Star Odyssey

Ming Zhaoshu looked up at the five sealing planets. They were shuddering, and they had even started to break apart. It was just like when Wen Sansi had attacked in the past. 

Far away, Ming Zhaoshu was also looking at the five sealing planets, but there was not a trace of worry in his eyes. Ever since he had obtained Ming Taizhong’s inheritance, he had learned that no ordinary strength could breach the five sealing planets, not even an expert with a power level of over 200,000. 

However, Tang Si had been taken out of Shenwu Continent, so why were the foreigners attacking the five sealing planets now? Had some mishap occurred? 

No matter what, he could not allow Ming Zhaotian to stop the foreigners from assaulting the five sealing planets, which was mainly for show. He still wanted to obtain more bargaining chips and increase his value in their eyes. 

At this time, Ming Zhaoshu had already forgotten about Lu Yin. To him, Lu Yin had been an investment, but that was all. It was possible that his investment would reap some benefits in the future, but definitely not any time soon. 

Lu Yin did not know that Nightqueen Qiuyu was attacking the five sealing planets, but he could guess at what she would try to do. The Daynight clan was infamous for its tyrannical behavior, and it would always try to seize the initiative. As soon as Tang Si spread the news that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, they would no longer hold the stronger position when it came to negotiating with Ming Zhaoshu. Nightqueen Qiuyu had to break through the five sealing planets to maintain their advantage. 

However, she would not be able to break through, and even another Enlighter helping would not allow her to breach the seal. The amount of rune lines that Lu Yin had seen from the five sealing planets was terrifying, but the amount also seemed like it could change. 

For an entire day, Nightqueen Qiuyu continued to attack the seal, but she still could not breach it. Despite the fact that there was no one on the five planets obstructing her attacks, she still could not break the seal. 

“Why is this happening? Some random continent from an isolated dimension in the Outerverse is able to block my attacks!” Nightqueen Qiuyu was in disbelief.

Within the space station, Tyrial found the scene even more unbearable. The various powers that coveted Shenwu Continent had originally assumed that their seal’s defense could be broken, but at this moment, he realized how laughable their thoughts had been. Nightqueen Qiuyu was no average Enlighter. She was a genius from the Nightking Clan, and she was much stronger than any of the Enlighters from the Outerverse. However, even such a person had failed to break through the seal, so it would appear that there was not much point to them surrounding Shenwu Continent. 

Finally, Nightqueen Qiuyu gave up on her attempt to breach the five sealing planets. They could only wait for Ming Zhaoshu to discover that the Outerverse had been isolated, which would lead to a new round of negotiations.

This frustrated Nightqueen Qiuyu a great deal. Ming Zhaoshu might only be a Cruiser, but his schemes ran extremely deep, and his patience was amazing. She felt very exhausted when negotiating with such a person. 

It was all due to that bastard. If not for him, the ball would still be in her court.

When she thought about how Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan had teamed up, Nightqueen Qiuyu felt a great headache. The two of them together should be considered as equals to an Enlighter. 

Darkmist Weave was adjacent to Frostwave Weave, so it didn’t take long for Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan to return to Frostwave Weave’s regions. 

As soon as they returned, the two were discovered by the Great Yu Empire’s troops, and their return was reported back to Zenyu Star. 

The Imperial Cabinet was delighted, as there was a pile of matters and decisions awaiting Lu Yin’s return.

“Are you saying that Puyu is worried about the Outerverse Youth Council potentially being suppressed?” Lu Yin asked. 

At the other end of the call, Wendy Yushan replied in a crisp tone, “That’s why he called for the meeting. Since the Ten Arbiters Council is trapped in the Innerverse, San Dios has lost its backers. Not even Darkstar Gorge which is behind Puyu can guarantee that the council will retain its previous authority. Only the Ten Arbiters are able to ensure that the authority remains with the younger generation; others cannot.” 

Lu Yin was helpless. “There’s nothing that we can do about that. The current situation of the Outerverse depends on the Enlighters and the various weaves. The Enlighters who have kept themselves hidden will start to appear one after another, but even then, they won’t be able to stand up to the powerful Enlighters from the Innerverse who are stuck in the Outerverse. The situation in the Outerverse is constantly changing, and it’s already pretty decent that the Outerverse still continues to exist. Puyu is overthinking things.” 

“And you? You’re also a part of San Dios,” Wendy Yushan asked. She was hoping that San Dios wouldn’t disappear. Otherwise, she never would have attended the meeting that Puyu had called. She was hoping to preserve the Outerverse Youth Council for the sake of the Ten Arbiters Council and the White Knight. 

Lu Yin straightforwardly answered, “I don’t have a choice, either. These are all great powers, and no one can stop them.”

Not long after, the two ended their call.

“Seventh Bro, I see you smiling very treacherously,” the Ghost Monkey commented.

Lu Yin was indeed smiling, as San Dios would never disappear. Quite a few of the Enlighters who had been left stranded in the Outerverse had connections to the Ten Arbiters, such as Nightqueen Qiuyu, Wen Qichen, and Elder Viletree. These powerhouses would not allow the Outerverse Youth Council to disappear, as the existence of the Ten Arbiters Council was beneficial to the powers behind them. 

Even if San Dios did lose its authority, it would continue to exist, and the Prairie Flame Continent would not greatly be affected either. 

As long as the Outerverse Youth Council existed even if only in name, things would be fine. After all, the future still held many possibilities. 

Lu Yin did not need to borrow the prestige of the Ten Arbiters Council to protect himself anymore, so he did not care if San Dios retained its authority. He only cared about the future: after the Innerverse and Outerverse returned to normal, what would he be able to do to San Dios then? What could San Dios’s relationship with the Innerverse’s Ten Arbiters Council help him do? He did not know all the answers, but there was at least one possibility. 

It was a possibility of himself, or someone he arranged for, becoming a part of the Ten Arbiters. Even though it sounded laughable, it would be alright as long as there remained such a possibility. 

Suddenly, Lu Yin’s face distorted, and his face maintained the strange expression for a period of time before finally returning to normal.

“Seventh Bro, what happened?” the monkey asked in a strange voice.

Lu Yin softly answered, “I have a feeling that I can break through to become an Explorer.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Go for it!” the monkey shrieked. “Seventh Bro, with your current power, as soon as you break through to the Explorer realm, things will be crazy! You might be able to rival the top thirty of the Top 100 Rankings! You’ll be able to hold your own even against a Hunter! You won’t have to act like you currently have to where you put on that tortoise shell whenever you face anybody.” 

Lu Yin was eager to break through, but he still couldn’t quite yet. The difficulty of breaking through to the Melder realm was still fresh in his mind. There were several hurdles that had to be overcome during one’s cultivation: Seeker, Melder, and Explorer. Becoming a Seeker was going from zero to something. The most difficult part of this stage was getting a formcast model and a battle technique. If one did not have that, then there was no need to start cultivating. Becoming a Melder was a transitional stage on one’s cultivation journey. It was when one went from just starting to cultivate to truly cultivating. Becoming an Explorer was another fundamental change, as one’s ordinary physical body would be transformed and adapted to better suit the universe. 

Not a single one of these three hurdles was simple. Although Lu Yin had a formcast model and could attempt to break through to the Explorer realm, there was no top-tier powerhouse watching over him. He had an uneasy feeling that, if he tried to break through, he would fail. 

This feeling had been present when he first felt the possibility of breaking through, and it hadn’t dissipated since. Actually, it had grown even more distinct. He felt as if there was a vague strength that was preventing him from breaking through. 

With some difficulty, he suppressed the feeling of breaking through and finally relaxed. 

“Seventh Bro, why don’t you break through? Do you want to continue along with being an unequaled Limiteer? That’s a bit too excessive,” the monkey ridiculed.

Lu Yin’s expression sank. While he had managed to suppress his breakthrough this time, it would not be as easy to handle the next time. Since he had already suppressed his breakthrough twice, there would eventually come a time when he would be forced to attempt to break through. 

In the Outerverse, only Enlighters had the strength to assist him in breaking through. But out of all of the Enlighters in the Outerverse, which one could he trust? 

Lu Yin could not come up with an answer. Granny Chan? He could not trust her, and the others were no different. 

Why couldn’t he have broken through before the universe went through its great change? Lu Yin gazed into the far off into the depth of outer space with a helpless expression on his face.

Over the course of a month, Lu Yin reviewed the résumés of many geniuses and talented individuals that various places had recommended to join one of the four new ministries. Though there were definitely many outstanding talents among them, Lu Yin placed most of these people in Grandtop Weave’s Lu Office of Defense or Lu Ministry of Administration. As for the Lu Ministry of Staff and Lu Ministry of Defense, not just anyone was able to enter those departments. 

If the Great Yu Empire stabilized and no longer needed to expand outwards, then he would be able to adopt fair measures like examinations in order to select the most-qualified people to enter the four departments, but that was not possible at the moment. Not only did people joining the four departments need to be talented, but they also needed to have a sufficient background. 

For example, there was a person called Rang Fen who had limited abilities, but he was the heir of the strongest clan in a certain filament of Grandtop Weave. That was the type of person that Lu Yin was forced to recruit into the four ministries, as appointing them would mean that the filament would pledge allegiance to the Great Yu Empire and not require a military force to maintain control over. 

This was reality. Such things were not beneficial for cultivators with humble backgrounds, but they were overall beneficial for the Great Yu Empire. 

However, Lu Yin made a silent promise that one day, that he would give everyone an equal opportunity to be tested fairly. 

During this month, Hai Qiqi also returned, depressed once again after not finding a way back into the Innerverse. Lu Yin attempted to console her again. 

Her demeanor had improved from the time when the Innerverse and Outerverse had first been separated, but she still had not returned to her original, carefree self. Lu Yin didn’t know what to do with her, and he even offered to take Hai Qiqi out sightseeing. However, she rejected his offer. 

The girl had matured quite a bit.

Bard Weave was located due west of Darkmist Weave, and it was separated from Frostwave Weave by Darkmist and Woori weaves. It was also one of the weaves that was adjacent to the Astral River.

There was a family in Bard Weave that was known as the Lanxin family. They controlled ten filaments, and they were second only to the top power of Bard Weave, Evenground Palace.

At this time, the main planet of the Lanxin family had been bathed in blood. The slaughter was so excessive that even sunlight could not penetrate through the thick bloodmist that hung in the air. There was an elder who had been forced down onto both knees. He appeared to be both desperate and terrified as he stared at a desiccated corpse that was slowly approaching him. “Why? Why do you have to massacre us? Did our Lanxin family somehow offend you?” 

This corpse was the same one that had emerged from the planet with the Neohuman Alliance stronghold, and its head was still draped with Progenitor Wushang's Hide, which made it look rather ridiculous. However, on this blood-colored planet, it appeared extremely horrifying. 

The ground had been showered in blood as hundreds of millions from the Lanxin family had been slaughtered. Not a single one had been able to escape. 

The kneeling elder was the strongest person from the Lanxin family. He was a peak Hunter, but he was powerless before this mummy. 

The mummy raised a hand and pressed it against the elder’s head.

The elder continued to mutter, “Why? Why do you need to massacre us? What wrong, what wrong did we do?”

“Ancient bloodline discovered. Target confirmed. Kill.” With a bang, the elder’s head exploded, and the headless body tumbled into the river of blood.

Not long after, the planet itself was destroyed as well, returning to the dust of the universe. 

All of the creatures on that planet had been wiped out in an instant. 

The mummy still carried Progenitor Wushang's Hide on its head. Its blackhole-like eyes scanned its surroundings, and then it slowly moved away from where the planet had once been.

More than ten days later, an expert from Evenground Palace arrived and observed the distant blackhole in shock. “Did the entire Lanxin family disappear?”

“Yes.”

“What about those who were away from the planet?”

“They’re all scared out of their minds and don’t dare return. Some of them have been brought here to the palace.” 

The expert from Evenground Palace nodded and then sighed in sorrow. “The Lanxin family was once a clan with a primeval surname, but they thrived ever since they changed their name to Lanxin. Who would imagine that they would be extinguished so quickly. Who exactly could have acted? It should be an Enlighter. The Outerverse is too chaotic nowadays.”