Star Odyssey

Chapter 2156: If Lu Yin Weren’t Around

"If you don’t have anything else, then leave. I need to study," Wendy Yushan said. She was not brusque because she did not welcome Lu Yin, but rather because that was simply her nature.

Lu Yin rarely ever saw this woman reveal her real feelings. The clearest example of when she had let down her guard was when Lu Yin had returned from the Perennial World. At that time, Wendy Yushan had shown her genuine happiness.

"I want to feel the power of time," Lu Yin replied. This was the main motivation behind his visit this time. The Origin Progenitor had been able to control time, and so could Chu Yuan. It was possible that Lu Yin would face powerful enemies in the future who would also be able to control time. Thus, it was important for him to gain more experience with the mysterious power.

On top of that, it was not impossible for Lu Yin to learn how to control the power of time as well, which would provide him with the opportunity to travel back in time again.

Wendy Yushan thought for a bit before stretching out a hand and extending her slender fingers. They were white and quite beautiful.

"What?" Lu Yin was puzzled at her actions.

"Hold my hand," Wendy Yu said.

Lu Yin hesitated for a moment as he looked at her hand, but then he reached out and grabbed it. Her hand was soft, warm, and felt quite nice to hold.

Wendy Yushan blushed a slight bit, but she quickly recovered. "You can try to feel the power of time while I train. If you can’t feel it, then don’t force things. There are times when I can’t feel it myself."

Lu Yin nodded. He glanced back down at their two interconnected hands, but then he calmed his mind and closed his eyes.

At the same time, Wendy Yushan closed her eyes, and the space around them grew blurry.

…

In the far western reaches of the Outerverse, there was a place that had once been the home of the Dark Phoenix Clan. After the clan had been captured by the Arrow Sect as mounts, they had been enslaved by the Sixth Mainland. Now, members of the clan were given out as rewards to the members of the younger generation, to be used as mounts.

While Lu Yin was trying to sense the power of time with Wendy Yushan’s help, something happened in the western weaves of the Outerverse.

A person died. His name was Jiu Xiao, and he was a descendant of the Progenitor of Combat. He was killed by an android.

The death of the Progenitor of Combat meant that the Jiu clan’s status had fallen, but they still had Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao as their ancestor. Compared to the other families within the Sixth Mainland, the Jiu family was still a monster. After all, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had no descendants or family, which meant that the Jiu family remained the most powerful clan in the entire Sixth Mainland.

When Jiu Xiao was killed, Jiu Yao immediately received word of the matter.

In the middle of outer space, a group of androids faced off against an entire group of cultivators from the Sixth Mainland. The androids were led by First Edition City’s deputy city master, Little Bear.

In the past, First Edition City had had a cooperative relationship with the Sixth Mainland, which made them quite familiar with each other. However, with Jiu Xiao dead, the Sixth Mainland could not just let the matter drop and allow androids like Little Bear to leave however they wanted.

"For the last time, back off! If you don’t, I’ll stop being nice," Little Bear threatened. The android had a power level of over a million, which meant that no one among the Sixth Mainland cultivators was capable of stopping the androids. There was only one individual present who made Little Bear a bit leery.

The person standing in front of Little Bear and blocking the androids’ path was Nong Laohan, who also had a power level that exceeded a million. Without Nong Laohan’s presence, Little Bear would have left with the rest of the androids long ago.

At this moment, Nong Laohan felt rather helpless. He really did not want to get involved in this matter, but it had taken place within his Nong family’s territory. Otherwise, he would have never shown up. However, he would not be able to give a proper explanation for his actions if he allowed the androids to leave before Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao appeared.

"Why did you kill Jiu Xiao?" the old man asked.

Little Bear growled, "Get out of our way!"

"You won’t even tell me why you killed him?" Nong Laohan asked. "That wasn’t some nobody that you killed. His name was Jiu Xiao, and he was a descendant of the Progenitor of Combat, a family member of the Bloodlines Heavenly Gatemaster, Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao. You have to provide an explanation for this matter."

Little Bear coldly retorted, "He was too arrogant, and he insulted my Technocracy."

Nong Laohan glanced at a person standing behind him. The man’s name was Zax Phoenix, an Enlighter from the Dark Phoenix Clan who had been Jiu Xiao's mount.

Zax Phoenix did not dare to say a word. After being enslaved by the Sixth Mainland for so many years, he had long since lost his arrogance as a member of the Dark Phoenix clan. Even with Jiu Xiao dead, Zax Phoenix would not speak a single ill word of his former master.

Nong Laohan stared at the silent man. "Speak. What happened?"

Zax Phoenix looked back at Nong Laohan, terrified. The pressure of an expert with a power level of over a million was far beyond what an Enlighter could handle. So, trembling, Zax Phoenix recounted what had happened.

It was not a complicated story. Jiu Xiao had been drunk, and when he had seen Little Bear and the group of androids, he had approached them to make trouble. This was not without reason, as his motivation came from the Cloud Valley master’s sword attendant.

The sword attendant had been one of Jiu Xiao’s well-known acquaintances, and the sword attendant had constantly sent gifts to Jiu Xiao, such as beautiful women. It had all been done to curry favor with Jiu Xiao, and it had worked; Jiu Xiao had grown quite fond of the sword attendant. Eventually, the two men had become friends.

The sword attendant had returned from First Edition City after being sent on a mission there. But after Mr. Lifeview had disappeared into Burial Garden, the Cloud Valley had completely fallen, and the sword attendant had died on a battlefield. Jiu Xiao blamed everything on the Technocracy and on First Edition City’s city master.

After drinking too much and coincidentally seeing a group of androids, Jiu Xiao had not been able to stop himself from making trouble. And so, he had started insulting and swearing at the androids until they had finally just killed him.

This gave Nong Laohan a headache. Jiu Xiao was a dead bastard, but how was he supposed to handle this matter?

The truth about the Technocracy had been revealed twenty years ago; it was a place that had been left behind by Progenitor Hui as a means of eliminating a massive number of corpse kings. The sole purpose of the Technocracy was to fight against the Aeternals. Without the Technocracy’s assistance, humanity might not have ever had the opportunity to regroup and resist Aeternus. The Technocracy had most likely saved the Human Domain.

Clearly, Jiu Xiao alone was not enough to affect the Technocracy, given their achievements. However, Jiu Xiao had been a direct descendant of the Jiu family, which made the situation tricky.

"For the last time, get out the way!" Little Bear glared at Nong Laohan, looking like he was about to attack.

Suddenly, the pressure of a Semi-Progenitor fell onto the area, thrilling everyone from the Sixth Mainland. "We greet Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao."

"We greet Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao."

Nong Laohan let out a sigh of relief. Now that Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao was here, Nong Laohan was no longer responsible for anything. "I greet Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao."

Little Bear and the rest of the androids nervously watched as a Semi-Progenitor appeared. This powerhouse was beyond their ability to handle.

The power that Progenitor Hui had left behind in the Technocracy had been exhausted twenty years before, which meant that any Semi-Progenitor could freely enter the Technocracy without any worry of getting trapped by the mental network. The Technocracy no longer had the ability to restrain Semi-Progenitors, and Jiu Yao was among the most powerful of Semi-Progenitors.

"You killed my descendant and want to just leave?" Jiu Yao demanded. Every word he spoke fell down with the pressure of a mountain, crushing all of the androids, including Little Bear. It was even possible to hear some of the androids’ teeth cracking.

There was no need for Jiu Yao to release any actual attack, as just his pressure could destroy all of the androids. The cultivators from the Sixth Mainland started to get a bit excited as they watched.

Little Bear was also being effortlessly crushed. So what if he had a power level of over a million? He was still an ant against a Semi-Progenitor. "Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao, we are here to deliver resources to Alliance Leader Lu."

Jiu Yao's eyes flickered, and the pressure reduced a bit. "What resources?"

Little Bear stared at the man. "My Technocracy has gathered resources for Alliance Leader Lu."

Jiu Yao frowned. If they were traveling because of Lu Yin, it made sense for these androids to have entered the Sixth Mainland’s territory.

For twenty years, no one from the Technocracy had stepped foot into the Human Domain, and both regions had focused entirely on internal development. Jiu Yao had felt that it was odd for androids to suddenly enter the Human Domain, but things made sense if it was because of Lu Yin. This also made things difficult for Jiu Yao.

"What resources?" Jiu Yao demanded.

Little Bear softly replied, "You will have to ask Alliance Leader Lu. This is part of an agreement between my Technocracy and him."

"You dare to use Lu Yin to pressure me?" Jiu Yao's eyes grew incredibly cold, and an even more terrifying pressure fell down, crushing half of Little Bear's body.

Nong Laohan’s eyebrows arched high, and he turned to look at Jiu Yao. While it looked like the Semi-Progenitor was being heavy handed, it was nothing more than a show. Jiu Yao did not truly dare to destroy these androids, as he would struggle to justify their deaths to Lu Yin.

Twenty years ago, Lu Yin would not have dared to casually offend a Semi-Progenitor like Jiu Yao, but the power that the young man had since obtained was beyond frightening. Luckily, the Nong family had never antagonized Lu Yin very much. Right, he also still owes my family a hoe.

Little Bear remained silent. Having half of his body shattered did not really mean anything, as all android bodies were interchangeable and disposable.

Jiu Yao thought for a moment, and then he asked someone to get in touch with Lu Yin. There was not necessarily a problem with them delivering resources, but the android who had killed Jiu Xiao absolutely had to die.

It was at this moment that Lu Yin was trying to sense the power of time by training with Wendy Yushan on Zenyu Star, so he failed to notice the incoming message. Eventually, the person moved on and called Wang Wen.

Wang Wen shifted the entire matter over to Wei Rong. Wang Wen was not great at handling these matters where he would offend at least one of the parties involved. This was Wei Rong’s area of expertise, or at the very least, he had already offended many people.

Wei Rong quickly reached out to contact Jiu Yao. "Senior, I heard that Jiu Xiao was killed by one of the Technocracy’s androids."

Jiu Yao frowned. "Where's the Dao Chosen?"

Few people had the right to speak to a Semi-Progenitor.

Wei Rong just smiled. "The Dao Chosen is training in seclusion, so he’s out of reach right now. This junior reached out to you because I have something to tell you, Senior."

"Go on," Jiu Yao ordered indifferently. He could not tell if he was relieved that he did not have to speak with Lu Yin, or if he was upset that some peon was speaking with him. The Semi-Progenitor did not want to speak with Lu Yin, as he feared that Lu Yin would be too overbearing and would insult his dignity. After all, the Technocracy was sending Lu Yin resources.

Wei Rong smiled and started to speak, and as he continued, Jiu Yao's expression started to change.

Wei Rong was recounting all of Jiu Xiao's crimes, starting with bullying men and women, stealing resources, and forcing people into slavery to be bought or sold. None of these issues really mattered, as they were minor crimes in the grand scheme of things, but Jiu Xiao had also deserted and fled from the battlefield. This was something that the Jiu family had worked to cover up, and they did not consider it a big deal. However, Wei Rong knew just how large the potential ramifications could become if it was exposed.

The Sixth Mainland had become a part of the Heavens Sect, and the Jiu family was far from being the master of the Heavens Sect.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Jiu Yao's face twisted into a hideous expression. He was actually being threatened by a child!

Wei Rong was the one who controlled the Great Eastern Alliance’s intelligence network, and he had also obtained control over Shamrock Enterprise’s hidden seeds. He had access to almost too much information.

"There’s nothing special about this matter. Taking a life should cost one’s life. Since one of the Technocracy’s androids killed Jiu Xiao, then execute them. Please ask Deputy City Master Little Bear to point out the criminal so that you can get revenge for your family yourself, Senior," Wei Rong answered with a smile.

Jiu Yao's expression turned dark, as Little Bear had been the one to kill Jiu Xiao. Wei Rong’s meaning was clear and simple: find a scapegoat. Nothing could happen to Little Bear, as it was important not to insult the Technocracy, though it was also important to save face for the Human Domain as well.

Without Lu Yin’s involvement in this matter, Jiu Yao would have simply eliminated everyone from the Technocracy with a wave of his hand. However, Lu Yin was involved, and Jiu Yao had no idea if Lu Yin was the one behind Wei Rong’s words. The Semi-Progenitor was reminded of what had happened to Wang Si and the handful of Semi-Progenitors that had been imprisoned.

Lu Yin was someone who had no reservations in his actions. He was completely ruthless.

In the end, one of the android bodies was destroyed in a show of revenge for Jiu Xiao’s death. That done, the rest of the androids continued on their way to the Heavens Sect.