Star Odyssey

“Elder Lohar, good day,” Lu Yin respectfully greeted the Hall of Honor’s elder. 

Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin and then sighed with sorrow. “I have met so many youths, and out of all of them, your courage is the greatest. You have made enemies with the Daynight clan, killed Enlighters, contributed to the defense of Ironblood Weave, and crossed into another Domain. Any of these matters on their own would be enough to shake the Outerverse, and you have my admiration.” 

“Thank you, Elder,” Lu Yin promptly replied. 

“Because of your contributions, I have warned you and also sympathized with you. However, appreciating you is one thing, and you’ve gone overboard in some matters.” Elder Lohar’s expression sank. 

Lu Yin remained silent and did not reply. 

“The Hall of Honor is the supreme master of the Human Domain. Even if you haven’t been to the Neoverse, you should still understand the meaning of this. With the privileges that six Honor Points gives you, you won’t be harshly criticized if you occasionally borrow our reputation, but selfishly using the Hall of Honor’s name to form this Great Eastern Alliance is too impudent.  A certain degree of rashness from a youth is understandable, but some restraint is still needed,” Elder Lohar scolded Lu Yin strictly as he stared at the youth. 

After he listened to Elder Lohar’s reprimand, not only was Lu Yin unafraid, he also relaxed a bit, because being berated indicated that he still had some room to maneuver. 

“Junior won’t dare to do such things any longer after elder’s lesson,” Lu Yin replied respectfully.

Elder Lohar grunted. “Someone sought me out to complain about you. Actually, it’s nothing big, but since someone brought it up, we have to mete out an appropriate punishment. The Hall of Honor, as the master of the Human Domain, does not only rely on mere power, but also on  fairness. Do you understand?” 

“Junior understands,” Lu Yin replied. 

“Using the Hall of Honor’s name without permission to establish the Great Eastern Alliance is a huge crime. But, after considering your incredible contributions in Ironblood Weave, as well as your intention behind establishing the Great Eastern Alliance, which is to help the Outerverse better withstand the Astral Beast Domain, your punishment will be made more lenient. Two Honor Points will be deducted from your record as a warning. Do you accept it?” Elder Lohar said sternly. 

Lu Yin bowed from the waist. “Junior understands. Thank you, elder, for the lenient punishment.” 

Lu Yin could accept this deduction of two Honor Points, as he knew that it was truly a lenient punishment. Anyone could see that although the Great Eastern Alliance had been promoted as an organization to help the Outerverse to resist its external enemies, it was actually made for Lu Yin’s personal gains. Nobody would be foolish to believe the propaganda, but Elder Lohar had avoided mentioning this point and had instead emphasized Lu Yin’s intention to use the Great Eastern Alliance to help the Outerverse resist the Astral Beast Domain. This could be seen as him dwelling on trivial matters and glossing over the more important ones, and it was rather considerate towards Lu Yin’s situation. 

“This matter will end here, but there’s another matter that you have handled too sloppily,” Elder Lohar said, and Lu Yin’s eyelids jumped. No good, it seemed that the Xun family had not just complained about a single matter. 

Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something, and his face paled. 

“In Darkmist Weave, there’s a place called Shenwu Continent, and the ones in power there collaborated with the Neohuman Alliance. This matter should have been handled by you,” Elder Lohar reprimanded Lu Yin in a frosty voice that sounded entirely different from how he had spoken with the youth mere seconds before, as this matter involved the Neohuman Alliance. 

The Hall of Honor had a greater understanding than most when it came to the Three Dark Hands. Because they understood these hidden organizations, as soon as anything involved the Three Dark Hands came to light, the problem would always be treated more severely. 

The Xun family’s greatest plot against Lu Yin was here. 

Lu Yin immediately replied, “Elder, the one who collaborated with the Neohuman Alliance was the Shenwu Empire’s previous emperor, Ming Zhaotian. Junior has already taken care of Ming Zhaotian and also eliminated the Neohuman Alliance from Shenwu Continent.” 

“Eliminated? Such confidence!” Elder Lohar raised his voice in anger. “Any place that has a Neohuman Alliance Corpse King with the strength at the Explorer realm or above must be erased, without an exception for planets or mainlands. What do you think the purpose of the Neohuman Alliance is? They represent the darkness! An eternal darkness. Even I wouldn’t dare to say that I could eliminate all of the Neohuman Alliance’s survivors from a certain area, so what allows someone like you to say so?” 

“Elder, there were many experts from quite a few powers who acted with Junior at that time, including the Daynight clan. Those people can testify that the Neohuman Alliance has already disappeared from Shenwu Continent.” Lu Yin started to grow anxious. 

Elder Lohar snorted coldly. “Lu Yin, on account of your absolute top-notch talent, as well as your contributions to the defense of the Ironblood Weave, I won’t bicker about your selfish motives regarding Shenwu Continent. You have been negligent in handling this matter, and Shenwu Continent must be completely wiped out. I will act personally, and not a single living thing there will survive. This is the safest method. 

“As for you, remember this lesson. In the future, if you ever encounter any Neohuman Alliance Corpse Kings that are at the Explorer realm or above, the area where you see them must be completely purged. If this ever occurs again in the future, I will deduct all your Honor Points away, just like that!” Elder Lohar was just about to disconnect as soon as he finished speaking. 

Lu Yin’s face paled. Wipe out Shenwu Continent? That’s an entire continent! There are hundreds of millions of humans there. If they all die and not a single creature is spared, then Ming Yan will die as well! No, absolutely not! 

Lu Yin suddenly spoke up. “Wait a moment, Elder.”

Lohar stared at Lu Yin, exuding a supreme sense of dignity. “Do you want to defy the Hall of Honor’s orders?” 

Lu Yin exhaled slowly and then smiled bitterly. Getting him to defy the Hall of Honor was the entire goal of the Xun family, as they were well aware of both his relationship with Ming Yan and that he would most likely try to stop Elder Lohar from wiping out Shenwu Continent. This was why they had exposed the matter, as one issue had cascaded into the next. The person from the Xun family who had acted was highly intelligent. 

But no matter how smart they were, did that person really think that Lu Yin would not dare to object to the Hall of Honor? Was going against the hall absolutely going to invite punishment? Not necessarily. 

“Has Elder heard of the Daosource Sect?” Lu Yin asked slowly as he carefully observed Elder Lohar’s reaction. 

Upon the mention of the Daosource Sect, Elder Lohar’s expression changed tremendously. “Where did you hear about this?” 

“Not heard.” Lu Yin retrieved his yellow futon. “My master sent me this.” 

The elder could not hide the astonishment in his eyes when he saw the futon. “A futon... You actually have a futon. Who is your master?”

Lu Yin put the futon away. “My master doesn’t wish for me to share his name.”

Elder Lohar stared at Lu Yin, completely bewildered. He appeared to have fallen deep into thought as his brows were tightly furrowed. 

Lu Yin did not speak, and he waited patiently in silence.

“Little brat, do you remember what I mentioned to you back in Ironblood Weave?” Elder Lohar said. 

Lu Yin nodded. “Elder warned me not to use external items as a source of strength.”

“Not that. I once mentioned to you if the Innerverse and Outerverse were not separated that I could fight for a certain position for you.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “Was Elder referring to the a position that would allow me to enter the Daosource Sect?” 

Elder Lohar nodded. 

“Right now, the Ten Arbiters are the only ones able to enter the Daosource Sect's ruins from the Fifth Mainland. The conditions for someone to be able to enter is that they must be a youth with a skeletal age under forty. Among the Ten Arbiters, there are a few who are about to surpass that age limit, and Elder must have wished to fight for this Junior to take their position,” Lu Yin said. 

Elder Lohar was stunned. “You know quite a lot—what else are you aware of? Have you already been to the Daosource Sect? Have you contacted anyone there?” 

Lu Yin looked at Elder Lohar as he responded. “Junior has visited the ruins twice, and I was also in contact with some people from the Sixth Mainland. I know about the imprints, bloodlines, and their three Progenitors as well.” 

Elder Lohar exhaled. “It looks like you’re already aware of everything.”

“Elder, the Ten Arbiters have the greatest authority among the younger generation. Could that be related to their ability to visit the Daosource Sect's ruins?” Lu Yin asked.

Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin with a deep meaningful expression. “What are you trying to say?” 

Lu Yin immediately bowed. “Junior is just curious.”

Elder Lohar continued silently contemplating for a long time, but then he nodded. “Little brat, you are very smart, truly very smart. However, there are still some matters that have gone past the bottom line of the Hall of Honor. Even if you have a means of entering the Daosource Sect, you cannot touch this bottom line. The Neohuman Alliance is that bottom line.”

“Junior can promise Senior that there will definitely be no further issues concerning Shenwu Continent.” 

“You are simply unaware of the disastrous extent that the Neohuman Alliance can cause for the Human Domain.” 

“Junior is clear on this matter. I ask that Elder give this Junior another opportunity to resolve the matter of Shenwu Continent. If I still can’t resolve things, then it won’t be too late for Elder to act at that time. Shenwu Continent is sealed off by five planets, and Senior also knows that this junior has the ability to see through the formless danger of sourceboxes. The five sealing planets are sealing off Shenwu Continent through the formless dangers emitted by sourceboxes. This seal is so durable that even multiple Enlighters cannot destroy it. Even if there are still individuals from the Neohuman Alliance on Shenwu Continent, they will not be able to break through the five sealing planets. Senior can rest assured of this,” Lu Yin pleaded in a respectful tone. 

Elder Lohar frowned. “Why have you set your heart on saving Shenwu Continent?”

Lu Yin did not reply and merely bowed low.

Elder Lohar sighed. “Alright, I can give you one chance, and I won’t touch Shenwu Continent at the moment. However, I will send some people to closely monitor the situation there. As soon as matters get out of hand, I will personally take action, and you can’t blame me for being merciless at that time.” 

Lu Yin was delighted. “Thank you, Elder.” 

Elder Lohar grunted. Then, he sized Lu Yin up and down and marvelled at him. “Little brat, what do you think of the Sixth Mainland’s cultivators?” 

Lu Yin was just about to reply that their average strength seemed to be very strong, but then he suddenly thought of what the White Knight had said to Blood Looney while they were fighting in the cauldron. He quickly changed his words and said, “Junior has met at least a hundred of the Sixth Mainland’s cultivators in my visits to the Daosource Sect's ruins, and when even the weakest of them erupted with the full power of their imprint, their power was able to rival that of an expert on the Top 100 Rankings. Their average strength of their cultivators far surpasses those of our Fifth Mainland. 

“However, their cultivation system is too rigid—it’s as though they are merely getting stronger for the sake of becoming stronger, and the process is wholly unrelated to cultivation. The path of cultivation is filled with unknown variables, and it involves a cultivator striving against the universe itself. However, the cultivators of the Sixth Mainland walk along a path created by their predecessors, and they even borrow the strength of those predecessors. They may achieve great strength now, but their paths are only more limited the further they progress, and they will lose out on certain possibilities.” 

“Well spoken.” Elder Lohar was elated, and there was an unprecedented admiration in his eyes as he looked at Lu Yin. “I never thought that you would be able to perceive such things at such a young age. Good, very good! I was still worried that you would have been attracted by the Sixth Mainland’s system of cultivation and therefore become struck. Since you are able to see it so clearly, then there’s no need for any further words from me, haha!” 

Lu Yin’s lips curled upwards. “Thank you for the compliment, Elder.”

“Little brat, work hard at cultivating. Your talent is top tier, you are farsighted with a brilliant mindset, and you have also encountered numerous opportunities. Your future accomplishments will definitely not be any less than those of the Ten Arbiters. I am optimistic about your future.” Elder Lohar praised the youth in front of him, and Lu Yin immediately acknowledged the elder’s expectations.

“Right, if you meet any of the Ten Arbiters while in the Daosource Sect's ruins, make some inquiries concerning the situation in the Innerverse.” Elder Lohar suddenly changed topics, and then he muttered to himself again. “Although, you may not necessarily be able to meet them. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that each of them have already interacted with an inheritance, so they may not have the opportunity to enter the Daosource Sect.” 

Lu Yin did not mention how the Daosource Sect's ruins had already been reduced to a battlefield, as he was worried that Elder Lohar would force him to participate. If that happened, then he would become nothing more than cannon fodder for the Ten Arbiters’ fights.