Star Odyssey

Chapter 788: Tomboy

The middle-aged man put on a helpless expression as the gloomy-looking youth stepped forward. As he did so, all of the furniture was repelled by a mysterious strength. The youths who had moved forward to attack the two men were just Melders, and they also did not seem to have any actual battle experience, so they were easily knocked over when the furniture crashed into them. Only Zhu San was able to avoid an incoming table, after which he looked apprehensively at the youth before spitting out some menacing words. “You just wait! Wait for me! Young Master will remember you! You’d best beware of me!”

After that, he fled the hotel without showing any care for his companions. 

The hotel boss smiled bitterly, though he was not surprised. In Millions City, the number one troublemaker was precisely Zhu San. It was good that the youth never would actually ask his family to seek revenge for him. At most he would verbally threaten some people.

The hotel owner turned to the two men and said, “Gentlemen, please don’t mind him. He actually won’t do anything, so please just head inside.” 

The middle-aged man then tapped the youth’s shoulder and led him to the second floor of the restaurant. When they were about halfway to the second floor, the man seemed to sense something, and he turned to look up at the third floor, where he saw Lu Yin and Wei Rong. He was surprised to see the two of them there, but he merely nodded at them with a polite smile. 

The gloomy youth beside the man also noticed Lu Yin, and a flicker of apprehension flashed through his eyes. However, he lowered his head and seemed to stay quiet. 

Wei Rong was astonished to see the youth. “That’s Moore, a Councilor from West San Dios. I never thought that he would come here too.”

Lu Yin felt something was strange. “Does Moore also want to try to obtain True Insight?”

Wei Rong shook his head. “It doesn’t seem like it. With his strength, there is no way he stands a chance.” 

West San Dios’s Councilor was someone who used to be an important character, but after the Outerverse separated from the Innerverse, San Dios’ influence had fallen apart. The members were all youths, and they no longer had the Innerverse’s support, so unless they were someone like Puyu who had enjoyed the support of Darkstar Gorge, the councilors and representatives could only be considered talented youths. 

Wendy Yushan had been one, and so had Liu Shaoge, which was why no one discussed them any longer.

Lu Yin was not concerned about Moore, as he was more interested in that Zhu San.

The others had not noticed anything, but Lu Yin had seen something interesting. His mind kept replaying the scene of Zhu San dodging Moore’s attack.

It had not looked like anything special, but Zhu San’s movement when he was evading had actually been slightly faster than Moore’s attack. If not for the rune lines, Lu Yin would not have been able to notice anything either, but at the moment that he dodged, Zhu San’s rune lines had been somewhat peculiar. It had seemed like a simple evasive maneuver, but his rune lines had actually suddenly exploded at that moment. That movement had been a battle technique. 

Zhu San had relied on a battle technique to dodge Moore’s attack, but neither Moore nor anyone else on the scene had noticed a single thing. 

Lu Yin had initially thought that this Zhu San was just a good-for-nothing rich brat, but that subtle battle technique had made Lu Yin suddenly realize that the youth was not so simple after all. Zhu San had been able to predict the direction of Moore’s attack in advance, and that alone was not something that the average person could do. It also had to be acknowledged that Zhu San was just a Limiteer. 

The Zhu family had been able to survive in the Millions City since the beginning, and even Villa Mistress Lian did not fully understand them, which showed that they were truly not a simple family. 

After another hour of chatting, Wei Rong finally took his leave. “Brother Lu, tomorrow night’s the Qiong Family’s Banquet, so I’ll see you then.” 

Lu Yin smiled. “We’ll meet there.”

Wei Rong escorted Angie away, but when he arrived at the stairs, he seemed to suddenly remember something. “Right, did Brother Lu recognize the person who was with Moore?”

Lu Yin shook his head. “Does Brother Wei know him?”

“That’s Starfox.” Wei Rong smiled at Lu Yin before simply waving a hand and leaving.

Lu Yin’s expression changed, and he immediately unleashed his domain only to realize that Starfox had already left the hotel along with Moore. It was a pity, as Lu Yin had wanted to meet Starfox face to face. Clearly, Wei Rong had purposefully not mentioned this information earlier and had only informed Lu Yin as he was leaving to embarrass Lu Yin, and it had definitely worked. Lu Yin felt humiliated. 

Many experts had gathered in Millions City, and it was precisely them who had received invitations to the Qiong’s Banquet. 

The next night, Lu Yin led Yan Yan to the Qiong Forest, which was being held in the northwest of Millions City. This was the location of the Qiong’s Banquet. 

This so-called Qiong’s Banquet was essentially just the City Master hosting a feast, but it was also an event that would put many unrestrained experts in their place. Only then would they not stir up trouble while within the city. 

Congenially, it was a banquet, but it could also be called a warning. Throughout countless years, the Qiong family had used this method to warn potential troublemakers, and the Qiong’s Banquet had become famous in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

Even Nightking Dijiang had participated in the Qiong Family’s Banquet in the past. Of course, this was nothing more than a rumor, as nobody was able to verify it. 

Qiong Xi’er was the one who welcomed Lu Yin when he arrived.

This was Lu Yin’s first time seeing her, and even if he had mentally prepared himself, he was still surprised. This was because Qiong Xi’er had dressed herself up formally; she looked like a very beautiful tomboy, and she had even put on a light lipstick.

When Qiong Xi’er saw Lu Yin, her eyes lit up, and she passionately approached Lu Yin before giving him a hug. “Alliance Leader Lu, it’s an honor to meet you. Welcome to Millions City. I’m Qiong Xi’er.” 

Lu Yin smiled drily. “So you’re Miss Xi’er.”

Qiong Xi’er fiercely slapped a hand upon Lu Yin’s shoulder. “Don’t call me that—calling me Brother Qiong will do fine.”

Lu Yin coughed. “Brother Qiong, it’s nice to meet you.”

Qiong Xi’er smiled. “Alliance Leader Lu, please step inside. I hope that you can have a good time tonight.”

She then moved her head closer and softly said, “If Alliance Leader Lu feels that this area is not exciting enough, I can take Brother Lu on a tour of Fragrance Pavilion—I’ll even arrange everything so that you can have a good time. How about it? Is Brother Lu interested?” 

Lu Yin had heard of Fragrance Pavilion’s reputation, so he immediately declined.

Qiong Xi’er laughed. “Brother Lu, there’s no need to be so reserved! We’re all brothers here. Please, come in.”

Lu Yin nodded and entered the Qiong Forest, feeling a bit awestruck while Yan Yan waited outside.

The Qiong Forest had a quiet and secluded environment. With the guidance of some attendants, Lu Yin was escorted to the center of a lake that lay beneath a waterfall. A tidy stage had been set up in the middle of the lake with the atmosphere of an ancient feast. Everyone had their own dining table, and they were all arranged in a circle so that there wouldn’t be any sense of segregation or priority among the various parties. 

Quite a few people had already taken their seats by the time Lu Yin arrived, and they were all dressed in luxurious clothes. Clearly, there were no common people in this place, and almost all of the attendees were space-exploring powerhouses who represented various powerful organizations. 

However, Lu Yin did not recognize a single person. The universe was too vast, and Millions City lay in Tyrannical Weave, which was so far from Frostwave Weave that the two weaves rarely ever interacted if at all. Millions City mostly maintained relationships with the various great powers of the western weaves. 

If this was the past, then Lu Yin would have been very wary of these people and the powers that they represented. But at the present time, there was no need for him to introduce himself to most of these people. With his current position, if he was going to have any interaction with these powers, then he would speak directly to the people in charge rather than these representatives. 

The Qiong family’s true targets with tonight’s Qiong’s Banquet were the Enlighters who were competing for True Insight, and these other people were just additional guests. 

Lu Yin was one of the people who had arrived the earliest. 

Not much time passed before the middle-aged man who had been a part of the commotion at the Riverside Hotel appeared, and he walked straight over and sat beside Lu Yin. 

Lu Yin looked at the man. “Starfox?” 

The middle-aged man smiled. “Alliance Leader Lu, it’s been a long time.”

“We’ve interacted many times before, but this is still my first time seeing Starfox for myself, and your appearance is totally outside of my expectations.” Lu Yin smiled. 

Starfox was surprised at Lu Yin’s reaction. “Can I ask what the Starfox in Alliance Leader Lu’s mind looked like?” 

“At the very least, his voice was not so gentle,” Lu Yin commented.

Starfox laughed. “That’s merely a simulated voice. An assassin must always be wary of being discovered.” 

Lu Yin nodded. “I have a question. Would you mind helping me answer it?”

Starfox gestured for him to continue. “Alliance Leader Lu is also a member of Aegis, so there’s no harm in asking your question.” 

Lu Yin’s eyes trembled. “Back when sir sent Feng Zi to attack me, did you really want to kill me?” In the past, he had hidden this question away in the bottom of his heart, never planning to ask it openly, as it was likely that he would not receive an answer. However, he had inadvertently brought it up when he was speaking with Wei Rong, and so, he had decided to try bringing it up now that he was face to face with Starfox. 

Starfox’s expression did not change, though he did give a slight smile. “That attack was just a warning. Alliance Leader Lu is able to participate on a battlefield with Enlighters, so how could a mere Feng Zi kill you?” 

“And what if I had actually died?” Lu Yin stared closely at Starfox’s eyes.

Starfox maintained the same calm expression. “Then our Aegis would have sacrificed a bunch of people who would have followed after Alliance Leader Lu.” 

Lu Yin knew what Starfox meant. If he had died, then the Hall of Honor definitely would have investigated his murderer, and there would have been no way for Aegis to avoid being implicated, and they would have been forced to make sacrifices. Lu Yin did not believe that the Hall of Honor would be willing to eradicate all of Aegis just for him, but the price that Aegis would have had to pay would have been steep as well. 

Lu Yin did not know if what Starfox told him was true, but he hoped that it was. Otherwise, if someone had truly tried to use Aegis to probe the Hall of Honor, the situation would be even more serious. 

The stability of the Hall of Honor also represented the stability of the entire Human Domain. If a problem appeared within the Hall of Honor, then the Outerverse would be thrown into chaos. Lu Yin did not wish for the Outerverse to become too chaotic, and he also still wanted to relax for a bit longer under the shade of the Hall of Honor’s flag. 

“Right, Alliance Leader Lu, we are no longer enemies, so will the Great Eastern Alliance welcome Aegis’s returned presence?” Starfox smiled. 

Lu Yin replied, “Of course, anytime.”

“Many thanks,” Starfox said.

Lu Yin asked, “Where do you plan to set up?”

“I haven’t considered that part quite yet. The powers that we cooperated with in the past have more or less suffered certain losses. Not even mentioning the costs of rebuilding the bases, it will take us some time to move into the Great Eastern Alliance’s territory again, but we hope to receive Alliance Leader Lu’s valuable assistance at that time.”

Lu Yin smiled, as the current atmosphere had become rather harmonious.

At this moment, a middle-aged man arrived from the Qiong Forest side entrance. Qiong Xi’er stood beside the man in a respectful manner, her mien completely different from when she had welcomed Lu Yin. 

Lu Yin looked over and was puzzled by the middle-aged man’s identity, as he was definitely an Enlighter. 

Starfox quickly enlightened Lu Yin. “That’s Hoffman, Shamrock Enterprises’ Western Chairman who’s stationed in the Outerverse. He’s also an Enlighter.” 

Lu Yin’s expression turned solemn. Shamrock Enterprises: even this colossal monster had appeared. People like Hoffman were the true protagonists of this Qiong’s Banquet, and even Starfox was a part of the background. 

It was not unexpected that Wei Rong would want to disintegrate these top powers, as nobody liked having a bunch of people stand above them. Shamrock Enterprises often hid their strength, but once they were crossed, their opponent would face a very terrifying outcome. 

Even Starfox’s face showed a tinge of apprehension when his gaze fell on Hoffman. 

Hoffman took a seat that wasn’t too distant from Lu Yin, and he also looked over at Lu Yin and Starfox. However, he didn’t show any sort of reaction and simply remained arrogant and aloof. 

Lu Yin did not plan to get close to this man. However, he had been hoping to chat with the Eastern Chairman, Shen Fu, as they were located closer to each other. 

At this moment, Starfox’s expression grew much uglier when he looked at the entrance.

A woman dressed in dark green had appeared. She was beautiful, and she gave off an aura of freshness despite her indifferent expression.

Qiong Xi’er hurriedly ran over to welcome the woman, and she acted even more respectfully and cordially than when she had welcomed Hoffman. 

“Someone from the Mavis Bank?” Lu Yin asked, as this style of clothing was identical to Lulu’s.

Starfox softly replied, “That’s Yuehua Mavis, one of the Outerverse Mavis Bank’s guardians. She’s a woman who truly cannot be reasoned with.”

Lu Yin stared at the man in astonishment. “Back when the Mavis Bank was raided, was she the one who caused trouble for Aegis?” 

Starfox remained silent. 

It seemed that it had indeed been this woman.