Star Odyssey

Chapter 536: An Old Friend

Zhao Yu looked at Lu Yin with a complicated expression. “Royal Regent, Your Highness, can you tell me where the Sage of Aqua, Bai Xue, is? Many of my sisters from Camp Blue have been anxious to find news of her.” 

Lu Yin thought about it before replying, “I don’t know.”

Zhao Yu was disappointed. She had learned that Bai Xue, Zhang Dingtian, and the others had gone missing while she was still on Earth, which was a huge reason why she had come to the Yu Academy. She wanted to discover if they had truly gone missing or if they had suffered from some unexpected mishap, but she had made no progress in her investigation. The Great Yu Empire was much more complex than she had expected, and even if the academy was only on the first mainland circling Zenyu Star, it was still difficult for her to leave, much less find any traces of Bai Xue. Zhao Yu had been fortunate enough to run into Lu Yin on this day, but he had just given her the same information that she had already received. 

“Although I don’t know where Bai Xue is, she should be very safe,” Lu Yin could not help himself from saying this when he noticed Zhao Yu’s grieved look.

Zhao Yu’s body trembled, and she gazed at Lu Yin with hope. “Your Highness, you must know where she is, right? Please tell me. I’m begging you.”

Lu Yin shook his head. “I have no reason to lie to you, and I truly don’t know. However, I did manage to see Zhang Dingtian, and he appeared to be just fine.” 

“Is the Sage of Aqua with Zhang Dingtian?” Zhao Yu was delighted. 

Lu Yin considered things. “Probably.”

Zhao Yu relaxed. Lu Yin’s exploits were too unbelievable for them Earthlings, and Zhang Dingtian seemed more tangible. The Sage of Aqua should be fine so long as she was with Zhang Dingtian.

“Thank you for telling me, Your Highness.” Zhao Yu immediately expressed her thanks.

Lu Yin reached out to pull her up. “How’s Earth?”

Zhao Yu politely replied, “The zombies have long since been eliminated, and Earth is currently in a new state of development. Many people have stepped onto the path of cultivation, and the Great Yu Empire is setting up a school on Earth to specially select students with innate gifts. We’re actually the first batch.”

“Can you keep up with the Yu Academy’s training?” Lu Yin asked.

Zhao Yu’s expression faded a bit. “A few of us can’t, but some of the others were able to quickly pass the Yu Academy’s other students.”

“Oh?” Lu Yin became interested. Zhao Yu was just a Sentinel, which was not very strong even in the scope of the Outerverse. She had no innate gift either, and although she might peak as a Melder during her lifetime, she would likely become a roaming cultivator since she didn’t have a formcast model. She had only been able to join the Yu Academy because of Lu Yin, but he was curious about the others from Earth, especially those who had recently awakened their innate gifts. 

It was very abnormal for a single planet to produce several cultivators with innate gifts, and that was without mentioning that Earth had also produced freaks like Zhang Dingtian. Putting aside any strange encounters that Zhang Dingtian might have had on the Grayweed Continent, his current power definitely approached Liu Shaoqiu’s, and he was quite abnormal. It should be known that Liu Shaoqiu had cultivated from a young age and been provided with an unending amount of resources, but Zhang Dingtian had only become a cultivator half-way through his life. 

Zhao Yu replied, “Among our group from Earth, the most powerful is Qin Xuan, who has awakened an innate gift of dissolution. Although she’s just a Sentinel, she was given a formcast model, which she cultivated to her current level. She should break through and become a Melder soon. The next is…” 

After listening to Zhao Yu for a while, quite a few people approached from the distance, and one figure in particular flew across the skies, quickly rushed over towards Lu Yin, and landed nearby. “Gerbach pays his respects to the Royal Regent.” 

Lu Yin smiled. “Alright, there’s no need to be so courteous with me. There was even one time when you beat me rather severely.”

Gerbach immediately cried foul. “I never took advantage of Your Highness, and Your Highness was even able to learn the Skybeast Claw from me.”

Lu Yin smiled and then asked, “How’s Gerlaine?”

Gerbach pointed into the distance.

Lu Yin looked over and saw the girl, who was staring at him with curiosity in her eyes. The green-skinned fellow beside her should be Balaror, a strange person who could induce plants to attack others.

Lu Yin raised his hand, waved, and watched on as Balaror’s face turned panicked and then fervent while Gerlaine rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. Quickly after that, she reacted and looked at Lu Yin with apprehension. 

Lu Yin laughed; this brat was still so interesting. 

“Your Highness, you agonizingly kept me in the dark. I only found out later that, during Earth’s trial, you stole from that brat,” Gerbach complained.

Lu Yin shrugged. “I can’t be blamed for that. I just forgot to mention it. That brat was the one who deliberately hid it from you.”

Gerbach grinned. “It’s lucky that she did, as otherwise, I might have offended Your Highness.”

In a distant part of the academy, a rather valiant aura sped along. This person was on another level altogether compared to Gerbach. Although they were both Limiteers, the disparity between the two was very great. This was Schutz, whom Lu Yin had asked to return to the Great Yu Empire long ago in order to help manage the Yu Academy. During this time, the strength of the students had shown great improvements from the past, and their battle styles had also evolved. They now tended towards using the changes of star energy and not just relying on external strength. 

Schutz descended several meters away from Lu Yin. “Greetings to the Royal Regent, Your Highness.” 

Lu Yin looked at Schutz and apologetically said, “I’m sorry that you were not able to remain and roam about the Innerverse.” 

Schutz’s face remained serene. “It was my wish to return to my home anyways.”

Lu Yin nodded and then looked seriously at Schutz. “The Outerverse cannot compare to the Innerverse, and the cultivation environments and resources are too different.” He thought for a moment and then handed Schutz a cosmic ring. “Take what’s in this as thanks for your service towards the empire.” 

Schutz did not decline, and he received the cosmic ring before standing silently to the side.

Lu Yin had given Schutz a hundred star essence, which was an enormous sum, but compared to the opportunity to roam the Innerverse that Schutz had passed up, Lu Yin felt like it wasn’t much. Even if Lu Yin lacked money, he wouldn’t be reluctant to spend what he had.  

Schutz’s talent for cultivation was not great, but the rate at which he learned from his battle experience was astounding. If he was able to roam the Innerverse, then he would definitely achieve major accomplishments as long as he survived. Lu Yin’s compensation truly was not much. 

The Yu Academy had five Hall Masters. Lu Yin had seen Gerbach and Schutz near the tall tower, and the three of them chatted for a while before heading out to meet the other Hall Masters. The first ring of Zenyu Star was large, and Lu Yin ended up having to ask the Blind Monk to tear through the void to bring him around. 

Currently, the sky had changed, so Explorers could no longer tear through the void; only Hunters and above could do so. There were both pros and cons to this change. The advantage was that battles did not cause as much widespread destruction as before, while the disadvantage was that things were no longer as convenient as before. 

Countless people were looking for the reason why the sky had changed, and some had even asked Lu Yin, but he did not know either. 

Not long after, Lu Yin appeared beside the formcast pool. Tianming was the Hall Master of this area, and he was currently inside of the formcast pool.

The formcast pool was very important, and there were many space-exploring powerhouses protecting it. 

When Lu Yin appeared, two Explorers immediately appeared to salute him, but Lu Yin had them withdraw. He looked towards Tianming and felt a little strange, as there seemed to be something off about this person.  

“Sinner Tianming greets the Royal Regent, Your Highness,” Tianming greeted.

Lu Yin felt odd. “Sinner? What do you mean?”

Tianming lowered his head, and softly answered, “Reporting in: this sinner comes from Grandtop Weave, and according to the empire’s records, was an abandoned disciple of Grandtop Weave’s Nine Stacks Sect. However, this information is false.” 

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, and he stared at Tianming.

Tianming raised his head. “This sinner was carrying out the orders of Nine Stacks Sect to steal the Skybeast Claw.”

Lu Yin’s brows jumped up, and even the Blind Monk looked surprised. Suddenly, an enormous pressure appeared that pressed Tianming to the ground. Lu Yin waved and dispelled the Blind Monk’s pressure as he looked at Tianming. “Why are you admitting this now? No one would know if you had continued to conceal this since the Nine Stacks Sect has been exterminated.” 

Tianming agonizingly continued, saying. “When the Nine Stacks Sect was still around, this sinner was forced to bear their threats. I had to remain committed and could only attempt to steal the Skybeast Claw. However, now that the sect is gone, this sinner no longer wishes to betray the empire, and I am willing to plead guilty.” 

Lu Yin fell silent, as he had not expected such a thing to occur on this visit to the Yu Academy. Just like he had said, if Tianming had not mentioned this matter, then nobody would ever have known that he was a spy, but he had still brought it up. Tianming’s expression was not fake, and he truly did not wish to betray the Great Yu Empire.

Just as Lu Yin had developed some feelings after spending time on Earth, Tianming had developed the same feelings towards the Great Yu Empire.

“If you were given a choice between the Great Yu Empire and the Nine Stacks Sect, which would you choose?” Lu Yin asked in a deep voice.

Without hesitation, Tianming replied, “The Great Yu Empire.”

“Why?” Lu Yin closely observed him.

Tianming replied, “Back at the Nine Stacks Sect, I was just a failure who never received any warmth. But in the Great Yu Empire, I feel valued, and I am a Hall Master of the Yu Academy. I have even been entrusted with the heavy responsibility to guard the formcast pool. In the Nine Stacks Sect, this would be a task only reserved for the direct descendants. This sinner has no fond memories towards that place.” 

Lu Yin closely observed the youth’s two eyes, and he was judging whether or not Tianming was truly being sincere, or if he had taken these actions just because the Nine Stacks Sect had been exterminated, leaving him with no alternative courses to take. 

In the end, Lu Yin chose to pardon Tianming and believe him, but that was also because Lu Yin had another purpose. The Nine Stacks Sect was Grandtop Weave’s foremost organization, and Tianming was their disciple, which meant that Tianming could become a key to Grandtop Weave. 

Nothing could be recklessly rushed at this moment, as it would be easy for Lu Yin’s reputation to fall to the level of a bandit’s. However, he truly wanted to plunder Grandtop Weave’s resources, so he needed to find a suitable reason to do so. He could not act wantonly like those Enlighters, as he represented the Great Yu Empire, which was a pre-established power in this region of the Outerverse. 

Tianming remained as one of Yu Academy’s Hall Master, but Lu Yin punished the youth by not allowing him to step out of the bounds of Yu Academy. 

Tianming gratefully accepted such conditions.

While at the academy, Lu Yin met a few cultivators from Earth, and one of them was a young person called Fu Xiaoshu, who had a pretty decent innate gift of illusion. This innate gift reminded Lu Yin of recall Zhuo Daynight’s legendary battle technique: the Night’s End, Daybreak. Fu Xiaoshu’s illusion could not compare to that technique, but if Fu Xiaoshu became an Enlighter one day, his illusions would be absolutely terrifying. 

The Night’s End, Daybreak technique had shown Lu Yin the extreme power of an illusion, and he patted Fu Xiaoshu’s shoulder in encouragement. “The final stage of cultivating illusion is not to produce a fantasy, but rather to cause your opponents to feel their own downfall. Even if they know that they are in a land of fantasy, they will still be immersed and be unable to escape.” 

This sentence shocked Fu Xiaoshu. Once he heard it, he looked at Lu Yin in a completely different light, and he nearly knelt down to worship Lu Yin as his mentor. 

Lu Yin managed to successfully pull that one off, which made the Ghost Monkey astounded.

“Seventh Bro, I find that you are slowly becoming more of a role model, like a moral person.” The monkey was moved.

“Cut the crap. When are you breaking through?” Lu Yin asked.

The monkey replied, “Two more days. Two more days at most.”

Lu Yin had the Blind Monk take him to Huo Zhong, and when they arrived, he recognized the most people thus far. There was also Huan Sha and Qin Xuan. Since the Huo family was originally from Earth, they had taken particularly good care of these Earthlings, and it was very normal for them to be around the academy. 

When Lu Yin had first applied to study the Skybeast Claw, Huo Zhong had immediately agreed. Lu Yin had felt that such an agreement had been strange, as he had actually offended Huo Xiaoling before that. But now, it all made sense. 

Unfortunately, Feng Hong was not around as he had gone out on a practical experience trip, as had Luo Yi.