Star Odyssey

Chapter 856: Reason

Lu Yin arrived and appeared a few meters away from Xun Qianye. The jailer was quite attentive, and he hurriedly brought over a chair and served some tea as he politely waited on the Royal Regent. 

“He’s still not saying anything?” Lu Yin asked. 

A man with a face covered with scars half knelt on the floor as he answered in a low voice. “My apologies, Your Highness, but your subject is useless. We’ve used all sorts of methods, but this person just won’t say anything.” 

Lu Yin waved a hand for everyone to withdraw. Xun Qianye was, after all, a Hunter, and those who could cultivate to such a high realm would not be lacking in willpower. This, it was nothing unusual for normal torture methods to have no effect on such a person. 

That jailer was actually a member of the Second Squadron. In the past, when Wendy Yushan had acted as the Second Squadron’s captain, this man had already been responsible for handing out punishment within the prison. By now, he had worked the same job for many years. Unfortunately, he could only deal with ordinary Outerverse cultivators, so someone like Xun Qianye was beyond his capabilities. 

“I know that you’re awake, so talk to me,” Lu Yin said as he sat on the chair. He looked at Xun Qianye with some bit of interest. 

Xun Qianye’s finger twitched slightly, and his fingerbone could clearly be seen at the tip. He had clearly suffered from extreme torture. 

He slowly raised his head, revealing a mutilated face. He looked at Lu Yin. “I could have killed myself, but I’ve been waiting for you.” 

Lu Yin nodded. “I know. It’s very easy for a Hunter to commit suicide.” 

Xun Qianye feebly said, “Sooner or later… there will be… a day… when… the same fate… as mine… befalls you.” 

Lu Yin leaned forward, stared into Xun Qianye’s resentful eyes, and then indifferently responded, “You waited for me just to say that?” 

Xun Qianye coughed a few times. “What you want to know… will just bring you despair.” 

“Such as your Xun family’s cooperation with the Technocracy?” Lu Yin retorted.

Xun Qianye hoarsely retorted, “Not the Xun family. Just me.”

Lu Yin shook his head. “Wen Zhaocheng.”

This name caused Xun Qianye’s expression to change drastically. He had endured endless torture, but at this moment, just the mention of that name seemed to plunge him into an endless abyss. 

“Cang Yi.” Lu Yin stated another name that had been written on the paper that he had found in the gun that had started everything between him and the Xun family. 

Then, Lu Yin mentioned a few more names, all of which had been translated by the Ghost Monkey. Some of the names triggered a great reaction from Xun Qianye while others did not. 

Xun Qianye’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Lu Yin. He tried to struggle, and he actually managed to rattle his chains, which released a tremendous sound. “What exactly do you know?” 

Lu Yin’s finger tapped against the chair. “Actually, in the beginning, I didn’t know what these names represented. However, you were so confident that the Technocracy would destroy Zenyu Star that you generously exposed your collaboration with the Technocracy. That’s when I finally understood.”

His lips suddenly started to bend upwards at this point. “Your Xun family is colluding with the Technocracy, and the names on this paper are the other people who are similarly collaborating with the Technocracy. You know of some, but not of others. That paper was placed in the gun that was found in the Astral Wilderness by someone from the Technocracy for your Xun family to pick up. That way, you would know the names of the other people collaborating with the Technocracy. Unfortunately, a mishap happened somewhere in the middle, and the gun was taken by someone else. 

“Your Xun family tracked down that gun to the auction at the Sea King’s Dome, and although you wanted to bid for it, I grabbed it first. This is the reason why the Xun family first targeted me, and it is also why you used all sorts of methods to try to destroy Zenyu Star. It’s all because you were afraid that the information on this paper would be revealed. So, you waited here for me, all to find out whether or not I knew about this matter. If I didn’t, then you could die peacefully. But if I did…” 

Lu Yin’s domain suddenly burst out, and a corner of the prison cell cracked. The power of this domain caused Xun Qianye to feel completely hopeless.

“The moment you were imprisoned, you installed eavesdropping devices. If I know of the true situation, then the devices will report whatever you discover to a select few, and they will then move against me. Unfortunately, before I came, all signals were blocked off, so those devices are nothing more than mere decorations.” 

Xun Qianye’s expression became sinister, and his visage was made even scarier by his mangled face. Lu Yin had not guessed wrong, and this person’s capture had actually been a complete accident. However, as the person coordinating the cooperation between the Xun family and the Technocracy, his methods were deep and unscrupulous. Shockingly, he had actually borrowed the Technocracy’s abilities to probe how much Lu Yin had learned. Only under those circumstances would Lu Yin speak the truth, which was the reason why Xun Qianye had willingly endured the torment of his imprisonment for so long. 

However, he had never dreamed that this person would be so cautious and that Lu Yin would have already seen through all of his plans. The captive Hunter’s hopes all fizzled away. 

Lu Yin stood up and walked closer to Xun Qianye. “You’re quite smart. You planned to pull me under with you even if you end up dying. Once the Technocracy discovers that I understand the importance of that list and that I know the names of the people on it, they will use all sorts of methods to assassinate me. For example, like what they tried back on Sourcepeak Planet.” 

Xun Qianye’s scalp went numb. “You even figured out the matter on Sourcepeak Planet?”

Lu Yin frowned. “Not just on Sourcepeak Planet—there were also androids from the Technocracy that attacked Millions City.” 

“Millions City?” Xun Qianye was puzzled, as he had been unaware of that attack.

Lu Yin looked into the man’s eyes, and quickly determined that Xun Qianye truly knew nothing about Millions City. Lu Yin averted his gaze and then slowly stepped out of the prison cell. This person held no further value to him since he did not know anything about Millions City. It seemed as though the Technocracy had kept this Hunter in the dark about their cooperation with the Neohuman Alliance. If not for the Technocracy’s androids, then the Neohuman Alliance would not have been able to unleash such chaos upon Millions City. 

The Technocracy, the Neohuman Alliance, the Xun family, Wen Zhaocheng, Cang Yi, and more. All these people had come together to form an alliance that had betrayed humanity. 

The Neohuman Alliance had colluded with the Technocracy, which Lu Yin did not find strange, as neither of them belonged to the human race. However, why would the Xun family join them as well? There was also Wen Zhaocheng, who was someone from the Wei Family, and why had all those other people joined? This was truly puzzling. 

Lu Yin would never understand the thoughts of some people, as he had his own moral baseline. Just as he had said to Blackless God in the past, if all humans became zombies, then would unifying the entire universe even mean anything? These were just his own thoughts, but he could not speak for everyone. People’s baselines differed from person to person, and it was difficult for someone to understand another’s baseline. However, once it was understood, many more aspects about that person would also become clear. 

“Lu Yin, who cares that I never transmitted this information? The Technocracy is already certain that you know everything, so they will definitely find all kinds of ways to kill you. You will certainly die in the end!” Xun Qianye screamed and cursed vehemently. 

Lu Yin stepped out of the prison cell and softly said, “It’s settled.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Interrogating Xun Qianye had allowed Lu Yin to confirm a few things. However, it was all useless since the Outerverse was isolated from the Innerverse, and all the names on that paper had been people from the Innerverse. 

When Lu Yin returned to King Zishan’s palace, Bei Qing requested an audience.

Lu Yin knew what the young man’s objective was, and he casually gave Bei Qing five natural treasures that had reached the point of evading danger before sending him away. He had also received three grams of pyrolyte from Bei Qing, which meant that he now had eight grams in total. It was very little, but he was in no hurry and could take his time with this task. 

During the border warfront’s counterattack, their victory had hinged upon the detonation of a hundred grams of pyrolyte. The value of pyrolyte was very high, and Lu Yin had Bei Qing warn his people to gather it very slowly. There would come a day when Lu Yin acquired a hundred grams himself. Even if he did not use it at that time, it would still be a means with which to threaten the others. 

Now was the time for him to return to the Daosource Sect’s ruins. By not visiting for such a long period of time, he had lost quite a few opportunities. 

Lu Yin had tested the might of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation during the war and found that it suited him very well. He might not have much else, but he had a tremendous reserve of star energy. Each one of his cycles required 200 times the amount of star energy that others did. Thus, this battle technique might not demonstrate much power if an average cultivator used it; at best, it would reach a power comparable to their peers in the same realm. However, in Lu Yin’s hands, the technique’s full power could be unleashed, and even Enlighters would be apprehensive of its power. 

He just didn’t know how long it would take him to absorb all of the cauldron energy for one complete sun. If he could completely cultivate one sun, then the technique’s power would undergo a qualitative change. 

When Lu Yin reopened his eyes, he had once again reappeared in the futon plaza. Compared to his last visit, there were more people present this time. It seems as though the news concerning the Innerverse’s invasion had spread, and aside from a few youths who were confident in their own power, the rest of the Sixth Mainland’s youths did not plan on joining the battlefield. On the contrary, since those elites had headed to the Innerverse’s battlefield, there was nobody left to fight over the lucky opportunities in the Daosource Sect’s ruins. 

Lu Yin stood up and stepped through the First Divine Gate before quickly heading towards the Budding Terrace. Any cultivator he passed was not able to see him clearly, which caused quite a commotion. 

“That speed means that they must at least be the heir of an Imprinter’s family. I can’t believe that someone like that actually didn’t go to the battlefield in the Fifth Mainland’s Innerverse and instead came here to the Daosource Sect’s ruins. How pathetic.” 

“The battlefield in the Fifth Mainland’s Innerverse is very cruel. I heard that even the  descendant of a World Imprinter’s family died.” 

“Is that right? Those Title Holders are not simple at all. I heard that one of their Marquises killed two Imprinter family hiers one after another before going head to head against a descendant of a World Imprinter’s family. In the end, they ended up injuring each other.” 

“So what? Before that, there was a woman called Qiu Shi who stepped out and dominated the battlefield. She defeated a Realmling and was immediately given the title of Queen. They all call her Queen Qiu, and she supposedly comes from a Cosmic Sect. She’s also known as the All Rounder Fairy.” 

“I’ve heard that her bosom is so magnificent that many call her Big Roundies Queen, hehe.” 

“There’s also another guy called Tai Yuanjun, and he battled against the War Martial Realm’s Realmling, Toolwielder. Their battle spread out in all directions, and although there wasn’t a clear winner, neither of them was defeated. That one battle was enough to give him the title of Monarch, and people call him Monarch Yuan. That fellow is reportedly ranked second in the Fifth Mainland’s Top 100 Rankings, and he is quite powerful.” 

“The Fifth Mainland is not as weak as we thought. Some have even said that once the Fifth Mainland learns about imprints that we’ll be in trouble.” 

“What are you afraid of? We still have the Daosource Three Skies.” 

“It’s difficult for the Daosource Three Skies to move out. Don’t forget—with the power level restricted to under 200,000, the Daosource Three Skies, Realmlings, and the Fifth Mainland’s Ten Arbiters are all at about at the same level.” 

…

Lu Yin did not listen to the various discussions as he quickly dashed past the First Divine Gate to reach the Budding Terrace. He then raced towards the region that held the Nine Cauldrons. 

But right when he was about to leave Budding Terrace, within the range of his domain, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura. Was that Fat Bro? 

Lu Yin’s figure flashed, and he vanished from where he had just been standing.

From another direction, Fat Bro Huang San and Yan Xiaojing were walking together.

“Xiaojing, rest assured. As long as we hide out in this place, when we leave later, the people from the Autumnfrost family will have already left,” Huang San consoled Yan Xiaojing. 

Yan Xiaojing nodded with a bitter expression on her face and then looked at Huang San. “I’m the one who implicated you. Actually, our marriage contract has already been canceled, so there’s no need for you to risk yourself for me.” 

The fatty smiled bitterly. “This isn’t just for you. Autumnfrost Qing definitely will not let me off. As soon as I show my face, I’ll also be eliminated by the Autumnfrost Family. Right now, I’m also worried about my own family, and I just hope that the Autumnfrost Family will not cause any major trouble for them.” 

“They shouldn’t, as the result of the invasion of the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse has caused the entire Bloodburn Realm to lose face. According to the rumors, the Bluedome Elder does not plan to make a move since the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse has a powerhouse whose power can’t be estimated. Our Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect also issued a decree for all of the experts with power levels under 200,000 to invade the Fifth Mainland’s Innerverse at full force. First, we’ll clear out all of the Fifth Mainland’s Innerverse’s core strength, and by doing so, sever an era of the Fifth Mainland. Autumnfrost Qing should have gone there as well, and his achievements have reportedly been quite impressive. Thus, the Autumnfrost family has no time to create any trouble for my family right now,” Yan Xiaojing said. 

“I hope so,” the fatty replied.