriction method?" Lu Yin asked. "I’ll remind you that I’ve already captured Xia Xing, so
the Dealcut Association has his portion of the restriction method. If you try to give me something fake,
I’ll just kill you."

Bai Teng replied, "It doesn't matter to me. Whoever controls Star Alliance is something for the four
ruling powers to worry about. I’m nothing more than a puppet."

Lu Yin did not believe that Bai Teng would try to give him a fake restriction method. The man was in a
very awkward position within the Celestial Frost Sect, and thus he had no need to risk his life for the
sect. There was no other reason for him to form a long-term cooperative relationship with the Dealcut
Association and attempt to spread his influence. The man was ambitious, but unfortunately, he lacked
the ability to go along with that ambition.
After obtaining the Celestial Frost Sect’s portion of the restriction, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He was
only missing the Wang family’s portion now.

"What did the Dealcut Association promise to pay you? What would make you take the risk of
kidnapping me?" Bai Teng asked. He was very curious about this.

Lu Yin watched as wei slowly trapped Bai Teng again. "Don't worry about it. You’ll find out soon enough.
I promised to let you go, and I keep my word."

After Bai Teng was re-sealed, Lu Yin went to go see the last person: Wang Zheng.

Wang Zheng was different from Bai Teng. To begin with, he was the true patriarch of the Wang family
and was one of Progenitor Wang Fan’s own children. The man had an unassailable status, and this made
him much more difficult to deal with.

Lu Yin restored his true appearance before dispersing the wei that had sealed Wang Zeng. He was going
to face the man directly.

Wang Zheng looked at the young man who stood before him, and surprise flickered across his eyes. "I
truly believed that the Celestial Frost Sect was behind everything. I never thought that it would be you,
Lu Xiaoxuan."

Lu Yin responded with a small smile, "It’s been a long time, Patriarch Wang Zheng."

Wang Zheng was taken aback. "You’ve regained your memories?"

"No, but we also met on Dragon Mountain," Lu Yin said.

Wang Zheng nodded. "That was when you managed to escape back to the Forsaken Land. Why have you
dared return to the Perennial World now?" He pondered before saying, “Was it because of the army
that was sent to kill you that you had no choice but to return here?”

Lu Yin let out a loud laugh. "Isn’t this exactly what your four ruling powers wanted most?"

Wang Zheng’s voice dropped low, "What we want most is to see you captured or dead, not standing in
front of me and plotting against me and the four ruling powers. You’ve clearly turned us against each
other. How did you do it all? You’ve captured Xia Xing and Bai Teng, and even controlled Long Ke. What
do you want with all of this?"

A smile spread across Lu Yin’s face. "When you believed Shenwu’s Sky’s suspicions that the Celestial
Frost Sect was behind everything, you managed to figure out what they were after. Why can’t you do
that after learning that I’m responsible for everything?"

Wang Zheng blurted out, "You want to save the members of Star Alliance?"

Lu Yin nodded. "I don't want to hide things. Yes, I simply want to save the people in Star Alliance."

"Quit dreaming! I won’t give you my portion of the restriction method, and Xia Xing and the White
Dragon Clan’s Long Ke won't give you anything either," Wang Zheng stated bluntly.

Lu Yin just shrugged. "I’ll find a way. However, I should tell you that I’m not escaping to the Perennial
World from the Fifth Mainland. That place that you all refer to as the Forsaken Land is under my
complete control now. I’ve even subdued the army that you sent after me."

"Ridiculous." There was no way Wang Zheng would ever believe such a thing.

Lu Yin calmly stared at Wang Zheng, and simply spoke two words. "Wang Yi."
The patriarch’s expression changed drastically, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. "What did you say?"

"You heard me right. Wang Yi."

Wang Zheng was completely stunned. "How do you know that name? What do you know?"

A smile returned to Lu Yin's face. "Nothing that I don’t mind making public. She’s the reason why my Lu
family was banished. She’s the reason why Wang Si hated my family so much.

“Now, tell me, do you still not believe that I subdued the army that you sent after me? Wang Si, Bai
Laogui, Xia Yingxiong, and everyone else are my prisoners. I’ve learned many things about your Wang
family and Shenwu’s Sky."

"Impossible… How could you have subdued that army even with the full strength of the Forsaken Land?
We know that you have a Progenitor backing you, but we sent an army equipped with Progenitor items,
allowing them to also wield the power of a Progenitor. How could you ever manage to deal with that?"

"You people all look down on the Fifth Mainland too much. For example, Progenitor Chen isn’t dead."

Lu Yin’s words sent another shock through Wang Zheng. Everything that he heard from Lu Yin shattered
everything the patriarch knew to be true.

"Back when I broke through and became an Envoy, I was able to peer through space and see your
Perennial World. I started preparing back then, and I was waiting for you to come after me," Lu Yin
explained.

Wang Zheng still could not believe what he was hearing. "The Aeternals destroyed the New Corridor,
and they also launched an all-out attack on the rear battlefield in a rare show of force against the
Perennial World. We did everything that we could to stop them from breaking through the rear
battlefield."

"Thank you for that." Lu Yin lifted his head. "If you hadn’t managed to hold them back, we would have
been in grave danger. Fortunately, we’ve already escaped that crisis, and you’ll be able to see for
yourselves that I now control the forces that you sent after me when the New Corridor is repaired. I hold
the lives of all the Semi-Progenitor and Envoys in my hands, as well as your family’s Wang Su and Wang
Yi. Their lives and deaths can be decided by me in an instant"

Chapter 2239: Obstinate

Wang Zheng still refused to believe Lu Yin’s claims. "Don't think that you can force me to give you my
portion of the restriction just by talking to me and making wild claims."

Lu Yin frowned. "It looks like you still don't believe that I’m the one in control of Wang Su's life and
death."

Wang Zheng stared intently at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I honestly admire you a great deal. It’s truly amazing
that someone who lost all of their memories was able to rise up to where you now stand from the
Forsaken Land. Unfortunately, while I hold no grudge against you personally, we are on different sides."

Lu Yin and Wang Zheng stared at each other. "I can keep you prisoner or let you go. I can also release
Wang Su, Wang Yi, and the rest in the future."

Wang Zheng shook his head. "I don't believe that you’ve actually managed to subdue the army we sent
after you. You might be able to control Long Ke and even some of the people who were sent after you to
get some information from them. However, even if you did manage to subdue the entire army and
capture everyone, I still wouldn’t give you my portion of the restriction method."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. "Are you not afraid that your decision will kill Wang Su and the rest?"

"That's still better than all of humanity falling!" Wang Zheng shouted back.
Lu Yin's eyes grew cold. "Are you really trying to take the moral high ground when speaking to me?"

Wang Zheng sighed. "Believe it or not, I didn't know about the plan to exile your family in advance.
Truthfully, the four ruling powers committed a terrible crime against the entire Perennial World by
banishing the Lu family. The Lu family should have never been exiled, as they were the most powerful
force that stood against the Aeternals."

"There’s no point in telling me that now," Lu Yin retorted in a frigid tone.

Wang Zheng smiled wryly at the reaction. "I know that you don't believe me, but I don’t need you to. All
I need to do is keep you from learning the restriction method and saving Star Alliance. I may sympathize
with the Lu family and the members of Star Alliance, but I can never allow you to rescue them. If you
save them, then with the fact that you are Lu Xiaoxuan, the Perennial World will descend into chaos,
which will simply give Aeternus an opening to exploit."

"Wang Zheng, you’re unbelievable!" Lu Yin yelled. "You’re even worse than Bai Teng and the rest! At
least they’ll admit that they were scheming against my family, but you try to use what’s best for
humanity to defend yourself. Could you be any more of a hypocrite?"

Wang Zheng and Lu Yin continued to stare at each other. "It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not, but
I won’t allow you to destroy the current stability of the Perennial World, even if stopping you wipes out
my entire Wang family. Lu Xiaoxuan, I am truly sorry for you and your family. I sympathize with you in
that matter, and I understand that you want revenge, but you must understand that if we are gone, who
will stop Aeternus? If Star Alliance is saved, the four ruling powers will all start to suspect each other.
Humanity will fall apart and lose our cohesion. This will only benefit the Aeternals."

Lu Yin’s fists clenched tighter and tighter. This was also something that he struggled with all the time.
This was Shaman God’s entire scheme.

Lu Yin had no idea if Wang Zheng was being honest, but he felt that he was likely being told the truth.
The patriarch would be too much of a hypocrite if he could deliver such a convincing performance.
However, if Wang Zheng was being honest, then it would be nearly impossible for Lu Yin to get the
information he needed from the patriarch. This was going to be a major problem.

Lu Yin did not know enough about Wang Zheng’s personality to make a decision. Was he a hypocrite or
an obstinate person?

Lu Yin had a massive grudge against the four ruling powers, and many people from the four ruling
powers were arrogant and condescending towards everyone, but that did not mean that everyone from
the four ruling powers was a despicable human being. They also had righteous people and heroes who
were willing to sacrifice everything for the good of mankind, even their own lives. There were truly good
people within the four ruling powers.

Lu Yin finally understood what it felt like to not be able to see through someone. Few people had ever
been able to see through Lu Yin’s thoughts and actions, but at this moment, he was simply unable to
read Wang Zheng.

Not knowing what else to do, Lu Yin re-sealed Wang Zheng with wei, and then went to find Wang
Dashuai. "What kind of person is Wang Zheng?"

When Wang Dashuai saw Lu Yin, he reflexively prepared to start offer up flattery and praise, but hearing
Wang Zheng's name stopped the fatty dead in his tracks from fear. In fact, he froze with his hands in the
air, which was rather embarrassing for him.

"Wha- Patriarch Wang Zheng?" Wang Dashuai felt he must have heard wrong, so he wanted to double
check.

Lu Yin stared at Wang Dashuai. "What do you know about Wang Zheng?"

Dashuai Wang gulped. "Seventh Bro, why are you asking about him?"
Lu Yin said, "Just cut the bullshit and tell me what you know."

The smile that Wang Dashuai forced out was uglier than if he were crying. "Wang Zheng is the patriarch
of my Wang family, so I really don’t know almost anything about him. Seventh Bro, you’ll need to ask
Wang Su or Wang Yi about him."

"You don't even have a basic impression of Wang Zheng?" Lu Yin's eyes glinted with a sharp light, and
just the sight sent chills down Wang Dashuai’s back.

He quickly replied, "Yes, I have an impression of him! Old-fashioned and ruthless. He’s ruthless to others
and ruthless to himself. I once heard a story that he wiped out several clans when he was younger, and
apparently, he wasn’t very well liked by the entire Wang family. Even Semi-Progenitor Wang Si publicly
commented that, if Wang Zheng wasn't a direct descendant, he would have never been able to become
the family’s patriarch."

"He doesn’t get along with Wang Si?" Lu Yin was surprised to hear this.

Wang Dashuai nodded. "My Wang family has divisions even within the direct line of the family. In
particular, there’s a division that’s led by Elder Wang Si, and the other one is naturally led by Patriarch
Wang Zheng. I don’t usually hear anything about their differences, but there are definitely
disagreements between the two divisions. The most obvious argument that they have is whether or not
to hunt down the remnants of the Lu family."

Lu Yin listened in silence.

Wang Dashuai liked to show off, so he made it a point to share everything he knew. "Elder Wang Si and
those following her wanted to kill everyone who ever followed the Lu family, and they would rather
execute people unjustly than accidentally overlook someone. While the patriarch’s followers have also
hunted down survivors of the Lu family, they’ve been much less ruthless about it overall. In fact, a lot of
people who were caught by Elder Wang Si’s people were saved and sent to the rear battlefield by the
patriarch and his people.
"However, there are also a few times when the patriarch’s people are even crueler towards the
remnants of the Lu family than Wang Si’s people, but most people have no idea why."

From what Wang Dashuai shared, Lu Yin started to get a bit of an understanding of Wang Zheng. The
man was not trying to protect or defend the Lu family. Rather, he focused on ensuring that every bit of
humanity’s strength was properly utilized and that nothing was wasted.

Wang Zheng felt that the four ruling powers were guilty of a terrible crime by banishing the Lu family,
but that was because the Lu family had been the strongest force in the fight against Aeternus. However,
since the Lu family had already been exiled, the Wang patriarch would do everything in his power to
prevent the Lu family from ever recovering. It was all to ensure the stability of humanity.

This was a man who would truly rather die than give up the restriction method, as he did not want to
see Lu Yin use Star Alliance against the four ruling powers.

Just one word came to mind as Lu Yin developed an understanding of Wang Zheng: obstinate!

Dashuai Wang carefully observed Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro? Was that enough? Does that help?"

Lu Yin refocused on Wang Dashuai. "It’s fine."

Dashuai Wang smiled. "I’m glad that you’re satisfied. If there’s anything else that you need, Seventh Bro,
just let me know! Is there anything that you need your little brother to handle for you? I’ll get it done
immediately."

Lu Yin replied, "It won’t be long now. You’ll be freed soon."

Dashuai Wang's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great! Thank you, Seventh Bro!"
Lu Yin left and returned to Wang Zheng. The man was still sealed by wei, so he was unable to even see
that Lu Yin was in front of him again.

If Wang Zheng was really as pure as Wang Dashuai had described, then he would be extremely difficult
for Lu Yin to deal with. It was practically impossible to pry the last portion of the restriction method from
such a person.

Was there any way to obtain the last portion of the restriction aside from Wang Zheng willingly parting
with it?

Lu Yin thought about this issue for a long time, but he could not come up with any solution. In the end,
he had no choice but to take out the mirror and beg Progenitor Smoke for some insight.

"This kind of stone-headed stubbornness is certainly characteristic of the Wang family. Wang Yi was like
this back then. The more stubborn she became, the more paranoid she grew as well. Her daughter,
Wang Si, whom you killed with the Origin Progenitor’s sword, was even more paranoid. It's fine to be
stubborn about things, but it can also bring about disaster depending on the person," Progenitor Smoke
sighed.

Lu Yin was reminded of Wang Miaomiao and Wang Xiaoyu, who was one of the Twelve Marquises. Both
of those women were extremely paranoid as well how else would they have joined Aeternus?

Humans had flaws. It was intrinsic to human nature. No one was perfect. Those imperfections were
precisely what created life.

"Senior, is there any way to get the last portion of the restriction method from him?" Lu Yin asked the
Progenitor’s opinion. Lu Yin could not compare to the woman’s experience or insight, so rather than
stumbling through the dark on his own, it was better to ask her for advice.

Progenitor Smoke rubbed her chin while circling Wang Zheng. After a moment, she looked at Lu Yin.
"The restriction’s been split into four portions, and you’ve already obtained three?"
Lu Yin nodded.

"Then isn’t it too easy? Just use what you have on him. Humans have instincts. Just like when you slash
at me with a sword, I unconsciously retaliated. If you start to place the restriction on him, he’ll
unconsciously try to resist. Based on how he reacts, and the fact that you already have three fourths of
the complete restriction method, you should be able to use the similarities between the different pieces
to figure out the last part," Progenitor Smoke said.

Lu Yin’s brows rose high. "The four portions of the restriction are similar to each other?"

"Well, kind of," Progenitor Smoke admitted.

Lu Yin was speechless. He stared at the woman in disbelief. Kind of similar? How was that possible? If
the four portions of the restriction method could be grasped from understanding three portions, then
someone from one of the four ruling powers would have already done so and obtained the complete
restriction method. Lu Yin had no confidence that he could infer the final portion of the restriction
method just from seeing how Wang Zheng reacted.

Progenitor Smoke gave Lu Yin an odd look. "You aren’t confident that you can do that?"

Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Senior, you received an inheritance of thought from your Mountain and Sea. When
it comes to understanding and insight, no one can compare to you. You are the greatest goddess in the
universe, but this junior isn’t like you. I- I’m just a mortal."

Progenitor Smoke became slightly flustered. "That's true."

"Why doesn’t this junior give you the portions of the restriction method, Senior? Could you help me by
taking a look?" Lu Yin probed.
Progenitor Smoke snorted contemptuously. "I don't check out men's bodies."

Lu Yin was stunned. How had she interpreted things that way?

"Don't you have a Root of Intelligence? Use it," Progenitor Smoke reminded.

Lu Yin slapped his head. "Right! The Root of Intelligence is an option!"

Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "If you ever end up getting involved with Hui Wen, you’ll be toyed to
death by him. Idiot."

Once the woman finished speaking, she returned to the pocket dimension inside the mirror.

Lu Yin had been mocked for quite some time, but that did not matter. He had a path forward.

Lu Yin stared at Wang Zheng.

The wei disappeared from around Wang Zheng once again, and he looked at Lu Yin with some surprise.
Only a few hours had passed. Why was the young man already back?

"You’ve surprised me. You’re definitely the most powerful of the leaders of the four ruling powers, and
yet you didn’t attack me just now. Why?" Lu Yin asked as he observed Wang Zheng.

Wang Zheng remained calm. "Back when we all left the Wang family’s homeland, I asked Semi-
Progenitor Chai to keep an eye on things and make sure that the Celestial Frost Sect didn’t attack the
people from the White Dragon Clan. I knew that we were being lured away from safety and that
someone was creating an opportunity to attack us.
"Semi-Progenitor Chai must have taken action when I was attacked, but you still managed to kidnap me.
Since you’re able to escape from Semi-Progenitor Chai, you have to have a Semi-Progenitor helping you,
which must be Kui Luo."

Lu Yin laughed. "You’re quite logical. What? Do you want to meet him?"

Wang Zheng's expression froze. "You think that Kui Luo can force the restriction method out of me?"

"Not at all. From what I’ve learned about you, I think that it’s basically impossible for you to give the real
restriction method," Lu Yin replied.

Wang Zheng said nothing, as he felt that Lu Yin’s words were quite accurate.

"Kui Luo isn’t here," Lu Yin suddenly mentioned.

Wang Zheng was taken aback. "What’s that?"

Chapter 2240: Acquired

Lu Yin smiled. "I said that Kui Luo isn’t here. A Mountain and Sea were revealed in Virtue Archives, so Kui
Luo went to go check that out. He isn’t here."

"Virtue Archives’ Mountain and Sea appeared?" This was surprising news.

"I guess that the four ruling powers have been keeping an eye on Virtue Archives because of that
Mountain and Sea. Do you want to take control of it?"
"Who wouldn't? It’s well known that the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas dominated the
entire universe during the Daosource Sect’s era. The masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas far
surpass average Progenitors. It’s said that each of the Mountains and Seas has a unique inheritance
that’s at least as valuable as a secret technique. The Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives has never had
a master, which is a complete waste! Even if they can’t control it themselves, they should at least give
others the chance to try," Wang Zheng replied.

Lu Yin was surprised; the four ruling powers seemed to be unaware that the Mountain and Sea already
had a master.

"Why do you say that no one’s taken control of the Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives?" Lu Yin
wondered.

Wang Zheng stared at Lu Yin. "Someone has to be a Progenitor to even dream of mastering one of the
Mountains and Seas. There are only Semi-Progenitors in Virtue Archives: the God of Food, Wen Lai, and
Ce Donglai. It’s impossible for any of them to inherit the Mountain and Sea.

"We also aren’t the only ones that desire it. Aeternus has also been eyeing that Mountain and Sea. If the
Aeternals destroy that inheritance, Virtue Archives will have committed an unforgivable sin."

Lu Yin shook his head. "You talk about committing sins almost every time you open your mouth. As far
as you’re concerned, is there anyone who’s blameless?"

Wang Zheng answered softly, "The defenders on the rear battlefield are blameless, even the members
of Star Alliance."

Lu Yin took a long look at Wang Zheng. "Like I just said, Kui Luo isn’t here, so I’ll give you a chance to
escape. Provided that you succeed, you won’t have to worry about a thing, as I won’t send anyone after
you again in the future. Right now, it’s just you and me."
Wang Zheng’s eyes turned frigid. "Are you being serious?"

His hands behind his back, Lu Yin replied, "Try me."

Everyone had different levels of self-control, and Lu Yin had no idea if Wang Zheng would be able to
suppress the urge to use his portion of the restriction to counter Lu Yin’s. The only option was to leave
the man unable to counter his own reflexes, which meant badly wounding him.

Wang Zheng’s hands twitched, and he stared at Lu Yin with both surprise and admiration. "Regardless of
whether you’re Lu Yin or Lu Xiaoxuan, you’ve alway had the same confidence."

A smile spread across Lu Yin’s face. "Maybe it's just arrogance."

"If you had continued to develop after Lu Xiaoxuan's era, I’d be no match for you at all. Given Lu
Xiaoxuan’s talent, even if you couldn’t become a Semi-Progenitor, you’d be right behind that level, just
like Bai Xian'er. However, you lost your memories and fell into the Forsaken Land, where you were
forced to recultivate from nothing. You’ve already become a three-tribulation Envoy, which is certainly
terrifying, but you aren’t strong enough to stop me yet," Wang Zheng said. After all, he was a five-
tribulation powerhouse.

As soon as the patriarch finished speaking, he instantly attacked with the Four Arts: Pearl, attempting to
seal Lu Yin's physical strength. The four ruling powers had studied Lu Yin’s strengths and combat style
extensively, and they were well aware that his physical prowess was exceptional. In particular, his
Vacuum Palm had already been exposed, and even Wang Zheng was afraid of that technique.

The patriarch immediately followed up by stepping into the true universe, approaching Lu Yin, and
launching a palm strike at the young man.

They were on Zenith Mountain right now, and Wang Zheng had also launched the Four Arts: Bear
Stalwart, which was an amazingly powerful attack.
However, the palm strike missed. Lu Yin retreated, despite the fact that his feet looked like they were
stepping forward.

Wang Zheng's eyes flickered, and he attacked again, even faster this time. He slashed out with a Four
Arts: Celestial Blade, and the horizontal slice targeted a wide area. The patriarch was a five-tribulation
powerhouse, while Lu Yin had only passed three stellular tribulations. Despite the supposed gap, Wang
Zheng found it difficult to approach Lu Yin. Whenever the older man attacked, there seemed to be
something wrong with his attacks.

Lu Yin gave a slight smile as his body shifted. He clearly stepped backwards, but his body shot forward
and directly clashed with the slash, only to phase right through the attack. Wang Zheng watched on,
completely incredulous as to what he was witnessing.

The man’s pupils constricted. "That’s impossible! The Four Arts: Celestial Blade can even slice through
the true universe! How could you pass through it unharmed?"

Lu Yin’s hands were still clasped behind his back. "Patriarch Wang Zheng, let’s keep going."

Wang Zheng realized that he was in trouble. He had clearly underestimated Lu Yin’s power. The young
man had not even used his hands yet. In fact, he had only moved his legs. What was going on? This was
not how the fight should be playing out.

The older man stared at Lu Yin, and then he bent his fingers. Black ropes shot out from the void,
attempting to bind Lu Yin. This was the secret technique, Confinement.

Lu Yin shifted again, and he dodged Confinement.

Wang Zheng's scalp went numb. This was impossible! Absolutely impossible! Confinement was a secret
technique. A secret technique! How could Lu Xiaoxuan possibly dodge Progenitor Wang Fan’s secret
technique?
Wang Zheng used another secret technique, Supremacy, next. He was determined to prove that he
would emerge victorious over Lu Yin.

However, Lu Yin's eyes remained as calm as ever, and his smile never faded. The truth was that
Supremacy was actually effective on him, but only for a moment. Given Wang Zheng's strength, how
could the man possibly overpower Lu Yin? There was indeed a gap in strength between them.

Lu Yin might only be a three-tribulation Envoy, but his combat strength was enough to overwhelm six-
tribulation powerhouses. He had become capable of creating a zone of chaotic time and space around
him, just like Progenitor Chen. This allowed Lu Yin to destroy all battle techniques. It was not something
that merely a superior cultivation level could invalidate.

Wang Zheng used everything at his disposal, but his face gradually grew pale as he started to
understand just how powerless he was against Lu Yin’s movement technique.

Wang Zheng pressed a hand down. He was finally using the Wang family’s Sit and Forget.

Again, Lu Yin broke the technique with Inverse Step.

When Lu Yin had fought against Progenitor Chen’s manifestation, one of the clones had shattered Lu
Yin’s Truesight at the Knowing realm by using Inverse Step. If even an Enlighter could do that, then there
was no need to even question Inverse Step’s ability to break something like Sit and Forget.

Wang Zheng grew increasingly pale as he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. The patriarch had already
used everything available to him, every technique that he had ever learned. In contrast, Lu Yin’s hands
were still behind his back.

This was not the feeling of facing a three-tribulation Envoy, but rather the feeling of facing a Semi-
Progenitor! A sense of helplessness and despair shattered Wang Zheng’s composure.
"This is impossible! How are you doing this?" Wang Zheng was beyond shocked.

Lu Yin felt a bit of pity for the man. "You said that you wanted to inherit Virtue Archives’ Mountain and
Sea, but do you even understand what sort of people are capable of receiving an inheritance from one
of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Do you have any idea what kind of level those masters have
reached?"

Wang Zheng’s body actually began to tremble.

Lu Yin shook his head. "You don't understand at all. You can’t fathom Progenitor Chen's invincibility,
Progenitor Hui's intelligence, Progenitor Smoke's creativity, or even how terrifying your own family’s
Wang Fan truly is. Those people are all on a completely different level from their peers, no different
from you and me right now."

Lu Yin then moved forward while stepping backwards, instantly arriving right in front of Wang Zheng. He
simply passed by the patriarch, his hands never straying from their position behind his back. Lu Yin
passed by without even attacking.

Still, Wang Zheng spat out blood and collapsed to his knees. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stared
at his blood staining the ground. The man was in a state of shock. He could not understand. He had not
been able to see anything; just what had wounded him? Had Lu Xiaoxuan actually attacked him? He
could not comprehend just what had happened.

Lu Yin turned back to look at Wang Zheng, who was still collapsed on the ground. As Lu Yin walked by
Wang Zheng with Inverse Step, he had reversed the void.

The void encompassed both space and time, and reversing space and time had caused the region of
space where Wang Zheng had been standing to instantly collapse. That was what had injured Wang
Zheng.
Lu Yin’s movements had appeared simple, but just how many people throughout all the eras had ever
been capable of doing such a thing?

Inverse Step alone was enough to make Lu Yin invincible beneath the Semi-Progenitor level. His
cultivation had long since stopped being a hindrance in his battles.

Lu Yin had only been a three-tribulation Envoy when he had started creating his own unique cultivation
method, so how could Wang Zheng possibly fathom such a genius’s abilities?

Lu Yin had not only severely injured the patriarch, but he also shattered the man’s determination.

Lu Yin moved to seize advantage of the opportunity, and he pressed a hand against Wang Zheng's back
while using the three portions of the restriction method that he had already obtained, forcing the
restriction into Wang Zheng's body. The man spat out another mouthful of blood. He grew dizzy, and his
vision blurred. All he knew was that a familiar power was invading his body, and it was something that
he also possessed.

Lu Yin focused entirely on Wang Zheng as he sensed the clash between what he was using and what
Wang Zheng was using in response. Despite sensing what was happening, Lu Yin found it difficult to
understand what he was feeling. He quickly took out the Root of Intelligence that he had and then
brewed some tea. The first sip cleared his mind, and his eyes lit up. The various portions of the
restriction were still chaotically fighting against each other within Wang Zheng's body, but Lu Yin was
suddenly able to understand it.

Lu Yin quietly sat atop the stone pillar that held his residence. His fingers tapped a table while he
considered the complete restriction method that sat within his mind.
The full restriction method was much more comprehensive than the individual portions that Lu Yin had
obtained so far, and he was able to confirm that what he had received from Xia Xing’s clone and Bai
Teng were both valid.

Neither man had lied or tried to deceive Lu Yin. He had the full and true restriction method.

He had successfully taken the four portions of the restriction method from the four ruling powers, which
meant that now, he could rescue Star Alliance.

This next step would not be nearly as simple as obtaining the portions of the restriction method from
the four ruling powers. Lu Yin's eyes flickered as his mind raced.

A short while later, Prof. Wei arrived for a visit, and she brought a new account of Progenitor Wen’s life
with her.

"If I'm not mistaken, Progenitor Wen destroyed his cultivation, or at least sealed it, to become an
ordinary person as he roamed the world…" Prof. Wei explained.

Lu Yin was not particularly interested in Progenitor Wen, and he only continued to investigate the
Progenitor’s life for the sake of his own lectures. Too many Progenitors had lived throughout human
history, and Lu Yin simply did not have the time to learn about all of them. Still, Prof. Wei was kind
enough to share everything that she had learned so that her colleague would be able to unravel the
mystery that he was exploring with his class more quickly.

After listening for a long time, Lu Yin understood. "So, are you saying that Progenitor Wen was able to
become a Progenitor because of the time he spent living as an ordinary person and experiencing the
world’s vicissitudes?"

"That seems possible, though you and I can’t understand the Progenitor realm. Still, every Progenitor
has reached that level by walking their own path, so it seems that this may have been Progenitor Wen’s
path. I’ve discovered poems and scriptures written long, long ago, and some of them must have been
written by Progenitor Wen under a pseudonym," Prof. Wei replied as she pulled out another pile of
books from her cosmic ring.

Lu Yin was quite impressed. "Your eagerness to study history is really impressive, Prof. Wei."

Prof. Wei looked up at Lu Yin. "You don’t seem particularly interested in Progenitor Wen’s life, Prof. Hao
Yu."

Lu Yin replied, "It’s not that at all. It’s just that Progenitor Wen lived a very long time ago, and it’s
difficult to learn about all of his life and accomplishments. I simply want to learn more about his
connection to the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird."

"There might be clues in here," Prof. Wei answered. She immediately started studying the ancient
records that she had pulled out.

Lu Yin looked at the woman’s profile. Prof. Wei was clearly a woman trying to disguise herself as a man,
and her true identity was a complete mystery. What did she look like when she dressed as a woman?
After this thought occurred to Lu Yin, he continued to simply stare at Prof. Wei.

The woman completely ignored Lu Yin, as she was totally absorbed in reading her books.

Wen Zhao returned to her own residence, and she looked over and saw her two colleagues. The
situation on Prof. Hao Yu’s pillar seemed a bit odd.

Mr. Tang also looked over, and he simply smiled.

It was a long time before Prof. Wei finally closed her book. She had spent several hours studying the
book, and only after she was done did she turn her head to look at Lu Yin. He had actually stared at her
for several hours.
The two people stared at each other, each speechless.

Lu Yin finally coughed. "Done?"

Prof. Wei nodded, her expression totally neutral. "I finished reading, but I didn’t find any records or
poems referencing the Undying Bird or the Dark Undying Bird."

"That’s too bad," Lu Yin said, "By the way, why are you so interested in history, Prof. Wei?"

The woman put the rest of her books away. "Honestly, I’m very interested in a particular historical
figure, but to understand him, it’s necessary to understand all of history."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Who’s that?"

Chapter 2241: Time Limit

Lu Yin watched as Prof. Wei’s expression quickly became one of great reverence. "Progenitor Hui."

Lu Yin’s brows rose high. "Progenitor Hui?"

Prof. Wei nodded. "Despite being unable to perform divinations of any kind, Progenitor Hui was still able
to see through the ages and make plans eons into the future. I admire him more than anyone else, as his
accomplishments changed all of history. I want to learn more about him. After all, it’s necessary to know
everything that he did in order to have an understanding of human history."

"So Prof. Wei admires Progenitor Hui? I have to admit, I also admire Progenitor Hui a great deal," Lu Yin
said.

Prof. Wei's eyes lit up. "Why do you look up to Progenitor Hui, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin pointed towards the Mother Tree. "Ceaseless Impetus."

Prof. Wei looked positively thrilled by the answer. "I actually decided to learn about Progenitor Hui
because of Ceaseless Impetus. I can’t even imagine what kind of person was able to create a sourcebox
array that protects all of humanity. It’s even said that the Perennial World came into existence partly
because of Progenitor Hui. His influence can be seen in every generation that’s lived since his time.
When I visited the rear battlefield, there were countless people who admire Progenitor Hui there as
well, though Aeternus’s monsters hate Progenitor Hui more than anything…"

It was readily apparent just how much Prof. Wei admired Progenitor Hui. As soon as Progenitor Hui was
brought up, she did not stop talking until she had shared everything that she knew about the Progenitor.
Lu Yin never even had a chance to interrupt.

Still, it was not entirely bad, as the woman’s monologue let Lu Yin know just how much Progenitor Hui
had done for the Perennial World.

Lu Yin found Prof. Wei's excited expression to be quite amusing. He wondered what sort of expression
she would make if she ever visited the Fifth Mainland and learned that Progenitor Chen had predicted
events countless years into the future. He had even destroyed the Sixth Mainland without using a single
soldier.

"Prof. Hao Yu, to tell you the truth, I’ve always had ulterior motives for approaching you." After Prof.
Wei finally wound down after raving about Progenitor Hui for a while, she became a bit hesitant.
Lu Yin grew curious. "What sort of ulterior motives?"

"I want to become a Lockbreaker," Prof. Wei stated firmly as she looked back up at “Hao Yu.”

Lu Yin was surprised. "You want to learn to lockbreak?"

Prof. Wei nodded. "Progenitor Hui’s greatest accomplishment, aside from helping humanity stop
Aeternus, has always been his sourcebox arrays, especially Ceaseless Impetus. He can be considered the
greatest Lockbreaker in human history, and I don’t believe that anyone has ever surpassed him, even in
the ancient eras predating Progenitor Hui. I want to learn lockbreaking so that I can understand
Progenitor Hui even the tiniest bit more."

Lu Yin understood. "That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Both students and faculty are encouraged to learn
from each other here in Virtue Archives. For example, I’ve asked Mr. Tang to help me improve my
domain to the void god level. If you want to learn to lockbreak, I don’t have any problem helping you."

"Then thank you very much, Prof. Hao Yu." Prof. Wei smiled happily. This was the first time Lu Yin had
seen such a radiant smile on the woman’s face. It made her look quite pretty.

"Given how much you admire Progenitor Hui, do you have any idea if he’s still alive?" Lu Yin asked.

Prof. Wei shook her head. "I’ve only been able to learn about Progenitor Hui's deeds through the
commonly available methods. How could I learn anything about his current whereabouts? Still, I’ve
always believed that Progenitor Hui is still alive."

"Why’s that?" Lu Yin asked.

"Progenitor Hui is just too intelligent. From everything that I’ve learned over the years about his
accomplishments, he preferred to maintain control of things. I can’t help but believe that he must have
wanted more control over his own life as well."

Maintain control over things? Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the seal that he had seen on the Royal
Frost Continent. The seal could have only been left there by Progenitor Hui, but what had Progenitor Hui
sealed away? There was a similar seal in the treasury of the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect that the
Daynight clan had been protecting, and it had also been left behind by Progenitor Hui.

Given that Progenitor Hui had left some things behind in the Fifth Mainland, he might have also done so
in the Perennial World.

Virtue Archives was very peaceful over the course of the following days, and none of the four ruling
powers' various conflicts and turmoil spilled into the academy. Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan
behaved the same as in the past.

After a few days, Lu Yin went to speak with Bai Weiwei. They once again discussed sourcebox arrays,
though Lu Yin also took the opportunity to ask Bai Weiwei about what was happening within the four
ruling powers.

He was surprised to learn that the four ruling powers believed that Forgotten Ruins God was the true
culprit who had captured Xia Xing and the other patriarchs. This left Lu Yin rather confused; how had
Forgotten Ruins God gotten involved?

He did not dare to ask Bai Weiwei for too many details, so instead, he asked Tong Yu to pay some
information brokers outside Virtue Archives a visit. Through those channels, it only took a few days for
Lu Yin to learn about the current situation.

He could not deny a certain level of admiration for the Celestial Frost Sect. They had successfully
diverted an aggressive alliance formed by Shenwu's Sky, the Wang family, and the White Dragon Clan to
Forgotten Ruins God, despite the fact that the woman had never even revealed herself. The sect had
even revealed the fact that Forgotten Ruins God’s name was Wang Miaomiao, which helped win the
trust of the angered parties. The Celestial Frost Sect had managed to successfully get out of trouble for
the moment.

Lu Yin had no idea who had come up with the idea, but it practically mirrored what he had done to set
Shenwu's Sky and the other three against the Celestial Frost Sect.

Lu Yin had unintentionally succeeded, and his plan had only worked because the four ruling parties did
not trust each other at all.

As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they had been quite deliberate in their actions, but they had also
succeeded.

Lu Yin had believed that he had never underestimated the four ruling powers, but he had also not paid
much attention to what they were doing. After all, his innate gift was too bizarre and mysterious. Still, no
matter how unique his abilities might be, there would always be someone who could counter him.

He was suddenly reminded of what Wang Zheng had said. The man had spoken with Long Ke about
shifting the members of Star Alliance around so that, even if the Celestial Frost Sect managed to obtain
the full restriction method, it would all be for naught if they could not find the people.

If Wang Zheng could come up with such an idea, then others in the four ruling powers could as well.
Unfortunately, if they implemented that plan, Lu Yin’s efforts to obtain the four portions of the
restriction method would be completely useless.

In the end, Lu Yin had simply been too impatient. This was an issue that he should have foreseen in the
beginning, and he could only blame himself. After capturing Xia Xing's clone, Lu Yin had deliberately
mentioned Star Alliance to Xia Ziheng, as Lu Yin had not been confident that the man could reach that
conclusion without help. In hindsight, Lu Yin realized that he might have indicated his goals a bit too
early.
Lu Yin smiled wryly. If people tried to act smart and outthink others, they were doomed to eventually be
tricked by someone else.

He rubbed his head. These kinds of plots were not his strong suit. Wang Wen and Wei Rong were much
better at such schemes. Again, Lu Yin regretted not bringing the two men with him.

However, regrets were useless. Instead, he needed to think about the worst-case scenario and how to
handle it. The worst possibility would be if every member of Star Alliance was successfully gathered up
and hidden. How should he deal with something like that?

Just as he started thinking about it, his communication crystal trembled. When Lu Yin looked down, he
saw that Xia Ziheng was calling him.

As soon as a connection was established, Xia Ziheng started talking. "You should already have heard
about what happened to our four ruling powers. Each of our sect masters or patriarchs have gone
missing. I’ll offer you the promise that you asked for."

"Where is my grandfather?" Lu Yin asked.

"Yu Chuan is in Shenwu's Sky. You don’t need to worry about him, as he’s perfectly safe."

Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Shenwu’s Sky isn’t able to control Star Alliance. How can I be sure that my
grandfather won’t be sent on some sort of mission that will kill him?"

"He won't."

"Why should I trust you?" Lu Yin retorted.

Xia Ziheng's voice turned cold. "No one from Star Alliance will be sent on any missions for the time
being. Yu Chuan won’t be leaving Shenwu's Sky."

Before Lu Yin could say anything, Xia Ziheng continued to say, "I’ll say it again: Yu Chuan won’t be
leaving Shenwu's Sky for now, and there’s no point in having anyone try to take him away. I don't care
what conditions the Celestial Frost Sect have offered you—Shenwu's Sky is your only option if you ever
want to see Yu Chuan again. I’ve run out of patience to deal with you. When Virtue Archives’ students
arrive at Shenwu's Sky for training, you’ll have to give your answer."

The call cut off abruptly.

Everything happening within the four ruling powers left Xia Ziheng with no energy left to deal with “Yu
Hao.” The Semi-Progenitor simply wanted to settle things as quickly as possible, and Yu Chuan was the
most reliable method to force “Yu Hao” into joining Shenwu’s Sky.

As for Lu Yin, he also obtained the information that he had been wondering about. Xia Ziheng said that
no one from Star Alliance would be given any missions for some time, and with what else Lu Yin knew,
the situation was quite clear: everyone in Star Alliance had been hidden. It was impossible to gather all
the members together if they were not deployed. At the moment, it was safest for the four ruling
powers to not allow Star Alliance out of their sight.

Shenwu's Sky had pieced the events together and had come to the conclusion that the Celestial Frost
Sect was the most likely culprit. As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they knew that someone else was behind
the kidnappings. However, the only thing that anyone knew for certain was that someone was targeting
Star Alliance. So naturally, the army of Envoys had to be rendered inaccessible.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered as his mind raced, trying to think of how he could gather the members of Star
Alliance back together. This would absolutely be far more difficult than his first accomplishment.

Now that the four ruling powers knew that someone was trying to seize control of Star Alliance, how
could they allow the army to gather in one place?
Lu Yin quickly grew more and more irritated by this development. Finally, he left his residence in an
attempt to calm himself down.

Things were very energetic in Virtue Archives at this time, as the students had started to tally their votes
in an attempt to see who would be selected as the chaperones for the training excursion.

"Hey! Hey! Listen up!" A few students by the lake shore were shouting, and many others had gathered
to watch.

"From the votes that we’ve counted so far, there are four professors that seem to be the most likely
options. We need to choose three out of these four. The options are Prof. Wu, Mr. Tang, Prof. Hao Yu,
and Professor Xiao Wen,” one student announced.

Everyone else immediately started chatting.

"I’m voting for Prof. Wu, Prof. Hao Yu, and Prof. Zheng," one shy girl stated.

A boy next to the girl gritted his teeth. "I’m voting for Professor Xiao Wen, Prof. Wei, and Prof. Zheng."

"I’m voting for…"

Upon seeing all the hubbub, Lu Yin did not approach the students. However, he did see a rather upset
looking Prof. Huai in a tree behind the students. The man had heard that the students were tallying their
votes at the lake shore, so he had stopped by to eavesdrop on them. The fact that the man had not
received so much as a single vote was a vicious blow to his pride.

When Lu Yin saw Prof. Huai, he moved over to say hello, but Prof. Huai just silently waved and fled.

Lu Yin laughed.
Prof. Zheng appeared behind Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, you’ll definitely be one of the chaperones leading the
students on this trip. Congratulations."

Lu Yin glanced over and smiled "Prof. Zheng, it’s still too early. After all, there are four candidates that
the students are choosing from."

Prof. Zheng teased, "You’ve brought more girls than ever into our school, so you’re also quite popular
with the boys."

The man seldom showed any sense of humor, so Lu Yin assumed that the older man was mocking him.

"Many students have also voted for you, Prof. Zheng," Lu Yin said.

Before the man could respond, a fight broke out between some of the students. "You muscle-brain!
Didn't you vote for Prof. Zheng just because of how beautiful Prof. Hao Yu is? There’s no competition
between the two at all! You guys are such hypocrites!

"You’re the hypocrites! It doesn’t matter who gets chosen, and besides, both Prof. Wu and Prof. Hao Yu
look like women."

"That’s right! No one has the muscles to compare to Prof. Zheng."

"Muscles make a real man."

Lu Yin quickly grew embarrassed, and Prof. Zheng was left completely speechless. "It's getting too noisy
here. Let’s finish our conversation somewhere else."
Lu Yin nodded. He had no idea what the students were even thinking about, but they clearly did not
check to see who was in the area before speaking.

Once the two men were away from the students, Prof. Zheng asked, "Are you familiar with the
academy’s previous training excursions, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "No one’s told me anything about that."

Prof. Zheng said, "You’re most likely going to be one of the chaperones this time. I’ve got a bit of time
right now, so why don’t I explain it to you?"

Chapter 2242: Mass Execution

"That would be wonderful. I’ll have to trouble you then, Prof. Zheng." Lu Yin happily agreed. While he
truthfully had no interest in the training excursion, he could not show it. Also, he understood that, while
Prof. Zheng had no chance of being selected by the students, the man was worried about “Yu Hao.” It
was important for Lu Yin to remember that Prof. Zheng was extremely dedicated to Virtue Archives and
that he was also a gifted teacher. His greatest flaw was that he tended to be overly serious, but based
off of Lu Yin’s experiences on Earth, Prof. Zheng was a stereotypical dean.

Prof. Zheng then spent the next half an hour sharing his experiences of chaperoning students on various
training excursions. The man had led students on trips to the Lower Realm, the Middle Realm, the
Middle Ocean, and even the rear battlefield. Virtue Archives was not some ivory tower where the
students focused purely on cultivation.

"When we were at the second array base, if the sourcebox array hadn’t been repaired just in time, we
would have all died. The headmaster and Ce Lao were both preoccupied by some of Aeternus’s Twelve
Marquises. Lu-" Prof. Zheng abruptly cut off in the middle of speaking and changed the subject.
"Honestly, there’s just so much to tell you, Prof. Hao Yu. The bottom line is that these training
excursions are extremely important to the academy. Additionally, this will be our first time visiting the
four ruling powers on a trip, so we have to be very cautious."

Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. By the way, you just mentioned someone named Lu. Was there someone
from the Lu family who participated in that excursion?"

Prof. Zheng waved the question away. "Act like you didn’t hear anything. Honestly, given the fact that
the four ruling powers' top youths are already here in my Virtue Archives, visiting them in the Higher
Realm can’t even be considered a training exercise. Actual training involves trips to places like the Lower
Realm or the rear battlefield. After the exchange program with the four ruling powers, we will be
organizing a trip for the students to go to the rear battlefield. That is where the real training exercise
begins.

"Have you ever been to the rear battlefield, Prof. Hao Yu?"

Lu Yin was caught off guard by the question. Had Yu Hao ever made it to the rear battlefield? The
answer should be no, as he had been a rather pathetic cultivator who had committed suicide, which
meant that he would not have been qualified to be sent to that place. "No."

Prof. Zheng stared at Lu Yin. "In that case, a trip to the rear battlefield wouldn’t only be a training
experience for the students, but also for a chaperone. If you haven’t seen the rear battlefield, then you
haven’t seen the cruelest truth about what humanity faces, Prof. Hao Yu."

They spoke a bit longer, and then Prof. Zheng prepared to leave. Before parting ways, he commented,
"Visiting the rear battlefield will provide you with the experience of facing death. Going to visit the four
ruling powers will help train the mind."

With that, the instructor left.

Lu Yin was rather surprised, as the last comment suggested that Prof. Zheng was aware that something
was going on. It was clear that Virtue Archives had never sent its students to visit the four ruling powers
before.

After mulling the matter over for a bit, Lu Yin finally understood the warning. What could Virtue
Archives’ students learn from visiting the four ruling powers? All the top students were originally from
the four ruling powers, which meant that the top students and the top youths from the four ruling
powers were basically the same group of people. This was not so much an opportunity to train the
students, but rather more of an opportunity for the four ruling powers to do a bit of recruitment and
publicity.

Students of Virtue Archives were never average people. Any person who could get into Virtue Archives
was worthy of the four ruling powers’ attention.

Lu Yin looked upwards. If he was right about the purpose of this upcoming trip, then he needed to do
something. He could not let these talented students be deceived by the four ruling powers.

***

Far away, the Yinshan District had been sealed off by the four ruling powers as they investigated
Forgotten Ruins God’s involvement in the disappearance of Xia Xing and the other patriarchs. The
Celestial Frost Sect had said that Forgotten Ruins God had appeared in the Yinshan District. This claim
needed to be looked into, regardless of whether anyone believed it or the size of the Yinshan District.

Zhuo Si, the Humility’s Gate’s gatemaster for the Yinshan District, was known for his laziness and
unwillingness to take action in the oversight of his assigned district.

When Lu Yin was sent to join Humility’s Gate in the Yinshin District, his identity as Long Qi had been
hidden, and he had been given the name Lin Jiangyi. When Lu Yin had first arrived, Zhuo Si had had two
captains under him: Wang Dashuai and Mo Gaohe. Both of those men had moved on, and the Yinshan
District’s Humility’s Gate had been silent and peaceful since, just like the rest of the region.
The Yinshan District’s Humility’s Gate had essentially been reserved for descendants of the four ruling
powers who were considered important but not valuable. It gave the youths a place to stay. However,
after Long Qi had stirred up so much chaos in the Yinshan District, the four ruling powers had changed
their minds about the place, and they had stopped sending their youths there. This change had caused
the area to gradually take on a desolate feel.

As for Zhuo Si, he was quite happy with the change, as he enjoyed the quiet.

Suddenly, a terrifying pressure fell upon the gate, causing Zhuo Si's expression to instantly change. He
was captured without the slightest ability to resist. The Celestial Frost Sect’s Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao
had captured the gatemaster.

"You have clearly passed five stellular tribulations, yet you stay hidden here in the Yinshan District.
We’ve carefully investigated Humility’s Gate, and we know that you have an old connection with the Lu
family." Wu Yao's cold voice filled the area, the terrifying power of it causing everyone present in
Humility’s Gate’s base to tremble.

Zhuo Si did nothing to fight back, as he was completely incapable of doing so. "Might I ask who you are,
Senior?"

There was a bang. Zhuo Si was thrown down, and the sound came from him slamming into the ground.

Cultivators appeared in every direction. All of them were from the four ruling powers, and they all
stared at Zhuo Si. Among them was Long Tian.

"This old man is Wu Yao! Zhuo Si, you have an old connection to the Lu family, and we have let you be
for too long," Wu Yao replied.

Zhuo Si struggled to his feet. His shoulders were slouched, as he had been badly injured by Wu Yao just
now. "I am Humility’s Gate’s gatemaster of the Yinshan District. Have you spoken to Supervisor Qing
Chen before coming to arrest me? Do you have Progenitor Mu Xie’s permission?"
Wu Yao stared at Zhuo Si, and the pressure increased, forcing the Envoy back down. "Don't try to use
Humility's Gate to intimidate me! I’m here, representing the four ruling powers of the Perennial World.
We didn’t bother with you before because you were being used as bait, but now-"

"What about now?" a stern voice shouted. The void shattered as another wave of pressure descended,
this time crushing Wu Yao.

Wu Yao’s brow furrowed, and a surge of stellular energy was instantly released. At the same time, an
equal but opposite rush of stellular energy appeared from where the void had shattered. There was so
much energy filling the area that even Envoys felt suppressed.

Zhuo Si heaved a sigh of relief. Supervisor Qing Chen had arrived.

Qing Chen had naturally realized that something was wrong when he had learned that the four ruling
powers had locked down the Yinshan District. Zhuo Si's past was well known within certain circles, and
the supervisor had been afraid that the four ruling powers would go after the gatemaster. Given the fact
that the four ruling powers had sent out their forces to search for one of the Seven Skygods, there were
plenty of Semi-Progenitors participating in the hunt. If they went after Zhuo Si, the gatemaster would be
utterly helpless to resist.

Events proved Qing Chen’s suspicions accurate. Wu Yao had attacked Zhuo Si without any hint of mercy.

Two Semi-Progenitor fought each other, and their battle disturbed the sky over the entire Yinshan
District. Finally, the battle was stopped by the Wang family’s Semi-Progenitor Chai’s intervention.

Wu Yao’s cold eyes were locked onto Qing Chen. "You may be unaware of Zhuo Si’s past with the Lu
family, but our ancestor has ordered that anyone who cooperated with the Lu family must be either
captured or killed."
Qing Chen responded with equal chill, "That was a long time ago. I also worked with the Lu family, and I
even visited them. Are you going to capture me as well?"

Wu Yao's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "It’s up to our ancestors whether you will be arrested.
I’m here for Zhuo Si."

"You couldn’t find any trace of the Seven Skygods, so you want to use Zhuo Si to create a distraction. Wu
Yao, you might have become a Semi-Progenitor, but you’re still as cruel as ever. You’re trying to attack
my Humility's Gate to help you win merit. If you’re so capable, then go talk to Progenitor Mu Xie." Qing
Chen made no attempt to be amiable.

Wu Yao became furious. "You can’t use Humility's Gate to oppress people! If not for Humility's Gate,
that last survivor of the Lu family wouldn’t have been able to escape. Our ancestors will settle things
with you sooner or later."

"But it’s not up to you!" Qing Chen shouted.

Semi-Progenitor Chai stepped forward. "Both of you should be capturing Redbacks and searching for the
Seven Skygods. There’s no need to fight like this."

Wu Yao glanced down at Zhuo Si. "We’ve already sent an army to the Forsaken Land to kill the last
bastard of the Lu family. We can let a remnant of the Lu family like you live for a few more days. The
New Corridor will soon be repaired, and then they will return with Lu Xiaoxuan's head. At that time,
every last remnant of the Lu family in the Perennial World will be revealed."

Zhuo Si’s head snapped up. He had heard about the army that was sent after Lu Xiaoxuan. The
gatemaster just hoped that the young man would be alright.

Qing Chen said nothing further. He looked to the other side and saw Xia Ziheng reveal himself. "If the
Seven Skygods are not found, then our four ruling powers will be thrown into turmoil. This is something
that should not be seen by outsiders, as what will become of my four ruling powers’ prestige?"
"My Humility’s Gate is not part of the four ruling powers," Qing Chen stated bluntly.

Xia Ziheng stared at Qing Chen. "The truth is that Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao did not attack Zhuo Si without
cause. Supervisor Qing Chen, do you know who’s back in the Perennial World?"

The question caught the supervisor off guard. "Back in the Perennial World? What are you talking
about?"

Xia Ziheng's eyes grew dark. "Kui Luo's back."

Qing Chen was surprised. "Kui Luo? Didn't he kidnap someone from the Wang family and escape to the
Forsaken Land?"

"That's why we want to capture Zhuo Si! We want to interrogate him and find out if he’s Lu Xiaoxuan.
Kui Luo saved Lu Xiaoxuan several times before, and that old man most likely went to the Forsaken Land
to find Lu Xiaoxuan. He shouldn't have come back here alone. If Lu Xiaoxuan isn’t dead, then he might
be here as well. When he was in the Perennial World, he stayed here in the Yinshan District, so it’s
possible that Zhuo Si might know where the bastard is," Xia Ziheng explained.

Qing Chen reflexively glanced down at Zhuo Si, as did everyone else.

The gatemaster quickly spoke up, "Supervisor, your subordinate has never met Lu Xiaoxuan or Kui Luo. I
swear to you, if I am lying, that I will never again be able to improve my cultivation, and I will abandon
all hope of ever becoming a Semi-Progenitor."

Wu Yao instantly grew contemptuous. "A Semi-Progenitor? The likes of you?"

Qing Chen frowned and glanced back up at Wu Yao and Xia Ziheng. "I believe Zhuo Si. You can stop
coming after him. There’s no cultivator who doesn’t wish to become a Semi-Progenitor, or dreams of
becoming a Progenitor."

"It’s not impossible for people to be willing to sacrifice their cultivation in order to keep Lu Xiaoxuan
safe," Xia Ziheng retorted.

Wu Yao also jumped in. "Regardless of whether we believe him, we need to take him with us. There’s no
need to worry, as he will only be interrogated. His life will remain unharmed."

"Ridiculous. If you want to arrest Zhuo Si, then first get Progenitor Mu Xie’s permission. Zhuo Si is one of
my Humility’s Gate’s nine gatemasters, and he has contributed greatly to humanity. You aren’t qualified
to arrest him." Qing Chen remained firm.

Wu Yao and Xia Ziheng looked at each other, and Xia Ziheng gave a slight shake of his head. He also did
not believe that Zhuo Si knew Lu Xiaoxuan's whereabouts. If Lu Xiaoxuan was truly in the Perennial
World, then he would never reveal himself to anyone.

In fact, Xia Ziheng had another theory regarding Kui Luo’s return; the old man had most likely been
chased by the army sent to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. After barely surviving, Kui Luo had probably fled back to the
Perennial World alone.

The possibility of Kui Luo escaping was pushing the four ruling powers’ imaginations to the limit. If even
Lu Xiaoxuan had managed to escape back to the Perennial World, then what good was the army that
had been sent after him?

They had sent four Semi-Progenitors with that army, including Grand Elder Ni Huang. There was nothing
and no one in the Forsaken Land that could stop such a force. The only caveat was the possibility of a
Progenitor interfering.
"The New Corridor will soon be repaired, and then we will all learn what’s happened in the Forsaken
Land. Let Zhuo Si continue to enjoy himself here for a few more days," Xia Ziheng said.

Wu Yao’s voice was as cold as ever, "Someone once warned me to always consider the worst possibility.
Assuming that Lu Xiaoxuan is indeed hiding in the Perennial World and planning something, he might
have already recruited some of the Lu family's surviving vassals. Given this situation, my Celestial Frost
Sect intends to slaughter every surviving remnant of the Lu family who has been captured."

Xia Ziheng was shocked by this news, as was everyone else who heard it. A slaughter?

Chapter 2243: Blood Array Base

Wu Yao's expression grew dark as he mentioned the slaughter. "This is the ancestor’s intent. Over the
years, my four ruling powers have successfully captured most of the surviving remnants of the Lu family
and those who were close to them. All of them will be sacrificed during the Xia family’s ceremony of
ancestral worship. After the ancestor is worshiped, all the prisoners will be executed in the Higher
Realm. They will kneel at the edge so that their blood can rain down onto the Middle Realm and flow
into the Lower Realm. We will use the blood of the Lu family to wash away the sins of all of humanity."

Qing Chen's eyes narrowed. This was excessively cruel and unusual.

On the ground below, Zhuo Si’s fists clenched tightly as he stared up at Wu Yao in disbelief. The Semi-
Progenitor had spoken without any hesitation, as though he were simply making an announcement to
the entire Perennial World. It was clear that Wu Yao was hoping that the information would reach Lu
Xiaoxuan, who was possibly in the Perennial World. This way, even if Lu Xiaoxuan was not drawn out,
the event would still be extremely humiliating towards the Lu family, and the four ruling powers would
definitely mark the day down in history.
The Higher Realm, Middle Realm, and Lower Realm would all be stained with blood as the Lu family was
forced to atone for their crimes. This was how the Celestial Frost Sect intended to handle matters.

Wu Yao’s gaze swept past Zhuo Si, giving him a cold look and a sneer before leaving.

This was the first time that Xia Ziheng had heard of the Celestial Frost Sect’s intentions, and even he felt
that they were being too cruel. Still, it should be highly effective. Even if they did not force Lu Xiaoxuan
to personally appear, they would still likely force a group of loyalists to show themselves. Truthfully,
something like this should have been done long ago.

Semi-Progenitor Chai and Qing Chen glanced at each other before Semi-Progenitor Chai also left.

Qing Chen looked down at Zhuo Si. "Go heal yourself. I need to speak with Progenitor Mu about your
situation."

"Thank you, Supervisor." Zhuo Si bowed, though his voice sounded burdened. He felt that something big
would happen soon, and he was worried about the Perennial World being stained with the blood of the
Lu family.

Was Lu Xiaoxuan really in the Perennial World? Zhuo Si had no idea, but he remembered the youth that
he had known as Lin Jianyi, who had later been exposed as Lu Xiaoxuan himself. Although Lu Xiaoxuan
had spent a very short amount of time in the Perennial World, he had taken center stage during that
brief moment and had completely overshadowed even the four Junior Progenitors. It was such a pity
that he had been born in the wrong era.

***

In Virtue Archives, Lu Yin spent several days considering things, and while he finally came up with an
idea for saving Star Alliance, it depended almost entirely on luck.
Since the Celestial Frost Sect wanted to push all the recent crimes onto Forgotten Ruins God and falsify a
guilty party, then why couldn’t Lu Yin do the same?

The flames of the Dark Undying Bird replaced those of the Undying Bird in the sky above the academy,
plunging the area into darkness so that only the stars shone down.

Lu Yin moved through the academy and set up a sourcebox array to conceal himself before he raised a
hand and brought out his die. It was time to roll again.

There were times when Lu Yin considered the fact that, without his die, he would have never been able
to rise to the top of the Fifth Mainland. So many things would have been impossible for him to
accomplish without his die.

As it slowly stopped spinning, it landed on four pips: Timestop.

Lu Yin did not waste the opportunity to train in his Timestop Space. He immediately extended the time
to nearly a year before focusing on practicing the Cosmic Art while reciting the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra.

Almost one year later, he left the Timestop Space, and he resumed rolling his die. His next roll was
Enhance, so Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss the two screens of light. Again.

He needed to roll six pips.

Luck was with him, as his fourth roll was Possession. Lu Yin's consciousness entered that mysterious
dark space, and he started searching for the brightest ball of light, but all of them were quite dim. He
had no choice but to merge with what was available.

When he opened his eyes, Lu Yin was startled by the sight of a corpse in front of him. Memories started
to pour into his mind, and he heaved a sigh of relief. There was a corpse here because he had just
Possessed an Envoy from the Sixth Mainland’s Justice Manor.
Wait, how expensive was it going to be to Possess someone in the Sixth Mainland while he was in the
Perennial World?

Lu Yin wanted to end his Possession immediately, but he first made sure to check on the state of affairs
in the Fifth Mainland.

Briefly skimming through the Envoy’s memories proved that things were peaceful in the Fifth Mainland
and that nothing had happened in Lu Yin’s absence. Well, if anything had happened, a mere one-
tribulation Envoy like the man that Lu Yin had Possessed was completely unqualified to have heard
about it.

Lu Yin quickly ended the Possession. As soon as he was back inside his own body, he checked his cosmic
ring. Luckily, he had not burned through too much star essence. With his current wealth, such an
expenditure was negligible.

Since Lu Yin had already rolled his die four times, he needed to rest for ten days. As it happened, he had
to give a few lectures during this waiting period.

Lu Yin was not in seclusion, as all members of Virtue Archives’ faculty needed to give notice for their
training times, and there was also no need for Lu Yin to do such a thing.

The necessary ten days passed quickly. Lu Yin was visited by both Nong Siniang and Bai Weiwei, which
meant that everything was proceeding according to Lu Yin’s normal routine in the academy.

As the Dark Undying Bird’s flames once again dominated the sky, Lu Yin set up a sourcebox array to
isolate himself before summoning his die again.

Pilfer caused something useless to fall out, while his second roll was another Enhance. As for his third
roll, it was Possession again.
As soon as Lu Yin saw a bright orb in the distance, he shot towards it and merged with it. It was not
perfectly compatible with him, as it was still a bit dim, but it was the third brightest orb available. The
two brighter orbs had given him a nervous feeling, as he had never Possessed anyone with such a bright
light before. Those orbs had likely belonged to Semi-Progenitors.

Lu Yin opened the body’s eyes and looked around. Was he on the rear battlefield?

Sure enough, Lu Yin had appeared on the Perennial World’s rear battlefield. It was the only place in the
universe where so much violence could be seen. What the rest of the Perennial World knew was a
gentle illusion, as they were not allowed to know about the true bloodbath that filled the rear
battlefield.

Memories continued to pour in. Lu Yin stood frozen in place. He found himself inside a stone house that
was full of thorns. It was his first time seeing such a place.

Skimming through the memories, he understood that he had Possessed a colonel stationed on the fifth
array base. This particular array base was also known as the blood array base.

The rear battlefield had five array bases. Lu Yin had spent some time on the second array base, but he
had not visited the other four. Because each array base had a different general, the defenders of each
array base also employed different combat tactics and fighting styles. The fifth array base of Ceaseless
Impetus was the worst of them all. This was because its general, a man named Kuang Yan, was known
by all as a madman.

The parts of the fifth array base where people walked were all filled with sharp thorns that could stab
people at any moment. As soon as the human defenders fell to a disadvantage, General Kuang Yan
would manipulate the ever-present thorns to stab out. Casualties and targets were not considered
important, and more humans died on the fifth array base than any other array base. However,
Aeternus’s monsters also perished in the greatest numbers there as well.
At the moment, the fifth array base had but one colonel, and that was Colonel Lan, whom Lu Yin had just
Possessed. All the other colonels had either died or been transferred to other places. The fifth array base
was famous across the entire rear battlefield for being a graveyard. Lu Yin had not expected to appear in
such a place.

From Colonel Lan’s memories, the man greatly admired General Kuang Yan. The general always stood on
the front lines of the battlefield, and his methods were beyond cruel. He was one of the Semi-
Progenitors who was most feared by Aeternus’s forces.

The stone hut where Lu Yin found himself was Colonel Lan’s personal residence. Looking out, everything
in sight was filled with countless, neatly arranged stone huts that covered the fifth array base. Everyone,
from General Kuang Yan down to the lowest grunts, lived in the same kind of stone hut. Each one was
filled with sharp thorns, which meant that everyone was ready to die with a corpse king at any given
moment.

Lu Yin had witnessed many bloodthirsty actions, but he had never seen such an excessive kill switch.

General Kuang Yan’s hut was rather close to Colonel Lan’s, but the general was almost never in his
home. Kuang Yan practically lived on the front lines of the battlefield, always staring down at the New
World. The general was the fifth array base’s first line of defense.

In the opposite direction from the general’s home was Elder Qiu’s stone hut.

Yes, it was Elder Qiu, the founder of the Dealcut Association. A powerful Semi-Progenitor.

No one knew that Elder Qiu had established the Dealcut Association, not even Kui Luo. Lu Yin had
learned of this matter from Bai Teng, and that was only because Bai Teng was one of the select few
people who was qualified to form a partnership with the Dealcut Association.

Cultivators constantly entered and exited the stone huts. Nearly all of them looked numb and indifferent
to life and death, though a few also looked nervous and scared. Those few exceptions were clearly new
arrivals, and they were eager to achieve great things on the rear battlefield so that they could trade their
merit points for protective equipment.

The target of Lu Yin’s Possession, Colonel Lan, was not a good person. Like many cultivators, the colonel
was willing to do absolutely anything if it helped raise his cultivation or providee him with more
resources. Unfortunately, the colonel’s talent was rather mediocre. He had reached his limit after
passing this third stellular tribulation.

Lu Yin also learned that the colonel had not volunteered to serve on the rear battlefield. Rather, he had
been condemned to serve there after offending the Lu family when they had been in power.

All who served on the fifth array base were either independent cultivators or people who had offended
someone they should not have. Colonel Lan had offended the Lu family. At that time, there had been no
Star Alliance, so the man had been sent to the fifth array base.

The fifth array base was essentially the precursor of Star Alliance. It was nearly impossible for anyone to
leave this place alive.

Colonel Lan had managed to survive for so long because he was willing to do whatever it took to survive
on the battlefield, including sacrificing his own comrades if it ensured his own survival.

Memories continued to pour in. Lu Yin found one of a grand spectacle put on by the Lu family, as well as
a memory of his past self.

Lu Xiaoxuan and the rest of the Seven Heroes had been extremely famous throughout the Perennial
World, and Lu Xiaoxuan had once visited the fifth array base. At that time, Colonel Lan had wanted to kill
Lu Xiaoxuan, but the colonel had overestimated himself.

From what Lu Yin had already learned, he had almost sent Colonel Lan’s body flying off the array base to
fight in the New World until he died.
However, Lu Yin suddenly saw memories of two familiar figures. These two were Envoys who had been
guardians of the Junior Progenitor Planets, and they were known as Senior Yi He and Senior Jun. One of
them had protected the White Dragon Clan’s planet, while the other had been a guardian of Shenwu’s
Sky’s Junior Progenitor Planet. Why would the two Envoys appear on the fifth array base?

It made sense for the guardians to leave the Junior Progenitor Planets after all the resources had been
stolen, but it did not make sense for them to be sent to the fifth array base. The fact that these Envoys
had been qualified to guard the Junior Progenitor Planets proved that they had a close relationship to
the four ruling powers. Additionally, it had already been proven that the guardians had had nothing to
do with the heist. The only possibility was that the Envoys had been sent to the rear battlefield on some
sort of mission.

Lu Yin searched the colonel’s memories for more information about the two Envoys, and he found that
they had made it a point to choose stone huts close to Elder Qiu’s. What’s more, they also took turns
keeping an eye on the Semi-Progenitor’s residence.

This would not be suspicious at all if one did not know that Elder Qiu was the founder of the Dealcut
Association, but given Lu Yin’s knowledge, the Envoys’ actions were only too obvious. The four ruling
powers had sent the two men to the rear battlefield to keep an eye on Elder Qiu.

Given the Envoys’ presence, it appeared that the four ruling powers had learned that Elder Qiu was the
master of the Dealcut Association, though it was possible that there were other reasons.

Regardless, their presence was a lucky break for Lu Yin.

He had initially wanted to end the Possession, but learning about the two Envoys provided Lu Yin with
exactly the opportunity that he had been hoping for. He had wanted to find people with a connection to
the four ruling powers so that he could pass some specific information to them.

…
After Lu Yin’s consciousness returned to his own body after the Possession ended, he did not
immediately check his cosmic ring to calculate the costs as he normally did. Instead, he reviewed what
he had just learned and said. Given the recent developments, whether he could successfully trick the
four ruling powers depended entirely on luck.

At the same time, on the fifth array base, Yi He and Jun stared at each other in shock. They had indeed
been sent to the fifth array base to monitor Elder Qiu, but there was no need for them to watch the
man’s every move. In fact, they just needed to send reports of people who met with the Semi-
Progenitor.

They had never expected to coincidentally discover a secret about Colonel Lan; the man was a Redback!
On top of that already shocking revelation, he had revealed something that happened to perfectly
match some recent discussions within the four ruling powers.

"We can’t delay. Send the report now," Yi He urged.

Jun nodded. "I'm sending it to Shenwu's Sky."

Just a short while later, Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng met each other in Shenwu's Sky. "I never even thought
that Forgotten Ruins God was actually behind everything, but given the information that our people on
the fifth array base accidentally uncovered, it seems that the Skygod has indeed been targeting Star
Alliance. If we hadn’t seized the initiative and moved everyone, she might have already used the
restriction method to take control of them."

Chapter 2244: Active Control

Xia Ziheng actually started to get nervous after hearing the news. "I truly thought that the Celestial Frost
Sect was just trying to distract everyone, but it seems that Forgotten Ruins God really is the culprit.
We’re lucky that we already moved all the members of Star Alliance."
Xia Xing's eyes flickered, and he turned to look at Xia Ziheng. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, don’t you think
that this is actually an opportunity?"

"What do you mean?" Xia Ziheng was left puzzled.

Xia Xing's eyes flashed. "The Seven Skygods have always been a massive problem for us. They hide
themselves too well, train up Redbacks, and most recently, destroyed the New Corridor. Everything that
they do weakens us greatly. Even the Progenitors have tried their best to find the Seven Skygods. It
might be possible to use this opportunity with Star Alliance to counter them and expose Forgotten Ruins
God."

Xia Ziheng's eyes lit up. "True. Forgotten Ruins God may have acquired the full restriction method, but
she still needs to actually use it. Star Alliance has already been scattered, so her only option is to wait for
the right opportunity. If we gather Star Alliance back together, then we can use them to catch her."

"It’s better to set out some bait than randomly search around. This will be incredibly cathartic." A smile
spread across Xia Xing's face. "This information got to us in time."

The White Dragon Clan had the same idea. There were numerous intelligent people in the universe, and
it was natural to want to use everything available to them. The Seven Skygods had haunted the
Perennial World for too many years and converted too many Redbacks. Even the Lu family had been
helpless to do anything to the Seven Skygods. With a golden opportunity in front of them, the four ruling
powers would never abandon it.

Dealing with the Seven Skygods was also not something that a single force could do on their own.

Both Shenwu's Sky and the White Dragon Clan reached out to the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang
Family, and it was quickly decided to use Star Alliance as bait to catch Forgotten Ruins God. It would be
best if they were able to catch several Skygods. As long as the Seven Skygods were still mortal, they
would not be able to escape. If the four ruling powers could capture any of the Seven Skygods, they
would retain control of Star Alliance. If that was impossible, then the army would all be killed.
The only ones with any doubts at this moment was the Celestial Frost Sect.

Bai Su was completely confused. What was going on? Was Forgotten Ruins God really the criminal? Was
it not just an excuse that the Celestial Frost Sect had made up?

Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao also could not understand. He glanced over at Bai Su. The story that Forgotten
Ruins God had captured Xia Xing had clearly been concocted at Bai Xian'er's order. What had happened
to convince Shenwu’s Sky that the Celestial Frost Sect’s story was more convincing than their own
suspicions? And why was Shenwu’s Sky even suggesting to use all of Star Alliance as bait to lure out
Forgotten Ruins God?

The Celestial Frost Sect could not disagree. They had been the ones to point the finger at Forgotten
Ruins God, so if they refused to go along with the plan, it would only make Shenwu's Sky and the others
suspicious.

Wu Yao immediately sent a report to Bai Xian'er, but her reply was only three words: wait and see.

Wu Yao felt that even Bai Xian'er must be puzzled by this development.

Was it possible that Forgotten Ruins God really was behind everything?

After disseminating the information, Lu Yin had no idea if his plan would work or not. He could only rely
on luck and the four ruling powers' attitude regarding Aeternus. Still, he felt like he had at least a fifty
percent chance of succeeding!
Since he had done what needed to be done to prepare for his plans, it was time to return to being Yu
Hao. All Lu Yin could do now was wait to see how the four ruling powers reacted.

While Lu Yin held a class by the lake shore, Xia Ziheng arrived outside Virtue Archives.

How could the four ruling powers truly not be concerned about the fact that one of the Nine Mountains
and Eight Seas had appeared in Virtue Archives? The disappearance of Bai Teng and the other patriarchs
had simply created too much chaos and had been too serious a matter for them to deal with anything
else for some time. However, since some people had been sent to lock down the Yinshan District, it was
time for others to be sent to the academy.

The powerhouse who was the most familiar with Virtue Archives was Xia Ziheng, who had already
visited the academy on several occasions.

Headmaster Wen grew pale when he saw Xia Ziheng, and the headmaster simply left.

Xia Ziheng was furious upon seeing this reaction, but just as he was about to chase after Wen Lai, the
God of Food stepped out and blocked Xia Ziheng’s path. There was a hint of a smile on the man’s face.
"We meet again, old friend."

Xia Ziheng’s brow furrowed. "You’re here, God of Food? Why aren’t you on the Island of Hope? What
brought you back here to Virtue Archives?"

The God of Food sighed. "With so many things happening recently, I was afraid that something might
happen to the academy, so I felt forced to come back here and check on things. What matter has
brought you here, Brother Xia?"

Xia Ziheng felt utterly disgusted as he looked at the God of Food. If this old freak did not exist, they
would have been able to take control of Virtue Archives long ago. "A Mountain and Sea is here in Virtue
Archives. How could I not come take a look?"
The God of Food’s slight smile remained. "I and Virtue Archives were entrusted to protect this Mountain
and Sea, which is what I told your four ruling powers long ago. There is no need for you to worry about
things, Brother Xia."

The four ruling powers had not started eying Virtue Archives recently. They had been trying to seize
control of the academy even when the Lu family had been around, and they had only become more
aggressive in their tactics after the Lu family’s exile. In fact, if not for the God of Food and some of the
academy’s graduates, the four ruling powers would have already attacked the academy.

The four ruling powers were fast approaching the limits of their tolerance.

"God of Food, if no one from your Virtue Archives can inherit the Mountain and Sea here, then it would
be best to allow all the cultivators in the Perennial World to try. It’s possible that someone can receive
the inheritance, which would mean another master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Having
another powerhouse in the war against the Aeternals is better than leaving it here to gather dust in
Virtue Archives," Xia Ziheng challenged.

The God of Food smiled. "We are certainly willing to allow everyone in the Perennial World to try, but
will they really be given a fair chance? Brother Xia, you and I are both reasonable people, so I shouldn’t
need to say things too bluntly."

Xia Ziheng's voice instantly grew frigid. "Regardless of who it is, as long as they can inherit a Mountain
and Sea, they will eventually become a powerful weapon for humanity to use against Aeternus. I hope
that your Virtue Archives can see the bigger picture."

The God of Food smiled. "Don't worry. This Mountain and Sea will not be wasted here in my academy.
We periodically allow elite students to enter and attempt to receive the inheritance."

Xia Ziheng cursed secretly. While he had very little understanding of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas,
even his ancestor had mentioned that there was no point in even trying if one was not already a
Progenitor. It was clear that Virtue Archives was merely putting on an act.
In fact, the four ruling powers were absolutely certain that the God of Food had to be eying the
Mountain and Sea himself. Since he had not attempted to become a Progenitor even after all these
years, he had likely held back not out of fear of failure, but rather because of the Mountain and Sea. The
man must want to be confident of inheriting the Mountain and Sea upon becoming a Progenitor. This
was the real reason why the four ruling powers were so wary of Virtue Archives.

If the God of Food simply became a normal Progenitor, he would not intimidate them, but if he became
the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, he would be catapulted to the same level as
Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan, which was what everyone feared.

In the end, Xia Ziheng eventually gave up. How many people from the four ruling powers had
approached the God of Food over the years? The man had even been visited by Progenitors who hoped
to inherit the Mountain and Sea, but they had all been stopped outside of Virtue Archives. Someone like
Xia Ziheng had absolutely no chance of convincing the God of Food.

However, Xia Ziheng did not leave the academy right away. Next, he went to see “Yu Hao.”

Lu Yin was currently giving a lecture, and Xia Ziheng did not show himself. He remained some distance
away and stared at the lake shore. The old man waited quietly.

It took an entire hour for “Yu Hao’s” class to end. He quickly made a point to shake off Nong Siniang and
went to speak with Xia Ziheng. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, were you waiting for me?"

Xia Ziheng stared at Lu Yin. The old man’s eyes were calm and exerted no pressure. At this moment, the
Semi-Progenitor looked no different from a regular old man, though there was a bit of shadow in his
eyes. "Your class was quite good."

Lu Yin remained modest. "The students know little about lockbreaking, so I just shared some matters of
common sense with them."

"What you consider common sense is enough to last them a lifetime," Xia Ziheng replied.
Lu Yin was taken aback. "Are you also a Lockbreaker, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng?"

Xia Ziheng shook his head. "Grandmaster Gu Yan's knowledge of lockbreaking is not something that
most people can ever touch. These students can be considered truly blessed."

Lu Yin denied nothing, and he actually did not even speak. He had communicated with Xia Ziheng
through a communication crystal before, and the old man’s attitude had been terrible. Shenwu's Sky
held Yu Chuan's life in their hands, and were using the old man to force “Yu Hao” to join them. In fact,
they had even given him a deadline of when Virtue Archives’ students visited the Higher Realm for their
training excursion to make a decision.

The deadline had already been given, so Xia Ziheng did not mention it again. If the young man refused to
join Shenwu's Sky, then both he and Yu Chuan would die. This meant that the Semi-Progenitor had
made a point to visit for something else.

"The Xia family's ceremony to worship our ancestors is soon approaching, and it coincides with when
Virtue Archives’ students will be visiting the Higher Realm. Everyone from Virtue Archives’ is welcome to
observe the ceremony. Also, Shenwu's Sky hopes to see Grandmaster Gu Yan in attendance." Xia Ziheng
went straight to the point and delivered the information in an indifferent tone as he stared out at the
lake.

Lu Yin frowned. They wanted Grandmaster Gu Yan to attend? How was he supposed to make that
happen? "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, my master is very busy, and he doesn't make time for anything
outside of his own interests."

Xia Ziheng was unmoved. "This isn’t a discussion. Grandmaster Gu Yan will be present at my Xia family’s
ceremony. I don’t care what you have to do to get this to happen, but we hope to receive a positive
response from Grandmaster Gu Yan at that time. If not, you understand the consequences."
He looked over at “Yu Hao,” saw that the young man’s expression had grown quite bad, and the old man
continued in a somewhat softer tone. "Of course, my Xia family won’t fail to reward you for your help.
You will be given the opportunity to get revenge in front of everyone on that day."

Lu Yin’s eyes snapped wide open, and he spun around to stare at Xia Ziheng in disbelief. "Revenge?"

Xia Ziheng's mouth twitched upwards into a slight smirk. "Don't you hate Xia Zhitong? Don't you hate all
the people that she used to get rid of your Yu family? There are many people whom you hate, and you
can release all of that hatred on that day under the witness of Virtue Archives and countless other
people, restoring the respect of your Yu family. This is the most that I and Shenwu’s Sky can promise to
give you."

Lu Yin had not expected Shenwu's Sky to be so excessive. They were actually willing to allow him to get
revenge on the day of their ceremony to worship their family’s ancestors. On top of that, the person
whom “Yu Hao” hated the most was Xia Zhitong, a member of the Xia family. Even if she was from a
branch family, she was still a member of the Xia family. Allowing her to die on the same day as the
family’s ceremony to worship their ancestors was nothing less than a slap in the family’s face.

Reputation was more important than almost anything for a monstrous power like Shenwu's Sky. This
was why when Progenitor Chen had first revealed his monstrous talent, he had been hunted by the Xia
family. They did not want a peerlessly talented descendant, but an obedient genius.

Despite that, they were still willing to allow “Yu Hao” to take revenge on the same day as their
ceremony. This was an unbelievable price that Shenwu’s Sky was willing to pay.

Lu Yin was completely stunned. "Is this all true?"

Xia Ziheng and “Yu Hao” stared at each other for a moment. "It is. This should show you Shenwu’s Sky’s
sincerity, as well as our ancestor’s decision. This is why Grandmaster Gu Yan must be present that day.
Since my Xia family will be losing so much face, Shenwu’s Sky must regain it in some other way.”
The Semi-Progenitor’s voice grew unbelievably cold at his last sentence, and Lu Yin had absolutely no
doubts that, if Grandmaster Gu Yan did not appear for their ceremony, Shenwu's Sky would deal with
“Yu Hao” in an extremely cruel manner.

They were one of the four ruling powers, a monster in the Perennial World. They did not want to
passively rule, but to actively control. Naturally, they were eager to control Yu Hao, and through him,
Grandmaster Gu Yan. Nobody else, not the Celestial Frost Sect or any other organization, could recruit
the Array Grandmaster. As far as Shenwu’s Sky was concerned, they were the only option.

Could Lu Yin refuse? No. There was no opening for him to even be able to refuse. On top of that, Xia
Ziheng had personally delivered a deadline to “Yu Hao” on behalf of Shenwu’s Sky. The deadline was the
day that the Xia family worshiped their ancestors. That was the day when the Xia family wanted to take
control of Yu Hao and Grandmaster Gu Yan.

"I understand," Lu Yin replied.

Xia Ziheng looked away. "The day my Xia family worships our ancestors is the day you can restore your
Yu family’s reputation. I promise you, as long as Grandmaster Gu Yan joins us, you will enjoy a status no
less than the Shen generation members in Shenwu’s Sky. We will help you become an Array
Grandmaster, and your name will go down in history.

“The Celestial Frost Sect can give you much, but they can never offer you revenge, nor the opportunity
to save Yu Chuan."

Chapter 2245: Means

Lu Yin took a deep breath as he stared at Xia Ziheng. "I hope to see all of my enemies there on that day."
"One is already not bad," Xia Ziheng replied. The old man then started to leave, though he spoke over
his shoulder before disappearing. "If you have any problems, go see Wu Taibai. He’ll help you deal with
anything that comes up."

As far as Xia Ziheng was concerned, “Yu Hao” was already essentially a member of Shenwu's Sky. After
all, the young man had no choice but to join his sect.

After Xia Ziheng left, Lu Yin felt quite the headache. How was he supposed to ask Grandmaster Gu Yan to
visit Shenwu's Sky? Even if Lu Yin had a way to get Grandmaster Gu Yan to visit Shenwu's Sky, how was
the old man supposed to demonstrate that he was willing to join the sect? That was completely
impossible.

Everyone knew that the Array Grandmaster had an odd personality, and Lu Yin had seen it for himself.
One undeniable fact was that Gu Yan absolutely hated the four ruling powers. That was something that
Lu Yin could never change.

Unfortunately, there was no option for Lu Yin but for him to bite the bullet and agree to Xia Ziheng’s
demands. The only way for Lu Yin to be exposed even faster would be for Shenwu’s Sky to directly reach
out to Grandmaster Gu Yan.

Furthermore, Xia Ziheng’s last comment about Wu Taibai had actually been a warning—Wu Taibai was
going to be keeping an eye on “Yu Hao.”

While Wu Taibai was not an Envoy himself, he certainly had the combat strength to fight against one. He
was one of the elites of Shenwu’s Sky’s Shen generation, and it was possible that Xia Ziheng believed
that a three-tribulation Lockbreaker like Yu Hao would not be able to get rid of Wu Taibai. This was the
confidence of one of the four ruling powers.

While Lu Yin could definitely get away from Wu Taibai's surveillance, there were already many things on
Lu Yin’s plate; he would need to seclude himself to roll his die or do other things once he arrived in the
Higher Realm. He could not constantly be on guard against Wu Taibai, especially since the man was
another member of Virtue Archives’ faculty. It was even possible that they would be staying together.
This was yet another hassle that Lu Yin needed to deal with.
This meant that Wu Taibai could not be allowed to become one of the chaperones.

Lu Yin continued to stare out at the lake in a daze. Suddenly, a voice spoke up behind him. "Professor,
please teach me again."

It was Liu Que. He had been blown away by a flick of Lu Yin's finger before, unable to even see what had
happened. He had improved greatly since then, so he was eager to challenge “Yu Hao” again. Liu Que
was confident that he could at least see whatever attack was used to defeat him this time.

Lu Yin's eye twitched as he turned around to face Liu Que. "You’re quite persistent, but you clearly don’t
understand your own strength."

"I do," Liu Que replied bluntly, "I will be able to clearly see your attack this time."

Lu Yin smiled. "And what if you can't?"

"If I can’t, then I can’t," Liu Que answered as though that were the only possible response.

Lu Yin shook his head. "Being constantly challenged is a bit annoying, especially when I'm enjoying the
scenery."

"Then what do you want, Professor?" Liu Que replied.

Lu Yin explained, "If you can see my attack clearly, then I’ll teach you a battle technique. If you reach a
high enough level of mastery with it, you can create a chaotic region of the void and overcome
practically every battle technique that you face. If you fail, I want you to do one thing for me."
Liu Que's eyes lit up. "A technique that can create a chaotic region of the void and overcome other
battle techniques? What is this technique?"

"I’ll only tell you if you win our bet, but there’s no chance of you winning."

The sword left the scabbard on Liu Que’s back and appeared in his hand. The nearby pebbles on the
ground rose into the air and shattered. "Professor, please proceed."

"Fine. I’ll attack now. See if you can see it clearly." Lu Yin then stared at Liu Que and did not move,
though suddenly, his voice came from behind Liu Que. "Were you able to see it clearly?"

Liu Que stared blankly in front of himself. His fingers were still clenching the hilt of his sword, and a
pebble was moved by a bit of wind. He still could not see any of this professor’s movements.

He turned to stare at “Yu Hao” in shock. "Professor, your strength is unbelievable."

Lu Yin laughed. "I just used the battle technique that I mentioned can invert the void. If it can invert the
void, then there’s naturally no way that your eyes can track it."

Liu Que's eyes lit up with excitement once again. "How can I learn that technique from you, Professor?"

"Let's not talk about that right now. You just agreed to do something for me if you lost. Does this count
as your loss?"

"Of course. Please tell me what you want, Professor."

"I want you to stop the other students from voting for Wu Taibai to become one of the chaperones,
though you can’t reveal the fact that I asked you to do this," Lu Yin explained. This was what he had
come up with. Whether or not it actually worked all depended on Liu Que, though Lu Yin was quite
confident in Liu Que. The swordsman’s personality essentially ensured that he would not let Lu Yin
down.

Liu Que sheathed his sword. "Very well."

He then turned and left without even asking why he had been given such a task. He would simply
accomplish what he felt obligated to do.

Lu Yin quite liked interacting with such straightforward people, as he did not have to put in too much
effort. They people were generally quite determined and focused, which made them very reliable. Still,
Lu Yin was curious to see how Liu Que would handle his task.

Liu Que was quite straight-forward, but not particularly cunning. Thus, he directly approached the other
students and challenged them. After defeating the various students, Liu Que would make them swear to
not vote for Wu Taibai as one of the faculty chaperones for the upcoming excursion. Liu Que did not
hide his purpose, and his actions were also very public.

Word quickly spread throughout Virtue Archives, as every student who encountered Liu Que was forced
to swear to not vote for Wu Taibai. It only took a few days before nearly half the students were forced
to swear to Liu Que’s demand. As news of his actions spread, a few people started to spread rumors that
Liu Que was targeting Shenwu's Sky, while others claimed that the swordsman was retaliating against
Wu Taibai, who had refused a challenge from Liu Que.

All kinds of rumors started to spread.

Lu Yin was not surprised by Liu Que’s actions when he learned of them. After all, such a straightforward
method of accomplishing his goals was right in line with Liu Que's style, as it was direct and simple.

Lu Yin's goal had already been achieved. Liu Que was frantically seeking out various students, and his
determination left Wu Taibai speechless. He actually went to speak with Liu Que and ask what had
happened and why Liu Que was doing such a thing. However, Liu Que would not even respond. He
simply ignored Wu Taibai and continued as before.

Wu Taibai tried to stop Liu Que on several occasions, but Liu Que simply turned around and went
elsewhere. The one time that Wu Taibai tried to forcibly stop Liu Que, the student instantly drew his
sword. Liu Que was not afraid of fighting Wu Taibai, and in fact, he was eager to do so.

Not all rumors floating around Virtue Archives were false or baseless. It was true that Liu Que had
challenged more than just Lu Yin and Xia Shenguang after entering the academy; the rest of the faculty
had been included as well, including Wu Taibai. After all, Wu Taibai was the only Enlighter among the
faculty who had broken through the Eighteen Lines Array, and naturally Liu Que was very curious to
compare himself to Wu Taibai’s strength.

However, Wu Taibai had always refused the student’s challenge, and Liu Que had stopped trying to
challenge the instructor after being denied several times. When Wu Taibai tried to stop Liu Que from
interfering with the student vote, Liu Que was more than happy to fight against the instructor.

Unfortunately for Liu Que, Wu Taibai was not truly willing to fight with the student.

Things continued, and Liu Que roamed through almost the entire academy, and every student he
encountered was forced to swear that they would not vote for Wu Taibai. Eventually, Wu Taibai gave up
on trying to stop the determined swordsman.

Only a short time later, Virtue Archives officially tallied the students’ votes, and three instructors were
selected to lead a team of students on a training excursion.

Unsurprisingly, Wu Taibai lost without receiving even a single vote. This was not because Liu Que had
forced all the students to swear to not vote for Wu Taibai. Liu Que had only approached the majority of
the students. It was simply that the rest of the students were afraid that voting for Wu Taibai would
offend Liu Que. So, rather than invite trouble upon themselves, they simply refused to vote for the
instructor. As for Xia Shenguang and others at that level, they did not even vote for the chaperones,
which was why Wu Taibai ended up not receiving even a single vote.
Lu Yin and the other faculty members watched the students from a distance. Not even Lu Yin had
expected Liu Que to be so ruthless and efficient in his task. In fact, Lu Yin had assumed that Wu Taibai
would approach Liu Que directly and settle the matter so that he could be selected to be one of the
faculty chaperones, but life rarely went as expected.

Prof. Huai gasped in surprise. "Prof. Wu, you didn’t get even a vote? Liu Que is quite cruel. Did you do
something to offend him?"

Wu Taibai smiled, but he appeared to be completely calm. "He wants to spar with me, but I’ve never
agreed to it."

Prof. Huai sighed. "He’s still too young and impulsive."

Wu Taibai did not receive any votes, so Lu Yin expected Prof. Zheng to replace Wu Taibai. As for Lu Yin
himself and Mr. Tang, the students’ discussions had already revealed that both of them were
guaranteed to be selected as chaperones. Wu Taibai’s absence was the only surprise, as Liu Que’s
interference had changed things at the last minute.

However, Wu Taibai’s replacement was another surprise; it was not Prof. Zheng who received the most
votes, but rather Prof. Wei. This was not only surprising to Lu Yin and the other instructors, but also to
Headmaster Wen. "Is Prof. Wei really that popular with the students?"

Prof. Xiao Wen shrugged. "Everyone who voted for her were male students."

Headmaster Wen shook his head. "That makes sense."

He then glanced over at Professor Xiao Wen. "Look at you. Even a woman disguising herself as a man is
more attractive than you."
The woman blushed and refused to even meet Headmaster Wen’s eyes.

The votes were tallied, and the results were announced; the chaperones who would lead the team of
students on their training excursion would be Prof. Hao Yu, Mr. Tang, and Prof. Wei. Prof. Wei tried to
refuse, but the rules were the rules. Since the students had voted for her, she had to go.

Headmaster Wen immediately called the three chaperones to meet with him. "Our students will first
choose the chaperones for the training team, and then the selected chaperones will choose the students
to participate. Each of you will select twenty five students to go on the trip, while I will choose another
twenty-five. Thus, we will send a team of 100 students to represent Virtue Archives on this training
excursion to visit the four ruling powers.”

"Headmaster, this joke has gone too far. Prof. Wei is unwilling to chaperone the team, so how can he be
chosen? If anything happens in the Higher Realm, he won’t be capable of protecting the students." Prof.
Zheng arrived at the meeting place with the intention of replacing Prof. Wei.

Prof. Wei jumped in. "It would be best if I were replaced by Prof. Zheng."

Prof. Zheng apologized to Prof. Wei. "I’m not trying to look down on you, Prof. Wei. It's just that you
only teach history, and this training excursion to visit the four ruling powers is not some small matter. I
ask that you please forgive me."

Prof. Wei smiled. "I completely understand."

Headmaster Wen actually yelled at the instructor, "What do you think the academy’s rules are for?
What do you think you are doing to the students’ choices?"

Everyone fell silent.

Headmaster Wen stared at Prof. Wei. "Regardless of why it happened, the students voted for you, and
you are obligated to go. Luck is another aspect of strength. Everyone has some qualities that are
superior to others, the purpose of our academy is not to send powerhouses to the forefront and fight.
You may take your leave, since it has been decided, no changes are allowed."

As the headmaster reached the end of his explanation, he turned to give Prof. Zheng a pointed glare.
The man had no choice but to acquiesce. "Yes, Headmaster."

After Prof. Zheng left, the headmaster glanced at Lu Yin and the other two instructors. "Remember that
our academy is always an academy. Regardless of what may happen elsewhere, here, we are always
teachers. That will never change."

There was still a month left before the training team would leave Virtue Archives, and Lu Yin eventually
settled on his selection of twenty five students, assisted by Nong Siniang. After delivering the list to the
headmaster, Lu Yin readied himself to roll his die again.

He wanted to learn what the four ruling powers were up to now.

If the four ruling powers hoped to use Star Alliance as bait to force Forgotten Ruins God to take action,
then there was no way that word of the matter would not spread. Leaks were unavoidable. Still, the only
ones who would hear even about these rumors would have high positions, as Forgotten Ruins God
would quickly grow suspicious if people too far down the line knew of it as well.

Lu Yin’s targets for Possession were Envoys. Such people could not be considered to hold too high or too
low of a position within the four ruling powers, so they were the perfect targets to acquire the
information that he needed.
Lu Yin’s only obstacle was that it was often too difficult to roll six pips, and it was also practically
impossible to control who he Possessed. It was also possible that he would end up Possessing someone
in the Fifth Mainland again, which would be a complete waste of a roll.

There were complicated emotions as Lu Yin raised a hand and brought out his die. A tap of a finger
caused it to start spinning.

He shook his head when he saw five pips. While there were many students and instructors in Virtue
Archives who had innate gifts, he could not approach and touch them without a valid reason, as it would
cause misunderstandings.

The next roll showed one pip. Again.

Next was six pips, and Lu Yin did not even register the outcome before his consciousness returned to the
mysterious dark space.

Chapter 2246: Targeting The Nong Family

As Lu Yin observed the orbs of light that surrounded him, there was only one whose brightness met
what he was looking for, so he merged with it without any hesitation.

Was he in the Middle Ocean?

The person that Lu Yin had Possessed appeared to be on the floor of the Middle Ocean, but Lu Yin
quickly realized that the person was not in the Middle Realm or the Middle Ocean at all. Rather, he was
in the Lower Realm.
It was common knowledge that the Middle Ocean connected the Middle Realm to the Lower Realm. As
more memories started to pour into Lu Yin’s mind, he quickly understood that he was in the Lower
Realm’s portion of the Middle Ocean. The man that Lu Yin had Possessed was the master of an island in
this particular region of the Middle Ocean, and he was known as Island Master Rong.

Lu Yin had wanted to Possess someone so that he could learn of the four ruling powers’ recent activities
and what they were doing about Star Alliance. However, Island Master Rong had not left his region in
the Middle Ocean for a long, long time, and he had no access to the news in the outside world. There
was no information about the four ruling powers for Lu Yin to access in this man’s body.

Lu Yin was just about to end the Possession when he stumbled across a bit of startling information in
Island Master Rong’s memories. The man did not stay here in this particular region of the Middle Ocean
by choice; rather, he had been forced there by the Lu family. It was not just Island Master Rong, as
many, many other Envoys had been sent here as well. All of them had been sent into the depths of the
Middle Ocean to protect the currents that flowed to the Mother Tree’s roots in the Lower Realm.

When Lu Yin had accompanied Bai Weiwei to the Middle Ocean for her mission, he had chatted with her
and Prof. Bai as they traveled. From those conversations, Lu Yin had learned that many of the creatures
living in the Middle Ocean were able to access the Mother Tree’s roots, which served as proof that the
Middle Ocean was connected to the Lower Realm and the Mother Tree’s roots.

Since those sea creatures were able to reach the roots, then humans could as well, provided that they
found the correct currents.

Over the course of the Perennial World's countless years of existence, Aeternus had always done their
best to destroy the Mother Tree’s roots, which meant that they had also tried to find ways to get to
those roots. Because of this, humans did their best to block every path to the roots. Over the years,
100,000 currents had formed in the Middle Ocean, and these currents served as underwater paths that
led straight to the Mother Tree’s roots. Later on, the Lu family had built islands outside each current,
both large and small, that corresponded to the size of the current. The guardians placed on the islands
were also selected based on the size of the current, and the largest current was protected by a six-
tribulation Envoy.
There were 100,000 currents that connected the Middle Ocean to the Lower Mortal Realm. Lu Yin had
not known all these details before, but he learned much from Island Master Rong’s memories.
Shockingly, no one outside the Lu family knew of these 100,000 currents.

More precisely, no one could find these 100,000 currents. This was because the Aeternals had once
launched a massive attack on the currents through a Redback who had had a very high status, all in an
attempt to destroy the Mother Tree’s roots with Vitality Poison. After that, the Lu family had worked
hard to seal off all the currents to preemptively stop any similar attempts in the future. The Lu family
knew that Aeternus was constantly researching poisons, possibly in order to destroy the Mother Tree,
and in response, they had spent endless resources to create an enormous sourcebox array.

Island Master Rong had no idea where the sourcebox array had come from, and he merely knew that,
after it was set up, all 100,000 currents had completely disappeared. Well, they had not truly
disappeared; rather, instead they had been concealed so that no one could find or approach them.

The 100,000 currents were still there, but they could not be accessed by anyone other than the
members of the Lu family.

Even powerful forces like the Celestial Frost Sect or Shenwu's Sky believed that the 100,000 currents had
been destroyed when the Redbacks’ attack on the Mother Tree’s roots by the Lu family’s sourcebox
array had been stopped. No one knew that the currents had simply been hidden.

The Lu family had deliberately hidden all information about the 100,000 currents because there were
simply too many Redbacks hidden throughout the Perennial World. The Lu family had wanted the
matter to remain completely secret from Aeternus, so they had not said anything about it to anyone at
all. This meant that, even after the four ruling powers seized control of the Perennial World, they still
knew nothing about the 100,000 currents.

Of course, given the fact that the currents existed beneath the surface of the Middle Ocean, it was
possible for new currents to form and connect to the roots of the Mother Tree at any time. This was not
something that Island Master Rong knew about; rather, Lu Yin had learned it from Prof. Bai, who had
noticed that some sea creatures had recently been close to the Mother Tree’s roots. This indicated that
there were no longer just 100,000 currents, but possibly 110,000 or even 120,000 of them. However, as
far as the four ruling powers and Aeternus were concerned, there were only around 10,000 or 20,000
currents, as they all believed that the original 100,000 currents had been destroyed.

Lu Yin looked upwards. It was dark at the bottom of the Middle Ocean, but light shone down from time
to time, though Lu Yin had no idea where it came from.

He was currently standing on an island that sat in front of one of the currents that led to the roots of the
Mother Tree. There was a bubble of air that surrounded the island. While it prevented Island Master
Rong from leaving, it also prevented the sea water or nearby sea creatures from getting in.

Not only had the sourcebox array caused the 100,000 currents to disappear, but the guardians the Lu
family had assigned to protect each of the currents had also disappeared. This meant that there were at
least 100,000 cultivators, though not all of them were Envoys. Still, they were all Enlighters at the very
least, as only a powerhouse at the Enlighter realm or higher was qualified to guard a current.

From Island Master Rong’s memories, Lu Yin knew that, while the Lu family had forcefully drafted these
cultivators, they had also been promised to be released after standing guard for a set number of years.
On top of that, the Lu family had promised to provide the guardians with all the necessary cultivation
resources for the duration of their time as guardians. Essentially, the cultivators had been forcibly hired,
but they were still being paid.

Had any of the guardians of the 100,000 currents experienced a breakthrough and become an Envoy
since the Lu family had been exiled? Had any of them died? Lu Yin had no idea, as none of the guardians
were able to meet with any of the others.

Island Master Rong’s memory indicated that his agreement with the Lu family had taken place many,
many years ago. In the past, Island Master Rong had been a cultivator in the Perennial World, but Lu Yin
had no interest in those memories. His only interest was in the person from the Lu family who had
interacted with Island Master Rong. That man was Lu Qi, Lu Yin’s father.

After ending the Possession, Lu Yin's consciousness returned to his body. 100,000 currents, which
corresponded to 100,000 cultivators who had reached agreements with the Lu family. There were
100,000 powerhouses that the four ruling powers did not even know existed. How many Envoys were
among them? How many Enlighters?

This was a massive army, but Lu Yin could not use it. These people neither followed the Lu family nor
belonged to the Lu family, as the two had merely come to an agreement for an exchange of services.

None of these guardians knew that the Lu family had been exiled. If Lu Yin had not coincidentally
Possessed Island Master Rong, word of the guardians of the Middle Ocean’s currents would never get
out, and all of those people would die of old age in the depths of the Middle Ocean.

In that case, should Lu Yin release those guardians? The problem was that releasing the guardians would
expose the matter of the 100,000 currents that connected to the Mother Tree’s roots. The guardians
had been given their task by the Lu family in order to prevent the Aeternals from destroying the roots,
so removing the guardians was impossible, not unless there was a way to release them without
destroying or exposing the sourcebox array.

Lu Yin suddenly thought of something else; if the Lu family had hidden the 100,000 currents with a
sourcebox array, then why had they bothered with the guardians at all? The only reason to do such a
thing was if the sourcebox array could be destroyed.

If Lu Yin released the guardians, then he would need to find another method to protect the currents, as
removing the guardians was essentially removing a radish and creating a hole. After considering the
matter for some time, Lu Yin decided to leave things the way they were for the time being. It was simply
not realistic to move any of the guardians.

Lu Yin tapped his die again, only to see one pip. He shook his head, as this meant that he needed to rest
for another ten days.

There was still an entire month left before he chaperoned the students on their training session, which
meant that he should be able to roll his die twelve more times. How many times could he roll six pips in
twelve rolls? Even once was not that likely.
Ten days passed, and Lu Yin stretched out his hand once again while staring at his die. He really hoped
that he could roll Possession again and gain access to someone with useful memories.

It was all that he could think about as he tapped the die.

His first, second, and third rolls had not given him six pips, and Lu Yin had no hope for his fourth roll
either. This was mostly because none of the three rolls had been Timestop, which was one of the most
common results. Thus, he believed that his fourth roll was likely to be Timestop.

Surprisingly, Lu Yin’s luck proved to be quite good, as his fourth roll was indeed six pips.

Seeing six pips caused a surge of excitement as Lu Yin’s consciousness entered the strange dark space
again. This time, he saw many bright orbs of light, some of which shone like suns and were far too bright
for him, so he intended to avoid them entirely. Besides, there were several that were just right for him
to merge with.

Lu Yin glanced around for a moment before finally deciding on which orb he would merge with.

It certainly was not the brightest orb he could see, but it was a bit brighter than the orbs that were the
best matches for Lu Yin’s current strength. He was not entirely sure if he would be able to Possess this
person, but he intended to give it a try. Based on the brightness, he estimated his target to be a seven or
eight-tribulation Envoy.

When his eyes opened, all he could see were corpse kings.

His expression instantly changed. Corpse kings?

The sky was dark, and looking around, only the shattered remains of a city could be seen. There were
countless corpse kings wandering around in what looked to be a stupor. At times, black shadows would
pass by, but they also belonged to more corpse kings.
Memories started to pour in, and Lu Yin quietly examined them. He quickly learned that he was in a
sealed civilization within a pond, similar to when he had appeared in the Bei family’s pond upon arriving
in the Perennial World. He had Possessed a corpse king. The family which controlled the pond that held
the corpse kings was led by a traitor to humanity, and the pocket dimension was specifically intended to
create and hide corpse kings.

This was not a very uncommon situation, as the farmed pond civilizations were not regulated or
overseen by the rulers of the Perennial World. Each civilization belonged to a given family, or even
individual. If the owner of the pocket dimension was compromised, their pond civilization would be
transformed.

It was highly unlikely for a pond civilization to give rise to a powerful corpse king, and Lu Yin had never
considered the fact that he would Possess one.

Lu Yin had Possessed an extremely powerful corpse king. He was able to sense the overwhelming
physical might of the creature’s body, and its strength was comparable to at least a seven-tribulation
Envoy’s.

The corpse king had been hiding within the pond civilization for almost a thousand years, and it was
waiting for something.

There was no further information available in the corpse king’s memories, so Lu Yin looked upwards and
caused the creature to shoot out of the pond. The only thing that he could do now was expose the
existence of the corpse king and draw the wrath of the four ruling powers down upon the traitor’s
family. This pond civilization had already been completely transformed into corpse kings.

The corpse king shot out of the pond, startling many people nearby. "Watch out! A monster!"

"That’s one of Aeternus’s corpse kings! Attack."

Chaos descended upon the family, and even the patriarch was startled. This was terrible! Why had the
creature left the pond?

Word of the corpse king’s appearance quickly spread, and many people started to attack. Unfortunately,
Lu Yin had Possessed an incredibly powerful corpse king, and even the most powerful person attacking
the creature was merely an Enlighter. How could anyone in this place pose even the slightest threat to a
corpse king with the power of a seven-tribulation powerhouse?

Luckily for the nearby humans, the corpse king was being Possessed by Lu Yin. As long as he did not
attack, no one would be harmed.

Still, it was impossible for Lu Yin to permanently Possess the creature. The nearest place that was
guaranteed to have powerhouses who could handle such a powerful corpse king was the Nong family,
so Lu Yin fled straight towards Seed Garden. He intended to commit suicide.

The Middle Realm was huge, and even Semi-Progenitors needed a good bit of time to cross an entire
district. Lu Yin was lucky that the corpse king that he had Possessed had been in a place close to Seed
Garden, which made things rather convenient. At the very least, Lu Yin would not have to spend too
long on this Possession and waste his precious star essence.

The corpse king’s body shot through the Middle Realm, and Lu Yin soon saw Seed Garden. As soon as it
entered his sight, his eyes focused, and he charged forward.

Attacking Seed Garden with the strength of a seven-tribulation powerhouse was no different than
committing suicide. The Nong family was one of the most powerful forces in the entire Middle Realm,
and during the Lu family’s reign, Seed Garden had been on the same level as the Celestial Frost Sect and
Shenwu's Sky. After the Lu family had been exiled, countless people who had been close to the Lu family
had been eliminated. Only the Nong and Liu families had remained untouched, and that was solely due
to their impressive power.

Forget a seven-tribulation powerhouse—not even a Semi-Progenitor would dare to attack the Nong
family.
Chapter 2247: Seemingly Fair

This day would be remembered as a shocking one for many in the Nong family. There were many
descendants of the family out in fields, and they witnessed the bloodthirsty aura of an attacking corpse
king for themselves. Some people even questioned if the corpse king might have had the strength of a
Progenitor.

They were not alone, as even Nong Ya, the patriarch of the Nong family, was questioning the strength of
the corpse king as he stared at the rapidly approaching creature. The patriarch eyed the corpse king, and
then he quickly sent word to their ancestor.

Out in one of the family’s fields, Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie stared at the corpse king in a daze.

Suddenly, a green leaf sprouted from the ground. It swept through the sky as though it were carried on
an autumn wind and then wrapped around the corpse king.

Lu Yin wanted to first get some idea of the Nong family’s power, so he lashed out with a punch. The
corpse king’s fist struck the green leaf floating in the wind, but there was no reaction. There was no
change in momentum and not a mark to be seen on the leaf. However, the corpse king was tightly
bound. First, the creature’s muscles were restricted, then its bones, and finally its internal organs.

After spending a bit of time shrouded in darkness, Lu Yin's consciousness returned to his body. The black
and white mist within his chest trembled and strengthened. He had once again experienced death, and
this time, he had been killed by the Nong family.

A single falling leaf had been enough to instantly overpower and suppress a corpse king with the
strength of a seven-tribulation Envoy, quickly killing the creature. This showed the foundation of the
Nong family.
It was possible that the leaf had been powerful enough to defeat more than just the corpse king that Lu
Yin had Possessed. Perhaps even Semi-Progenitors would find themselves helpless before that green
leaf.

Lu Yin would never dare to underestimate the top powers of the Perennial World. After all, anything
that the Nong family was capable of, so too were the four ruling powers.

Once again, Lu Yin felt incredibly grateful that he had managed to escape from Dragon Mountain with
the assistance of Kui Luo and the Seven Skygods. Without them, he would have never been able to
escape.

At the same time, far away in Seed Garden, countless people were staring at the fallen leaf in a daze as it
drifted down to the ground. Nothing was left behind, and the green leaf was actually a bit more vibrant
than before.

Nong Lie blinked. What had he just seen?

"Sister, could I have seen things wrongly just now? Did a corpse king just come charging towards us?"

Nong Sanniang pursed her lips. "Yes."

"And it died within seconds?"

"Yes."

"Why?"
Nong Sanniang could not think of a single answer. "I don't know."

She removed the cloth on her head and used it to clean the sweat from her face. "I have absolutely no
idea."

No one could understand what had just happened. Why had a corpse king so desperately charged
towards Seed Garden?

There was an extremely solemn expression on Nong Ya's face at this moment. A corpse king felt no
emotions, so it should not have been seeking death. There had to be a reason behind its actions. Why
would such a powerful corpse king have committed suicide by attacking Seed Garden? What purpose
was served?

Could it be a message? Was Aeternus preparing to attack the Nong family?

Also, where in the world had that corpse king come from?

It was at this time that Nong Ya received a report informing him that the corpse king had originally come
from the farmed civilization of a specific nearby family’s pond. The order was given to erase the family
and eliminate the entire civilization that they had been grooming.

Things were growing increasingly odd. If the corpse king had been hidden so well, why had it
deliberately exposed itself?

Nong Ya could not make sense of what had happened, and neither could anyone else from the Nong
family. When the news reached the four ruling powers, they were also unable to make any sense of the
strange happenings.

All that anyone knew was that there was a feeling that things had recently been growing increasingly
strange in the Perennial World.
In Virtue Archives, Lu Yin stared at his cosmic ring in agony. He had actually burned through more than
60 billion star essence during that Possession. 60 billion, not 600 million.

This was part of the cost of Possessing such a powerful expert, but the other matter was that Lu Yin had
forced the corpse king to travel all of the way to Seed Garden, which had taken a bit of time and had
contributed to the astronomical cost.

No matter how Lu Yin examined the matter, it was disheartening to spend so much.

He finally decided to just forget about the matter and treat the cost as a gift to humanity. No matter
how hard humanity worked to dig out traitors and uncover corpse kings, the Perennial World could
always use a wake-up call that Aeternus had various means to hide themselves.

Although Lu Yin had unexpectedly managed to roll Possession on his fourth roll, it had been useless.
Thus, he was forced to wait another ten days before he could try again.

After a few days, Nong Siniang asked Lu Yin to help her open another sourcebox. Nong Siniang gave Lu
Yin the most sourceboxes to open out of all the students.

"Professor, have you heard about all of the weird things that have been happening lately?" Nong Siniang
asked while observing “Yu Hao” work at lockbreaking.

Lu Yin was only working on a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, so he could afford the distraction of a
conversation. "What kind of strange things?"

"The patriarchs of all of the four ruling powers have gone missing," Nong Si Niang said.
“Yu Hao” was surprised to hear this. "All of them disappeared? I thought that only Xia Xing had gone
missing, no?"

"He’s not the only one. Rather, he was simply the first. After him, Bai Teng disappeared, and then so did
Wang Zheng and Long Ke. All of them deserve it! I have no idea who attacked them, but as long as it
wasn’t Aeternus, we're all happy about it," Nong Siniang stated indifferently.

Lu Yin replied, "If even the leaders of the four ruling powers can disappear, then things really are getting
chaotic. We’re lucky that the God of Food will be around when I escort you and the other students on
the training excursion. Otherwise, we’d face a great deal of danger. Your family would normally be fine,
as they’re no weaker than the four ruling powers, but if even Xia Xing was captured by Aeternus, your
Nong family should also be careful."

"You’re quite perceptive, Professor. Something did happen to us as well," Nong Siniang said solemnly.

Lu Yin feigned surprise. "What happened?"

Nong Si Niang bit her lip. "I don't really understand it, but apparently, a corpse king charged at Seed
Garden as though committing suicide. It was instantly crushed to death by a fallen leaf that was left for
us by our ancestor. It was very odd, and the four ruling powers even sent some investigators to look into
the matter. We think that we’ll be attacked by the Aeternals soon.

"The Liu family is very nervous right now, and they’ve called back all of their people who were away
from home."

Lu Yin let out a sigh. "It really does sound strange. For anyone to attack your family’s Seed Garden, they
can only be looking for death."

"However, that corpse king caused my Nong family to find a large number of corpse kings hidden in a
civilization inside a pond, which triggered a massive cleanup. My sister tells me that she expects to see
the four ruling powers do a mass scouring of all of the farmed civilizations that various families and sects
are raising. This matter is going to create a lot of problems," Nong Siniang murmured.

While the girl was just speaking random thoughts, Lu Yin was eagerly listening. While rearing civilizations
was a very common practice in the Perennial World, it was not something that people would reveal to
outsiders. In fact, basically all organizations with an Envoy in them would rear a civilization as a source of
soldiers, slaves, guards, and for other, more unspeakable purposes. If the four ruling powers demanded
to start overseeing and regulating these farmed civilizations, the impact that it would have on other
powers would be massive.

Making such a demand was nothing less than stripping away fanciful clothes people wore and exposing
everything hidden beneath the surface.

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. Things were not at all simple this time. While Virtue Archives did not have any
farmed civilizations, Seed Garden absolutely had one, and the same had to be true of the Li family as
well. Just these two families alone would be gravely impacted by such a regulation, but if one took all
the various powers throughout the Perennial World with six or seven-tribulation Envoys into
consideration, then the effects of this decision would ripple out to affect nearly the entire Perennial
World.

Still, this was a good thing.

If Lu Yin were the one in control of the Perennial World, he would also want to eliminate the practice of
rearing farmed civilizations. How was it reasonable to raise people in captivity? How was that any
different from treating people the same as animals? The people who grew up in those civilizations were
really being raised for the slaughter by the different families and sects. This fate was beyond tragic. If
the four ruling powers did away with such a practice, then it could only be considered a good thing.

"Does your Seed Garden have ponds with civilizations?" Lu Yin asked casually.

Nong Siniang nodded. "Yes. We have a very large one that has countless people in it. If people can reach
a certain level of strength, then they’ll be able to break free of the pond and will be allowed to join my
Seed Garden, and they will even be treated the same as any other cultivator. We aren’t as cruel as the
other families."

How was this not cruel? Those people trained desperately, and when they were finally able to leave
their relatively primitive civilization, believing that they would ascend to a greater world, they would
emerge only to learn that they were nothing more than servants or slaves. This could only be considered
a terrible blow.

The Nong family believed that their treatment was good and fair, but their idea of fairness was tainted
by the perspective of the rest of the Perennial World. Sadly, anyone from the Fifth Mainland would be
able to understand the people from the farmed civilizations, but the members of the Nong family
themselves could not.

This method of rearing farmed civilizations could be seen as a cancer in the Perennial World. Lu Yin truly
hoped that the four ruling powers would do something good and eliminate the cancer.

A short time later, Lu Yin finished opening the sourcebox, and a weapon emerged. It was a power vessel,
but it was so old and decayed that it had no power left in it.

Still, Nong Siniang was not at all disappointed. "Professor, there are only a few days left before we’ll
leave on the excursion. Mr. Tang has been helping us by answering all of our questions. When will you
head over to join the rest of the group?"

"I’ll wait a few more days," Lu Yin replied.

Nong Siniang left without making any fuss.

Two days later, Wu Taibai arrived to visit “Yu Hao.” While he found it to be a pity that he would not be
joining the students and chaperones, Wu Taibai made no complaints about Liu Que.
Prof. Zheng also stopped by to remind “Hao Yu” of the importance of maintaining Virtue Archives’
reputation. Regardless of anything else, this was still the first time that the academy’s students would be
visiting the rulers of the Perennial World ever since the Lu family had been exiled. It was impossible for
there to be a fair comparison between the youths of the four ruling powers and Virtue Archives’
students, as the students were simply too far behind.

Several more days passed, and after a total of ten days, Lu Yin returned to his chosen room and raised a
hand. His die appeared, and he tapped it again.

This time, his luck was incredible, as his very first roll landed on six pips. His consciousness entered the
mysterious dark space, but when he looked around, he only saw one bright ball of light. This particular
orb was very bright, even more so than the one that had represented the corpse king that Lu Yin had
last Possessed.

Lu Yin’s heart was swayed as he stared at the ball of light. While the intensity of the light indicated that
Possessing this person would be a challenge, a six or seven-tribulation Envoy stood near the peak of the
Perennial World. Someone who was beneath only Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors was a very
attractive target for Lu Yin.

He stopped hesitating and merged with the orb. While failing to Possess the person would be rather
serious and would burn through a chunk of Lu Yin’s star essence, if he succeeded, the potential benefits
far outweighed the risks. He could not afford to worry about a potential failure.

Throughout the Perennial World and the Fifth Mainland, even if one went back to the Heavens Sect era,
no one had ever consumed star essence as quickly as Lu Yin. Even more importantly, no one had any
idea what he was doing with so much star essence.

His consciousness merged into the Possessed body, and there was a burst of dizziness. Lu Yin felt out of
breath, which was a sign of a forced Possession that exceeded his abilities. Luckily, he was able to
weather the slight backlash.

When his eyes opened, he saw the familiar sky of the rear battlefield. He was standing on the Mother
Tree above the rear battlefield, looking down on it. Lu Yin had Possessed Grandmaster Qiu Ling.
Grandmaster Qiu Ling was the first Array Grandmaster that Lu Yin had encountered in the Perennial
World, as the White Dragon Clan had asked her to take Long Qi as her apprentice when Lu Yin had been
disguised. When she had examined him on Dragon Mountain, she had introduced Lu Yin to the game of
Stable Zone. It was a famous game played only by Array Masters.

That game had left a deep impression on Lu Yin, as it had provided him with a much greater
understanding of the abilities of an Array Grandmaster.

It was completely shocking to Lu Yin that he was able to Possess an Array Grandmaster.

Chapter 2248: The Hidden Redback

There were some cultivation requirements for Lockbreakers, though they were merely minimum
requirements. For example, a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker had to at least be a Melder, while a
Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker had to at least be an Explorer. This was simply the minimum level
of strength needed for each Lockbreaker level, rather than the cultivation limit that a Lockbreaker of a
specific level could achieve.

One needed to be an Enlighter and also master a sourcebox array in order to become an Array Master.
While it was also possible to become a Senior Array Master as an Enlighter, a Realm Array Master had to
be an Envoy. Array Grandmasters also needed to be Envoys, though Lu Yin was not very clear about how
many tribulations one needed to pass for one to become an Array Grandmaster. All he knew was that all
the Array Grandmasters that he had encountered were either Semi-Progenitors or peak Envoys, like
Grandmaster Xiu Ming.

As for Grandmaster Qiu Ling, whom Lu Yin was Possessing, she was a seven-tribulation Envoy, which was
very close to Grandmaster Xiu Ming’s cultivation level, but just slightly lacking. She was just weak
enough that Lu Yin was able to Possess her. If she were a Semi-Progenitor like many other Array
Grandmasters, Lu Yin would not have been able to forcibly Possess her no matter what.

Possessing an Array Grandmaster was far more useful to Lu Yin than Possessing any peak Envoy. Just the
woman’s lockbreaking experience alone was a priceless treasure for Lu Yin. In the past, the most
accomplished Lockbreaker that Lu Yin had ever Possessed had only been a Realm Array Master.

As the memories flooded in, Lu Yin remained ecstatic. He wanted to see what kind of sourcebox arrays
Grandmaster Qiu Ling had mastered.

The requirements to become an Array Grandmaster was to master at least five sourcebox arrays, as well
as create an original sourcebox array. This meant that Lu Yin could potentially learn five sourcebox
arrays as well as Qiu Ling’s self-created sourcebox array from this Possession.

However, before he even saw the memories of the woman’s sourcebox arrays, Lu Yin found a memory
that left him both furious and terrified; Grandmaster Qiu Ling was actually a Redback.

There were many Redbacks throughout the Perennial World, so Lu Yin knew that he should not be
surprised to learn that anyone was a Redback. And yet, he could not help but be surprised to learn that
Grandmaster Qiu Ling was one. The betrayal felt as heavy as if he had just learned that a specific Semi-
Progenitor was a Redback.

Array Grandmasters were held in exceptionally high regard in both the Fifth Mainland and the Perennial
World. Also, the Sixth Mainland did not have even a single Array Grandmaster at all.

As a general rule, as long as an Array Grandmaster did not do anything particularly offensive, no one
would be willing to get on their bad side. For example, even though Grandmaster Gu Yan had a very odd
personality and even hated the four ruling powers, blatantly refusing to give them any show of respect,
the four ruling powers did not dare to offend the man. In fact, they were even eager to find a way to
recruit him.
While Grandmaster Qiu Ling could not compare to Grandmaster Gu Yan’s reputation, she was not far
behind the old man. The four ruling powers had also tried their best to recruit Qiu Ling, and it was
possible for such a person to acquire everything that they could ever want. It was unexpected that such
a person would be a Redback.

Lu Yin quickly started searching through Grandmaster Qiu Ling’s memories for the one of when she had
first become a Redback. After seeing that memory, Lu Yin would understand why.

Grandmaster Qiu Ling had done nothing to betray humanity after becoming an Array Grandmaster.
Instead, she had been recruited as a Redback shortly after she had first become a Lockbreaker.

It was all because of someone named Shang Yi.

Both Qiu Ling and Shang Yi had been exceptionally talented when they had first become Lockbreakers.
They had been considered the representatives of their generation, just like Wu Dan in the Fifth
Mainland. Their talent had been recognized by all Lockbreakers, and they had been acknowledged as
geniuses who were guaranteed to eventually become Array Masters.

Countless people had high hopes for Qiu Ling and Shang Yi, and countless eyes had been focused on her.
However, Qiu Ling's talent had always been just a tiniest bit behind Shang Yi’s, and so, she had been
constantly overshadowed by him. When Shang Yi had become a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker,
Qiu Ling had still been a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. When he had become a two star
Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, she had become a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.
She had always remained one step behind, and this had lasted for almost ten years. Eventually, Qiu
Ling’s mind had been shaken by her feelings of inferiority, and the gap between her and Shang Yi grew
even larger.

Qiu Ling had always been arrogant, and she could not accept such an outcome, and yet she was
completely unable to surpass her rival. Anger and resentment had accumulated in her heart, growing
heavier and heavier with time. This was what had given the Aeternals an opportunity. Shaman God had
approached Qiu Ling and recruited her as a Redback. The old monster was quite skilled at scheming, and
they had used a specific sourcebox array to convince Qiu Ling to willingly become a Redback. Of course,
she had also demanded that Shang Yi be killed.
Shang Yi had indeed been assassinated, but not by the Aeternals. Instead, he had been killed by
Realmless, though the client paying for the assassination had been a Redback.

With Shang Yi’s death, Qiu Ling had instantly become the most talented genius of her generation in
everyone's eyes. However, her talent remained inferior to Shang Yi’s. It was only after she became an
Array Master that she was able to take advantage of the sourcebox array that she had received from
Shaman God. Then, her progress became startlingly fast. She continued to improve step by step until she
became an Array Grandmaster.

It was impossible for Lu Yin to sift through all of Qiu Ling's memories, but there were specific memories
that had had a great impression on the woman, as they formed the basis for her entire existence.

She was a selfish, narrow-minded woman who was extremely talented at Lockbreaking.

While reviewing the woman’s memories, Lu Yin finally resolved the mystery of Grandmaster Qiu Ling’s
attitude towards him on Dragon Mountain.

He had been known as Long Qi at that time, and the White Dragon Clan had asked Grandmaster Qiu Ling
to test Long Qi and see if he would be an acceptable apprentice. Qiu Ling had initially greatly admired
Long Qi, and she had even made it a point to provide him with a great deal of instruction in a game of
Stable Zone, teaching him how to play the game and greatly improving his lockbreaking experience in
the process. At the time, Lu Yin thought the woman had been paid to do so by the White Dragon Clan.

However, after the Celestial Frost Sect had started verbally attacking Long Qi and Wang Yun had
recognized him as being Lu Yin, Qiu Ling's attitude had completely changed. She had immediately
become extremely suspicious of Lu Yin and had also found his lockbreaking talent to be lacking. Such
contradictory attitudes had puzzled Lu Yin, though he had thought nothing of the change at the time.

However, Qiu Ling had used a sourcebox array to capture Lu Yin right before he reached the Cloud
Shuttle to return to the Middle Realm from the Higher Realm, only to deliberately let him go again. The
woman had demonstrated yet another change in attitude then, and Lu Yin had certainly noticed the
confusing change at that time. He had thought that there had to be a reason for it, but his curiosity had
been suppressed after he left the Perennial World. While reviewing Qiu Ling's memories, Lu Yin
understood that everything that she had done regarding Long Qi had been at Shaman God’s orders.

She had helped teach him and demonstrated his impressive lockbreaking talent before the four ruling
powers just to give them a greater incentive for hunting Lu Yin down after he was exposed. She had also
let him escape so that the four ruling powers would continue to pursue him and chase him into the Fifth
Mainland, as creating discord and internal conflict within humanity was all part of Shaman God's plan.

Shaman God had admitted its plan to Lu Yin, saying that its entire goal was to use Lu Yin’s existence to
weaken both the Perennial World and the Fifth Mainland so that Aeternus would be able to reap the
benefits.

The Aeternals needed to make sure that Lu Yin was hunted and pursued, but not killed. For them, he
was bait that they were leaving out.

Lu Yin’s mind started to lose focus, and he grew dizzy. Qiu Ling was an Array Grandmaster, and she was
powerful enough that Lu Yin could not Possess her for a long period of time. The fact that he could force
the Possession to even occur was already quite impressive.

He quickly scanned through the woman’s memories for anything regarding Star Alliance. The world
started to spin, and Lu Yin’s consciousness passed through the dark space to return to his own body.

He just breathed and rubbed his head for a long time. This Possession had granted him incredible gains,
as how else could he have ever learned that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a Redback? On top of that, he
had also learned the information that he needed about Star Alliance.

Just as he had guessed, the members of Star Alliance were being gathered back together by the four
ruling powers, and the location was being deliberately leaked as bait for Aeternus.
The four ruling powers were setting a trap for the Aeternals. Not to mention one of the Seven Skygods’
Semi-Progenitor avatars, even if one of them appeared with their true body, they might not be able to
escape unscathed. More importantly, if Aeternus did not take the bait, the four ruling powers lost
nothing at all.

As far as the four ruling powers were concerned, things were proceeding perfectly.

However, their trap was also Lu Yin's opportunity. With so many Envoys being gathered together, he just
needed to roll Possession on his die and Possess the right person. Odds were that he would be able to
Possess someone in Star Alliance, and as soon as that happened, he would be able to remove the
restrictions on everyone. That way, there would not even be any need for Lu Yin himself to appear.

This was something that the four ruling powers could never imagine or prepare for, and all Lu Yin
needed was a bit of luck.

The other information that Lu Yin had made a point to search Qiu Ling’s memories for was the
sourcebox array that she had received from Shaman God. It was known as Void Brand, and it was the
reason why her improvement in lockbreaking had accelerated after she had become an Array Master.
The fact that her progress had accelerated at that point had startled many people, and many had
commented on how her lockbreaking talent was specifically geared towards sourcebox arrays.

However, all of Qiu Ling’s improvements had been because of the Void Brand sourcebox array. In
essence, it added extra time to her lockbreaking sessions, and she was able to freely manipulate things
within that additional time.

This actually had nothing to do with the power of time, but rather with the power of space.

Using Void Brand meant that, when Qiu Ling was lockbreaking, while she was not able to go back in time
and undo any mistakes that she made, the sourcebox array allowed her to review and examine the
mistake in clear detail. This allowed her to get twice the results with half the effort.
When others were lockbreaking, mistakes would place them in grave danger, and it was even possible to
die without knowing why. However, Qiu Ling was able to clearly see her mistakes and study them. It was
an incredible difference.

The use of Void Brand had also caused Qiu Ling to develop a certain habit; when she was cultivating,
lockbreaking, or even simply resting, she would always use Void Brand.

Lu Yin suddenly shot to his feet, an ugly expression on his face. Had Qiu Ling set up the Void Brand
sourcebox array before Lu Yin had Possessed her?

His eyes flickered, and he reviewed everything that had happened during the Possession, but he simply
did not know. He had never seen that particular memory, but if Void Brand had been used, then as long
as Qiu Ling had even the slightest doubts as to what had happened, she would be able to see what had
happened with the sourcebox array and would learn that someone had taken control of her.

If that happened, what would she do?

At this moment, Lu Yin’s fears were playing out on the rear battlefield.

As an Array Grandmaster, being cunning and scheming had become something intrinsic to Qiu Ling’s
personality. She had never been exposed as a Redback, but that had never lowered her sense of caution.

She had developed the habit, regardless of whether she was training or even resting, to reflexively
review everything that had recently occurred. This habit was entirely dependent on the Void Brand
sourcebox array, and it had essentially developed into a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

After Lu Yin ended the Possession, Qiu Ling’s consciousness had returned, and she had immediately
reviewed the recent events. Shockingly, she realized that she could not remember anything that had
happened, so she instantly accessed the sourcebox array. Recent events replayed before her, and she
saw something that left her absolutely horrified. Despite having no memory of it, she had opened her
eyes and stared out at the rear battlefield. When had that happened?
If this scene was not from Qiu Ling’s own memory, then it was from someone else’s. Had someone taken
control of her body? Who? Who could possibly seize control of her without her awareness?

Her first thought was of Shaman God. Who else aside from the Aeternals would target her? She had met
almost all the Perennial World’s top powerhouses, and none of them could seize control of her. The only
possibility was the Aeternals. Qiu Ling was a Redback, and Aeternus had always been watching her.

Why would the Aeternals seize control of her body? Was it a warning? It was true that, ever since Qiu
Ling had become an Array Grandmaster and her status had improved, she had started to disregard
Aeternus. She had nothing at all to do with them, not unless she received direct orders from Shaman
God itself, as with the situation related to Long Qi. In those situations, Qiu Ling would do her best, but
she had not been proactive in a long time. It seemed that Aeternus was giving her a warning.

Qiu Ling's expression was dark, and her eyes flitted about. She had no idea what to think of her
situation.

Chapter 2249: Fairy Miao

Back in Virtue Archives, Lu Yin quickly checked his cosmic ring. 100 billion. How painful! He had just
burned through 100 billion star essence! Just how much would it cost to Possess Semi-Progenitors? Or
further, when he could Possess Progenitors? He was too terrified to even consider the matter.

Was there even enough star essence in the Fifth Mainland and the Perennial World combined to pay for
what Lu Yin needed? Where else could he acquire more funds?

Regardless of the costs, Lu Yin needed to keep rolling his die. He wanted to Possess someone from Star
Alliance so that he could free those people from the restriction that controlled them.

Lu Yin’s mind raced, and even as he worried about the costs and potential benefits, he could not help
but look forward to the possibilities. He tapped the die. Three pips. He tapped again. Four pips. He was
done.
The fourth roll was Timestop, and Lu Yin willingly entered his Timestop Space, spending the entire time
practicing the Cosmic Art and reciting the Origin Sutra. Nearly a year later, he emerged from his
Timestop Space. He needed to wait another ten days before he could roll his die again.

Unfortunately, he was not given the opportunity, as ten days later was when the students would head
for the Higher Realm to start their exchange program. Naturally, Lu Yin was summoned by Headmaster
Wen.

It had taken a month for the list of participating students to be finalized. Over the course of the last
month, Mr. Tang and Prof. Wei had worked on helping the students raise their strength, but Prof. Hao
Yu had not yet shown up. He had to be present for at least the last ten days.

Lu Yin would simply need to find an opportunity to roll his die again.

Not everyone had the opportunity to see the Mother Tree up close.

Under the ladder, the God of Food smiled as he watched many students comment in amazement. These
students had never seen the Mother Tree up close.

Most of the students who could pass Virtue Archives’ entrance exam were the most talented
descendants of various powerful families, as the requirements were too steep for most geniuses.
However, there were also always some exceptionally talented independent cultivators who had no
resources, and they were also allowed entrance into the academy.

All of the twenty five students selected by Headmaster Wen were independent cultivators. The students
who could not be taken to visit the four ruling powers were actually the descendants of the various
powerful families, as they were all completely submissive to the four ruling powers.
As for students of various families not of the four ruling powers, Headmaster Wen did not take many of
them. These students would only adopt a submissive attitude when visiting the four ruling families.

When Virtue Archives arrived at the Mother Tree, the Smokecloud Sect had already prepared a cloud for
their exclusive use, and they were even generous enough to not insist on the standard procedure of
examining the contents of the students’ cosmic rings, which was practically unheard of.

Even Lu Yin was surprised by the treatment that they received.

"The four ruling powers are making a point to show their goodwill towards the academy," Mr. Tang said,
sounding quite worried.

Lu Yin asked, "Is that something that you don’t want, Professor?"

Mr. Tang looked conflicted. "I would love to see the academy remain the same as always."

Before the four ruling powers had started interfering with Virtue Archives, the academy had not had
nearly as many faculty members, as neither Wu Taibai, Prof. Bai, nor Prof. Wei had been instructors.
However, the academy had expanded, which meant both more students and more instructors in the
academy. Of the new instructors, it was clear that Wu Taibai and Prof. Bai were part of the four ruling
powers, but no one knew just how many of the other instructors were also part of the four ruling
powers.

Mr. Tang had been an instructor at Virtue Archives for a long time, and just like Prof. Zheng, Mr. Tang
never wanted to see the academy change. Unfortunately, that was nothing but a dream.

The four ruling powers would never be willing to allow the existence of other powerful organizations
outside of their control, especially something like the academy that had a Mountain and Sea.
"There are certain things that are outside of human control. Don’t think too much about such things,
Professor. Since certain things are unavoidable, we just need to do what we should," Prof. Wei said with
a smile.

Mr. Tang nodded. "Young people like you are more adaptable than us. It’s true that I’m simply voicing
the headmaster’s concerns and that such things are outside of our control. We should focus on taking
care of our students."

The God of Food did not say a word, though he listened to the conversation. There were indeed certain
things that were no longer in his control.

A short distance away, Xia Shenguang and several others appeared indifferent to everything. They did
not actually care about Virtue Archives in the slightest, and instead, they were preoccupied with the
recent developments within the four ruling powers. They could not help but feel like a dark shadow was
looming over them.

As the Cloud Shuttle drifted upwards, Lu Yin stared down at the shrinking Middle Realm. He looked
upwards and saw that the Higher Realm’s soil was already within reach. It was possible that it was the
sight of this soil that had forced the four ruling powers to banish the Lu family. They had also wanted to
look down on the entire Perennial World, instead of looking up and seeing the land that the Lu family
stood upon.

For most of the students, this was their first time visiting the Higher Realm. Even if most of the students
came from powerful families, that did not equate to being able to step foot on the Higher Realm.

Someone approached the exchange program’s students from the distance. They smiled as they
approached, and then went straight up to the God of Food and offered a respectful bow. "Wang
Miaomiao1 greets Senior God of Food."

Everyone stared at the woman, and many were stunned by her sight. She was a truly beautiful woman.
Lu Yin observed at Wang Miaomiao. There was no denying that she was beautiful, and she was actually
comparable to Yan'er. Wang Miaomiao had a graceful demeanor, and there was something almost
ethereal about her movements, though there was also a hint of maturity. She should be quite young,
though it was impossible to determine her age from just her appearance.

When Wang Xiaofan noticed who was greeting them, his eye twitched, and he started staring.

"So it’s Fairy Miao who’s greeting us. I’m surprised to see that the Wang family actually sent you. Aren’t
you still under house arrest?" The God of Food was clearly quite surprised to see the woman, and he did
not sound nearly as brusque and cold as when he usually spoke with people from the four ruling
powers. Instead, he sounded like a kind elder who cared for a junior. This was highly unusual.

Wang Miaomiao offered yet another bow as she looked at the God of Food and gave the old man a
playful smile. "Aside from me, no one else in the family deserves to be acknowledged by you, Senior.
Also, they’re all afraid of being scolded by you."

The God of Food laughed. "I wouldn’t dare to scold members of the Wang family, but it's still good to
see you. It’s been a very long time."

The smile slowly disappeared from Wang Miaomiao's face. "Not since the Lu family disappeared."

The God of Food sighed. "Let's not talk about that. Let’s go to your family’s homeland. I haven’t visited
that place for a long time."

"You haven’t visited since our homeland was moved from the Middle Realm to the Higher Realm," Wang
Miaomiao replied.

The God of Food had no choice but to respond, "I already said that we should drop that subject. It looks
like you want to remain under house arrest."
Wang Miaomiao rolled her eyes, and a mischievous smile returned to her lips. "It doesn't matter if I get
locked up again or not. If Senior returns, the elders will still send me back out here to play hostess for
you, as they want to leave a good impression."

The God of Food was left speechless.

Within the crowd of students, Bai Weiwei shifted over next to Wang Xiaofan. "Hey, is that the Fairy Miao
that you’ve always talked about dreaming of? She really is beautiful."

Wang Xiaofan frowned. "Don't spout nonsense."

A lewd smile crept across Bai Weiwei’s face. "Stop pretending. We've known each other since childhood,
and you've mentioned her a lot. You only stopped after you grew up. What? You don’t even dare to
admit it anymore?"

Wang Xiaofan turned to stare at Bai Weiwei. "I told you, don't spout nonsense."

On the other side, Nong Siniang exclaimed, "I actually saw Fairy Miao! I thought that the Wang family
would keep her under house arrest forever."

"What happened to her?" Lu Yin asked.

Nong Siniang gave him an odd look. "You don’t know, Professor?"

Lu Yin replied, "I never really had much of an interest in what happened outside of Yu City."

Nong Si Niang pursed her lips. "A hundred years ago, Fairy Miao was the most talented descendant of
the entire Wang family. Despite being from one of their branch families instead of a direct descendant,
she surpassed all of the direct descendants, and she even earned the same position as Wang Su within
the family. However, even with her talent and status, she’s been under house arrest for years because
of her relationship with the Lu family. In fact, after the Lu family was exiled, she even scolded Wang Fan,
the Wang family’s Progenitor."

Lu Yin was stunned. "She scolded Wang Fan? Is that true?"

Nong Siniang shook her head. "I don't know, but those are the rumors that have spread around in the
outside world, and she’s been locked up ever since that day, not allowed to leave. I really didn’t expect
her to be sent to greet us. They are giving face to Senior God of Food."

Lu Yin turned to look at Fairy Miao. Whether the rumors were true or not, even if the woman had not
scolded Wang Fan, she had clearly done something to be locked up for so long. It was possible that she
really had been bold enough to scold a Progenitor.

Headmaster Wen had been impressed at how rude “Yu Hao” had been to Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng,
but if Wang Miaomiao really had scolded Wang Fan, then she had to have a million times more courage.

The Wang family had sent a vehicle to collect the students for the exchange program. It was a large boat
that had been formed by folding white paper.

After everyone had climbed on board, Wang Miaomiao guided the boat to a place dedicated for the
Wang's family’s training: the Tri-Petal.

"The Tri-Petal?" Nong Siniang shouted again.

Bai Weiwei, Xia Shenguang, and Wang Xiaofan were surprised. In fact, even the God of Food was taken
aback. "The Tri-Petal? The Wang family is actually willing to open the Tri-Petal for my students?"

Wang Miaomiao smiled. "That's right. As long as they’re able to, they can break through the Tri-Petal by
working together, though I’d suggest that they do so one by one in order to maximize the benefits."
Mr. Tang spoke up, "The Wang family has really spent a great deal of resources on this exchange
program if they’re willing to even open the Tri-Petal."

Lu Yin was completely confused, but he stayed quiet.

Prof. Wei then spoke up. "According to the legends, every member of the Wang family, regardless of
whether they are part of the direct line, is allowed to enter the Tri-Petal. It holds battle techniques,
resources, and cultivation arts. In the lowest petal, there are power vessels good enough for Explorers,
comparable battle techniques and such, but nothing too special. If people are able to reach the middle
petal, they can gain access to the Wang family's famous cultivation arts, if they’re capable enough. As
for the top petal, there aren’t just battle techniques, but also secret techniques, tribulation crystals, and
cultivation arts there.”

"All of the Wang family’s descendants dream of being allowed to enter the Tri-Petal."

Mr. Tang added on, "There are rumors that Fairy Miao herself was able to surpass everyone else from
her generation due to the opportunities that she obtained in the Tri-Petal. Supposedly, she obtained the
family’s Sit and Forget, a secret technique, and other inheritances that were no worse than what the
most talented descendants of the Wang family’s direct line are given, and she ended up surpassing all of
them. The Tri-Petal is the best opportunity for the descendants of the side branches of the Wang family
to catch up to the descendants of the direct line, but I’ve never heard of the Tri-Petal being opened to
outsiders.”

"This is a place where even the Lu family would have had to pay a steep price to give their children
access to back when they were in power."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. The participants of the exchange program had been greeted by Fairy Miao, and
their cosmic rings had not been inspected when they had arrived at the Cloud Shuttle to enter the
Higher Realm. And at this moment, they were being told that they were even being given access to the
Tri-Petal. The Wang family was being far too generous to Virtue Archives’ students. It seemed as though
they were purposely favoring the students, and Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Prof. Zheng's warning.
Just what were the four ruling powers trying to accomplish?
When the rest of the students learned that they were being granted access to the Tri-Petal, their eyes lit
up, and they immediately started excitedly discussing this opportunity.

Wang Miaomiao shook her head and chuckled. "The Wang family’s hoping to steal away Virtue Archives’
students by offering them the chance to enter the Tri-Petal. You should be able to see through their
intentions, Senior."

The God of Food could only say, "So what if I can? My academy doesn’t forbid our students from joining
other powers. Provided that they are willing, all of my students are allowed to join the Wang family."

Wang Miaomiao replied, "If all of these students join the Wang family, then will Virtue Archives still
remain an academy? The four ruling powers want to use this exchange program to steal away all of your
students so that they can finally gain control of the academy. Looking at how insidious this plan is, it’s
probably something that the Xia family came up with."

God of Food laughed. "You're too blunt."

"That’s just because they’re all too sneaky. Not many are able to resist the temptation of the Wang
family's training opportunities. Senior, you should try to find a way to get away. If all of your students
join the four ruling powers, your academy will no longer be yours," Wang Miaomiao warned.

The God of Food gave a bitter smile. What could he even do about the situation? Virtue Archives was a
special place, and just like the procedures for the exchange program, instructors chose their students,
while students also chose their instructors. Control of the academy was not held purely by the faculty
members, as the students also had the right to make certain decisions. If all of the students joined the
four ruling powers, then Virtue Archives would not be able to remain the same academy that it had
been for so many years.

[1] Hopefully some of you remember that Forgotten Ruins God's name is Wang Miaomiao, however, it's
important to note that this Wang Miaomiao (王妙妙) does not have the same name in Chinese as
Forgotten Ruins God (王淼淼). ☜
Chapter 2250: The Tri-Petal

The four ruling powers were very ruthless in their attempts to take over Virtue Archives; otherwise, the
academy would have never been willing to take their students to the Higher Realm as part of an
exchange program, as this would give the four ruling powers a chance to recruit their students.

However, the students had already arrived, so it was too late to regret the academy’s choice.

It was clear that all of the students’ eyes had lit up. Independent cultivators were always lacking for
resources, while the students from powerful clans and families were even more eager to join the four
ruling powers. There was no way out of this trap.

When Lu Yin had first arrived in the Perennial World at the Bei family’s home, he had already learned
that Virtue Archives had somehow changed. The changes taking place were quickly affecting the
academy's neutrality and internal structure. The four ruling powers' attempts to recruit the students and
the God of Food's helplessness both demonstrated what was happening: the God of Food could no
longer protect Virtue Archives.

The Higher Realm was much smaller than the Middle Realm, but it still took the paper boat five days to
reach the Wang family’s homeland from the Cloud Shuttle. Without the speed of that boat, it would
have taken the students several months at the least to make the journey.
As for the God of Food, he had no choice but to also visit the Wang family’s home land, but how could
he be willing to accelerate matters?

During the several day journey, Lu Yin, Prof. Wei, and Mr. Tang all spoke with Wang Miaomiao. She was
familiar with Mr. Tang, as the two had met before. As for Prof. Wei, she and Wang Miaomiao spoke
extensively, though no one knew what was said. When the two women were chatting, Lu Yin and the
others kept their distance.

The descendant of the Wang family’s direct line who was present on the boat, Wang Xiaofan, never
spoke a single word to Wang Miaomiao, and Wang Miaomiao never even looked Wang Xiaofan in the
eye.

They rapidly approached the floating landmass that was the Wang family’s headquarters. Lu Yin had
recently been to this place when he had captured Wang Zheng and Long Ke, and he was returning
already.

The Wang family was a monster in the Perennial World, though it was a mystery as to why Wang
Miaomiao had been sent to greet the people from Virtue Archives.

When they arrived at the Wang family’s home, a group of the high-ranking members of the Wang family
welcomed the students and faculty. Even Semi-Progenitor Chai was present.

"Senior God of Food, it’s been a long time." Semi-Progenitor Chai politely welcomed the God of Food
when the group from Virtue Archives approached.

The God of Food gave a small smile. "It’s true, it has been a long time. I’m quite surprised to see that you
haven’t died."

Everyone from the Wang family was quite upset to hear the God of Food’s rudeness. After all, Semi-
Progenitor Chai was a guardian of the Wang family, and insulting him was no different than insulting the
Wang family.
However, Semi-Progenitor Chai himself did not mind at all. "You’re surprised that I’m not dead?"

The God of Food earnestly responded, "You practice the Art of Retiring Gods, and you lost the use of
your legs when you became a Semi-Progenitor. With further progress, you’ll lose the use of your hands,
or even your brain. How is such a state any different from being dead?"

"Haha, it seems you think very highly of me, Senior. Others curse me to die, yet you think so highly of
me!" Semi-Progenitor Chai laughed.

The God of Food shook his head and turned his attention to the members of the Wang family who were
present.

They were led by the acting patriarch, a man named Wang Yan. He was a two-tribulation Envoy, and
while such strength was certainly not bad, it was nowhere close to enough to qualify to be the patriarch
of a top power like the Wang family. This was why the acting patriarch was being actively supported by
Semi-Progenitor Chai.

Wang Zheng was still missing, and Wang Su and Wang Yi were both absent, as was Elder Wang Si. Having
so many powerhouses missing was not unique to the Wang family, as the other ruling powers had also
sent people to the rear battlefield and to the Fifth Mainland.

The White Dragon Clan was in the worst condition, as they did not have even a single disciple from the
younger generation who could step up to shoulder some responsibilities.

"I wonder, what has the Wang family prepared to test the students that I’ve brought with me?" the God
of Food asked as his eyes briefly swept across Wang Yan and the others before they refocused on Semi-
Progenitor Chai. The Semi-Progenitor was clearly the decision maker.

Wang Yan remained perfectly calm. He was nothing more than a place-holder so that the Wang family
would have the appearance of an acting patriarch. Any actual decisions that had to be made had nothing
to do with Wang Yan. As soon as the New Corridor was repaired and Elder Wang Si and the others
returned, Wang Yi would be able to take over the position of acting patriarch.

Semi-Progenitor Chai glanced over at Wang Miaomiao. "Did you not tell Senior God of Food? My Wang
family has decided to open the Tri-Petal to Virtue Archives’ elite students."

Wang Miaomiao refused to even look at Semi-Progenitor Chai. She was the only member of the Wang
family who would not show the Semi-Progenitor even the slightest bit of respect, but to be fair, she
refused to show anyone from the family any hint of respect.

Semi-Progenitor Chai arched a brow, but he dropped the matter.

"The Wang family is truly magnanimous this time. I’ll thank the Wang family on behalf of my students,"
the God of Food responded with a smile.

Soon, the acting patriarch, Wang Yan, personally led the students on a tour of the Wang family’s floating
landmass. This was the extent of the man’s responsibilities: to give the students a personal tour as
another demonstration of goodwill.

The Wang family’s homeland was something that everyone knew about. But for people from the Middle
Realm, it was difficult to even enter the Higher Realm, let alone gain access to the Wang family’s floating
landmass. The fact that the students from Virtue Archives were allowed to visit such a place was
something that they could brag about for an entire lifetime.

"Ever since my Wang family’s homeland was first established, it has weathered the passage of time,
enemy attacks, assassins, Redbacks, and traitors. However, none of them ever managed to escape alive.
Do you see that slash mark? It was left by one of my Wang family’s Semi-Progenitors. We tend to focus
on unarmed combat, but that particular ancestor loved studying the sword. His swordsmanship was so
exceptional that he dominated an era and even managed to suppress a generation of the Liu family.
"Over here is a palm print left behind by another one of my Wang family’s ancestors. That ancestor
studied millions of creatures in the Lower Realm to create a million different palm strikes that he then
merged into a single technique. He used it to kill Marquis Xiang, one of Aeternus’s Twelve Marquises.
The current Marquis Xiang is not the original, as that marquis was killed by my ancestor.

"In the past, the incompetence of the Lu family led to a flood of Redbacks and traitors, which even
triggered a massive war. My Wang family led the vanguard, and the five fingers of our homeland were
nearly broken, but we managed to put an end to that war. Do you see that red bit of ground? That is the
blood of countless of my Wang family’s ancestors. No matter if one looks at the former Lu family or the
current Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu's Sky, and White Dragon Clan, no one can boast as iron-blooded a
history as my Wang family’s…"

Wang Yan preened as he showed the students around his homeland, and he gave the story of everything
that they saw. It was very obvious that the man was very proud of his Wang family’s history, and he also
blatantly disparaged all the other families and organizations that he mentioned.

Still, regardless of what the four ruling powers might have done or how much hatred Lu Yin held
towards them, it was undeniable that they had worked hard to fight against Aeternus. They had indeed
protected humanity.

The blood on the ground that had been pointed out to the students had dried up eons ago, and it had
long since become blackened. Still, there was a hint of a bloody scent that could be detected. Also,
seeing the blood of powerhouses who had defended their home in ages past had a profound impact.
Such people deserved respect.

Lu Yin observed Wang Yan's eloquent delivery. If he managed to avenge his Lu family in the future, what
would the four ruling powers do?

As the group made their way around the Wang family’s homeland, Wang Yan shared excessive historical
anecdotes about the Wang family. The family had remained a top power in the Perennial World for
countless years, as well as in the Daosource Sect and Heavens Sect before that. While much of the
family’s history had become blurred and hazy with the passage of time, it had not been completely lost.
It was also irrefutable that many powerhouses had risen from the family. Not to mention the Semi-
Progenitors, there had been many Progenitors. Awe could be clearly seen on the students’ faces, and
they were captivated by the honor it must be to be a member of such a distinguished family.

This was precisely the reaction that the Wang family had hoped for.

The Progenitor realm was too far away from the students for them to have any real understanding of it,
but Wang Yan spoke as though joining his Wang family practically guaranteed that one would become a
Progenitor.

"Everyone, look over there. That statue has become a permanent fixture on my Wang family’s
homeland, though the man himself was not part of my Wang family. He had a different surname, but he
joined my family because of how much he admired us. His name was Chong Yue. Senior Chong Yue was
very talented, and he coincidentally came into contact with elders from my Wang family long ago, and
he was eventually drawn in and joined us. My Wang family provided him with all of his cultivation
resources, which allowed him to rise up, step by step. He became an Envoy, then a Semi-Progenitor, and
eventually, a Progenitor! He became one of my Wang family's Progenitors," Wang Yan pointed to a
distant statue as he spoke in open admiration.

Most of the students were amazed and hurried forward to get a better look at the statue.

However, Bai Weiwei stayed back, clearly contemptuous.

Nong Siniang even bared her teeth. "Shameless!"

Lu Yin felt puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Nong Siniang quietly explained, "Progenitor Chong Yue was never part of the Wang family, though he
did have a close relationship with them."

Lu Yin blinked. "Then why is there a statue of him here?"

Nong Siniang continued, "From what my elders said, Progenitor Chong Yue did receive help from the
Wang family, but it was only a small favor. He was also close to the Lu family, but unfortunately, when
Progenitor Chong Yue died, only the Wang family’s Progenitor Wang Fan was nearby. Wang Fan claimed
that Progenitor Chong Yue’s dying wish was to be buried in the Wang family’s homeland. Hence, a
statue of Progenitor Chong Yue was built.

"Others didn't believe the story, but since it came from Progenitor Wang Fan, no one could refute him.
Finally, Progenitor Chong Yue was buried here on the Wang family’s homeland, and that also drew many
cultivators from other families to join the Wang family."

Lu Yin then understood, though he had to admit that Wang Fan's actions had been absolutely amazing.
Who did not dream of becoming a Progenitor? Unfortunately, it was too elusive a dream. Forget
independent cultivators, just how many people from monstrous powers like the four ruling powers, the
Nong family, the Liu family, or even the Lu family had succeeded in becoming a Progenitor? The story
that the Wang family had raised up an outside cultivator step by step into a Progenitor would naturally
have a massive impact on countless cultivators. After all, who could compare to such a story?

People started to believe that it was possible to become a Progenitor with the help and resources of the
Wang family, and if given a choice, they would immediately choose to join the Wang family.

Wang Fan's story not only provided the Wang family with any treasures that had been on Progenitor
Chong Yue’s body, but it had also recruited countless cultivators into the Wang family. It was a very
clever ploy.

Some distance away, many of the students stared at the statue with bright eyes. All young people
dreamed of becoming a powerful Progenitor, and so this statue had a powerful impact on the students.

Wang Yan felt quite proud. This statue had become an incredibly useful tool for the Wang family to
attract outside cultivators into joining their family. Who could remain unmoved after seeing that the
Wang family had given rise to a Progenitor who had been an outsider and that they had even erected a
statue for the powerhouse? Who would not wish to have their own statue erected within one of the
four ruling powers? Who did not dream of becoming a Progenitor?
"Cultivators from my Wang family periodically pay homage to this statue of Progenitor Chong Yue, and
every child born since the last time we paid our respects is brought here to watch. This is the affection
and care that my Wang family gives to geniuses," Wang Yan stated.

Nong Siniang’s mouth twisted into a sneer.

Even Xia Shenguang and the others from the four ruling powers could no longer stand listening to the
propaganda, so they moved elsewhere.

The God of Food had already become numb to such things. He had visited the Wang family in his youth,
and just like the students from Virtue Archives, the young God of Food had also dreamed of becoming a
Progenitor. He himself had nearly joined the Wang family. They were truly too cunning.

Few Progenitors had existed throughout all of history, and not all of them had been able to leave
records behind. Progenitor Chong Yue had definitely not been a powerful Progenitor, and Lu Yin
estimated that man had probably been about as powerful as the Sixth Mainland’s Progenitor of
Bloodlines. However, the Wang family had caused Chong Yue’s name to be passed down through the
ages. If Chong Yue were still alive, there was no telling if he would be happy or sad over how things had
turned out.

A Progenitor had failed to leave his name behind due to his actions against the Aeternals, but instead
had been recorded down in history because others had taken advantage of his death. It just felt wrong.