Star Odyssey

Chapter 1418: Little Tricks

Nong Lie was very happy to see Long Qi again, and he smiled. “My big sister had been wanting to meet you, Brother Long Qi, but she was unlucky and things didn’t work out. She should be able to see you in the Dominion Realm. I’m quite curious about you.”

Lu Yin wondered, “Curious about me?”.

Nong Lie laughed. “Of course. You’re the one who managed to surpass even Bai Xian’er’s time spent receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument, so there’s no one in the entire Perennial World who’s not curious about you. I heard you opened your lower meridian point? Congratulations.”

Long Jue was listening to Nong Lie’s words from the side, giving Lu Yin a cold stare. What sort of dog-shit luck had allowed a piece of trash like this guy to open his lower meridian point? If Long Jue had been given the same opportunity, there would be no need to hold a selection for who would go to the Dominion Realm, as Long Jue would definitely have been the top choice.

“It was just luck,” Lu Yin said. He had indeed only opened his lower meridian point by stealing the crystal thread, so it was not some glorious achievement.

Long Tian said, “Wen Diyi’s here.”

The group turned to look into the distance.

Lu Yin was stunned. What sort of name was that? This was a name with some personality. It should be Wen Wu First, and Wen Wu Second, but this guy’s name was actually Wen Diyi? He must be seeking for a beating.¹

It was not that Lu Yin had not seen Wen Diyi in the Hope Restaurant. Wen Diyi had been quite conspicuous there as well, and he wore a very unique outfit. It was just that the two had not been introduced to each other at that time.

When Wen Yi arrived, Long Tian’s attitude was just as enthusiastic as before.

Seeing the interactions between Long Tian and Wen Diyi, Lu Yin quietly asked Nong Lie, “Brother Lie, where’s this Wen Diyi from?”

Given how Lu Yin’s reputation had recently spread throughout the Perennial World, he was no longer worried about exposing himself by asking questions about things that should be common knowledge. No one would really question the matter anymore.

Nong Lie said, “Virtue Archives. That place is not simple, and they even have a few different secret techniques. Even the four ruling powers are constantly trying to find a way to send their kids there. This guy’s the top student from the Virtue Archives.”

“I’ve heard of it,” Lu Yin said.

Wen Diyi and Long Tian spoke a few polite words to each other, and then Wen Diyi made his way towards Nong Lie and Lu Yin while Long Tian greeted a woman who had approached from the distance. She was Liu Tianmu.

Lu Yin was surprised, as he had not expected Liu Tianmu to come to this planet. It looked like she had already stepped out of the Liu family after surpassing everyone else in Liu Lu’s generation, as there was no other way she would have been able to come to a Junior Progenitor Planet.

“Brother Long Qi, Brother Wen’s talking to you!” Nong Lie shouted, interrupting Lu Yin’s thoughts.

Lu Yin was startled, and he turned to see Wen Diyi looking at him with a smile. Lu Yin quickly apologized, “Brother Wen, I’m sorry. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment. I’m very sorry.”

Wen Diyi smiled and said, “It’s fine. I have been paying close attention to Brother Long Qi for quite a while. You’re the only person in all of history to have surpassed the amount of time that Bai Xian’er spent receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument. That truly impresses me.”

Lu Yin replied in the same humble manner, “It was just luck.”

Wen Diyi was the first to turn around and see Liu Tianmu talking to Long Tian, which surprised him. “She’s someone from the Liu family.”

Nong Lie was surprised to hear this. “Is she the one who’s second only to Liu Hao? Her sword skills should be unmatched. Such a person is very difficult to deal with, but fortunately, we’re on the same team.”

“Don’t forget about Liu Hao,” Wen Diyi reminded.

Nong Lie pouted. “Just ask Long Xi to deal with that guy.”

Even as he spoke, he seemed to feel that he had crossed a line. After all, Long Qi was standing right next to Nong Lie, and it was not very nice to force trouble onto someone’s wife in front of him.

What else could Nong Lie say? Long Tian had already ended his conversation with Liu Tianmu, and he loudly announced, “The trip to the Dominion Realm will start in half a month. There are five of you here, only two of you can join my team in the Dominion Realm. As for the others, it’s not that you aren’t strong enough, but rather many other factors that come into consideration. I invited you here to get to know each other. Even if you don’t get to join this trip to the Dominion Realm, this is still an opportunity to get to know each other and so please help each other.”

Lu Yin had not expected Long Tian to have such intentions. There were people from the Nong and Liu families, the Virtue Archives, and also Long Jue. No matter who was chosen or rejected, it would make things difficult with the powers behind these people. Long Tian’s words could be considered as respecting each person present, as well as apologizing in advance.

Wen Diyi and others quickly spoke up to offer polite words in reply.

Everyone got along with each other, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. After spending an hour together, everyone went their own way.

There was a strange expression on Liu Tianmu’s face as she made her way back to her training room. She had always been an indifferent person, but at this moment, she was feeling a bit embarrassed.

Lu Yin had just taken the opportunity to send her a voice transmission and had asked her to do something. It was something that she had never done before, or even thought of doing. Should she do it, or not? This was a problem.

After considering the matter for a while, Liu Tianmu finally decided to do what she had been asked. If she did this, her chances of going to the Dominion Realm would rise sharply.

She had not come to the Junior Progenitor Planet to gain face for her family. She had come in order to compete for a place on a team going to the Dominion Realm. This was a goal that deserved her casting aside all dignity and restraint for the being, and Lu Yin had not even asked her to do something against her principles. She had just been asked to keep an eye on a few people and where they went. It was observation, nothing more.

Lu Yin returned to the dark red magma to resume his own training. He had completed his eighteenth cycle, but Long Tian had not even reacted. Clearly, Lu Yin had no chance to join the team that would go to the Dominion Realm, though he also believed that Long Xi had some voice in the matter as well.

There was still half a month before the excursion to the Dominion Realm would leave, and Lu Yin could complete his nineteenth cycle during this time. After his body had been strengthened by the dragon saliva, it had reached the pinnacle possible as a Hunter, so there was no risk of raising his cultivation too fast, even if he did use the shortcut method. However, would he encounter problems when he tried to break through to become an Enlighter?

Lu Yin felt very conflicted. He finally decided to deal with the breakthrough first. If he succeeded, then he would go to the Dominion Realm, but if it was not possible, then he would just have to abandon the opportunity for the time being.

Ten days later, Lu Yin emerged from the dark magma and headed towards where Liu Tianmu and the others were training in their own training rooms. Lu Yin did not know if any of the hidden powerhouses guarding this planet were watching him, and though it was a distinct possibility, he did not care. It would be worth any cost he paid if he was able to get to the Dominion World, so why not try everything he could?

Before long, Lu Yin was looking at the ground. This was a mark that had been left by Liu Tianmu according to the plan Lu Yin had shared. These marks told him where Nong Lie and the others had been training recently. It was possible to determine the location of another star essence reserve on the planet by where these people chose to train.

This was what Lu Yin had asked Liu Tianmu to do. Without Liu Tianmu, he truly had no way of knowing where anyone was, as he could not stay and keep an eye on them himself, as he would definitely be discovered by Long Tian. However, Liu Tianmu was different, as she had been given a place to train close to the other youths.

Lu Yin’s luck held out. Nong Lie, Wen Diyi, and Long Jue were not able to refuse the offer of so many star essence, and they all chose to use them to recklessly cultivate.

Lu Yin wiped away the marks and started walking in a certain direction. When he came across a bit of star essence, he sprinkled a bit of Elder Wu’s poison that had been diluted. He then went to the next location and sprinkled more of the poison.

Elder Wu’s poison had already been Enhanced twelve times by Lu Yin, which meant that it was potent enough to affect even an Envoy, so he had needed to dilute it to ensure that it was not too powerful. Success of this plan all depended on whether or not these people would act according to his assumptions and come to collect the star essence scattered across the planet.

After poisoning the star essence that Nong Lie, Wen Diyi, and Long Jue would take, Lu Yin started acting like he normally did, and he grabbed a bunch of star essence and took them back to the mountain where he trained.

A middle-aged man pursed his lips and appeared. That brat had actually come to this place this time. Did he think there were not enough star essence elsewhere? The man shook his head, but did not send a report to Long Tian. The picture that had been sent to the Junior Progenitor earlier had been enough, and there was no need to repeat such things.

Lu Yin himself was unaware that he had been caught and photographed grabbing a mountain of star essence before, and that it had made Long Xi angry, while Long Tian had simply seen Lu Yin as a joke. However, that incident had also made Lu Yin not look in any way suspicious as he spread the poison about.

Nong Lie emerged from a training room and stretched his waist. He was tired, really tired, of cultivating.

He looked up to see a figure high in the sky taking away a large amount of star essence. It was Long Jue.

Nong Lie was put in a bad mood. He did not like Long Jue, as he was stupid. It was clear that Long Tian saw Long Jue as an idiot who could be used as cannon fodder. Although the man obeyed everything Long Tian said, the gleam in his eyes could not be hidden. It took only a glance to know that Long Jue was not an honest person.

Nong Lie suddenly remembered what Lu Yin had done while part of Humility’s Gate. Now this was an interesting person.

As he looked out at the Junior Progenitor Planet, Nong Lie considered wandering about. After all, this was not a place that could almost ever be visited.

Suddenly, he felt a sense of danger. Sword qi swept through the distance, and Nong Lie looked at it. He was surprised to see Liu Tianmu.

She stood there with her sword in her hand. The weapon’s blade shone brightly. It seemed as though the woman had sensed Nonglie’s gaze, and she glanced over at him in a provocative manner before turning around and leaving.

Nong Lie blinked. That sword a moment ago had seemed quite sharp, and it had actually made him feel a sense of danger. However, it was also clear that Liu Tianmu had not used her most powerful sword, which was a bit of a problem. That woman was going to be a big problem.

The more Nong Lie thought about it, the more difficult it seemed to be to deal with the swordswoman. He knew that Wen Diyi would win a position on the team to the Dominion Realm, which meant that either he or Liu Tianmu would take the final place on the team. The woman was so powerful that Nong Lie would be quickly defeated if he did not work hard. Unfortunately, there were only a few days left before it would be time to leave. Still, it was best to spend the time training hard, and there was also the chance of achieving some sort of enlightenment.

With this though, Nong Lie picked up some star essence and returned to training.

It did not take long for Wen Diyi to also take away a a great deal of star essence and return to training as well.

Liu Tianmu saw all of this, and she let out a sigh of relief. That Lu Yin had been right. If someone did not want to train, then just give them some motivation. Why did they guy spend so much time on such plans? No wonder he had managed to subjugate the Outerverse, he was too scheming.

This was Liu Tianmu’s first time participating in such a plan. Though she had done many things as one of the Ten Arbiters, most matters had been left to her underlings, and she had seldom stepped in to personally intervene. At this moment, she was needing to do things herself, which was not anything she was used to, but it certainly was effective.

She did not know how the others were doing.

After half a day, Long Jue was the first to encounter trouble.

Long Tian had a gloomy expression on his face as he looked at Long Jue lying on the ground. Behind him stood the elder who had been ordered to capture Lu Yin.

“Poison? When will he recover?” Long Tian asked quietly.

The elder replied, “Although this poison is quite potent, it is not actually complicated. It can be taken care of in no more than half a day, but-“

The old man hesitated to continue.

Long Tian had a bad premonition. “Tell me.”

“While this poison can be easily taken care of, it is very powerful, and so it will temporarily impact his cultivation. It will take at least half a month to completely cleanse his system, and even if we use the clan’s best resources, it will still take about ten days,” the man explained.

Long Tian let out a sigh of relief. He had expected that there would be permanent effects from this poison, but since the effects would only last for half a month, it did not matter. He had never planned to take Long Jue to the Dominion Realm anyways.

“Have you looked into this? How was he poisoned?” Long Tian asked.

[1] As mentioned before, Wen Diyi means Literacy (Wen) + Number 1 / Best (Diyi). This is in blatant contrast to a Chinese idiom that says “The best writer” is as a meaningless title as “the second best fighter.” This is meaning that a paper graded by three different teachers will receive three different grades, as each will like or not like different aspects of the paper. As for martial arts, no one even cares about whoever is number two. Essentially, despite there being no meaning to being the best writer, Wen Diyi is claiming the title. ☜