Star Odyssey

Cosmic rings also existed in the Transcendent Universe. They were not considered rare items and were even still called cosmic rings. This led Lu Yin to make some speculations about the universe’s previous connection with the Fifth Mainland, or rather, the Origin Universe.

Lu Yin stored the energy converter away in his cosmic ring. Before long, Luo Laoer stepped out, a relaxed look on his face. "Sister Yu, what did I tell you? I couldn’t get it, hahaha."

The young girl gritted her teeth. "Are you hiding something, Luo Laoer? Tell me the truth."

Luo Laoer rolled his eyes. "You’re overestimating me. Do you really think that anyone can trick the testing equipment?"

The girl retorted, "Powerful people from cultivation civilizations can do it. You're Monarch Luo's son, so I'm sure that you can do it too."

Lu Yin's eyes grew large as he looked at Luo Laoer. Monarch Luo’s son? Could the girl actually be referring to the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe? That Monarch Luo?

Luo Laoer quickly made a shushing gesture. "Sister Yu, don't spout such nonsense about me. Monarch Luo abandoned me a long time ago. I don’t have any status or talent now. Sister Yu, you can say whatever you like, but I really can't get a blue energy converter."

The young girl rolled her eyes, but she stopped arguing.

For a while, several people tried speaking to the girl, but she completely ignored all of them. This continued until a group of youths who clearly held high statuses arrived and joined the girl and Luo Laoer.

Even the people whom Luo Laoer had previously struck up conversations with were driven away now.

Wherever there were people, there would be a hierarchy. Luo Laoer might appear to be someone ordinary, but he actually moved around the same circles as the girl.

If he was really the son of Monarch Luo, the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, then his status should be even higher, but that did not seem very likely.

How could Monarch Luo’s son be in a situation like this?

Two days passed, and finally, some new arrivals appeared.

Thousands of young people had gathered in the area now, and all of them had received energy converters. People socialized with familiar faces, and cliques were quickly being formed and established.

The group that included Luo Laoer and his companions drew envious gazes from almost everyone else.

Many people also looked at Lu Yin with curiosity, due to the fact that he spent the entire time standing alone in a corner.

"Sister Yu, have you ever heard of the surname ‘Xuan?’" Luo Laoer asked.

The girl's name was Zuo Yu. "Xuan? I’ve never heard of it. Are they a family from your Three Monarchs Universe?"

"Xuan? Could they be from the Arboreal Realm?" someone interjected.

Luo Laoer at Lu Yin, who was still in the corner. "That person said that his name is Xuan Qi, but I can't remember any noble family in the Transcendent Universe with the Xuan surname."

"He's just trying to appear mysterious. How pretentious." One boy sneered.

Zuo Yu commented, "I remember a few years ago that there was a low ranking noble with the Bai surname who created quite a stir. It was right after the family joined the Ruling Council, and that caused many people to believe that the low-ranking Bai noble and the family on the Ruling Council were one and the same. Many became curious about the matter, and even my grandfather looked into it. In the end, it was confirmed that the low-ranking noble had just been putting on an act."

Luo Laoer said, "I remember that. The low ranking noble acted all aloof at first and ignored everyone. Many people sent them gifts and resources, and I heard that someone even gave the noble a white energy converter. All of them ended up being quite tragically scammed."

As the group chatted, several people looked at the boy who had sneered. His name was Mu Duo, and he was the one who had been scammed; he had sent a white energy converter that belonged to his family.

Mentioning such an incident left Mu Duo seething in frustration. He directed a condescending look at Lu Yin and walked over to him.

Luo Laoer blinked. "Is he going to cause trouble for that guy?"

Zuo Yu replied, "The low-ranking noble who scammed Mu Duo's family disappeared without a trace, and the Mu family still hasn't recovered from losing a white energy converter even now. They've been mocked for that incident for years. Do you really think that Mu Duo won't cause trouble?"

"But what if that person really is a high-ranking noble who’s disguising himself?"

"Then that’s too bad for him. The Mu family’s exhausted all of their resources in an attempt to secure their nomination for the next Ruling Council. Unless that guy’s related to the Ruling Council, he can only blame his bad luck."

Suddenly, Mu Duo turned back to Luo Laoer and asked, "What’s the color of his energy converter?"

Luo Laoer arched a brow. Mu Duo was not nearly as full of himself as he appeared to be. That was fine. Mu Duo could help Luo Laoer expose the guy's background. Everything would be fine if the man was nothing special, but if he actually did have some sort of exceptional background, then the Mu family would be the unlucky ones. "Green."

Mu Duo's eyes flickered with a cold light. His gaze swept past everyone to lock onto Lu Yin, and then he walked straight over.

Lu Yin had been keeping an eye on Luo Laoer and his group the entire time. He had realized that it was possible to learn quite a bit from eavesdropping on their conversation, including even the most recent bit. He was rather speechless at how things had developed. Had he really just become a scapegoat?

Lu Yin was not someone who would passively accept being a scapegoat. He was the one who usually deflected the blame onto others.

Upon seeing Mu Duo approaching, Lu Yin suddenly stood up and walked over to another group of people. "Time’s up."

Everyone in the group looked at Lu Yin with confusion. They were the ones who had cut in line earlier.

The muscular youth looked completely bewildered. "What time?"

Lu Yin replied, "You told me to stand in the corner and stay there. Time's up, so can I leave now?"

The muscular youth and his friends glanced at each other. When had they asked this guy to stand in the corner and stay there?

Zuo Yu and others were stunned. This was an unexpected turn of events.

They all watched Mu Duo. He was in an awkward position. He had been ready to cause trouble for the guy, but now he was simply being punished.

Mu Duo was now standing in the middle of an open space, deliberating over whether he should proceed or turn back. As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, he finally decided that it only made sense for him to vent a little of his anger.

So, he walked towards the muscular youth's group.

"Hey, you're the one that we cut in front of in the line? Boss, did you punish him?" someone asked.

A girl spoke admiringly, "Boss, he agreed to let us cut in line, and yet you still punished him? You're so manly."

"Boss is amazing."

"We're not even on the battlefield yet, and he’s already starting to collect minions! Boss is really impressive."

The muscular youth hesitated for a moment before rubbing the back of his head in a slightly embarrassed manner before he burst out laughing. "I like this kid! He's obedient now, after a bit of discipline. Hahaha."

Lu Yin smiled. "May I leave now?"

The muscular youth slapped Lu Yin's shoulder. "Where do you think you’re going? Get back over there and don’t move."

Lu Yin obediently returned to the corner. A stream of flattery flooded into the muscular youth's ears, boosting his ego to new heights.

Lu Yin passed Mu Duo on his way back, but Mu Duo suddenly raised a hand and set it onto Lu Yin's shoulder. Lu Yin stopped and looked at the man in surprise. Why did it seem like everyone in this universe was so fond of patting people’s shoulders?

"Go. Slap him," Mu Duo ordered.

Lu Yin thought that he must have misheard. "What?"

Mu Duo said in a deep voice, "Go slap him. That's what I told you."

He then shoved Lu Yin back towards the muscular youth, causing Lu Yin to stumble and bump into the muscular young man, who became furious, "Do you want to die, brat?"

Lu Yin pointed at Mu Duo. "He shoved me."

The muscular youth glared at Mu Duo, furious. "You-"

Just as the young man was about to continue, he suddenly recognized Mu Duo. "You- aren't you Young Master Mu Duo?"

Mu Duo gave Lu Yin a hard look. "Slap him."

Lu Yin hesitated and swallowed. "I don't think that that's a good idea."

"This is the last time I’ll tell you: slap him," Mu Duo ordered angrily.

Lu Yin spun around and instantly slapped the muscular youth right across the face. The sound was crisp and loud, and it drew the entire crowd’s attention.

Zuo Yu and the others watched calmly. In the Transcendent Universe, the difference in status was always made clear. Given Mu Duo's status, he could even cripple the muscular young man without facing any repercussions, let alone simply having him slapped.

The muscular youth was also fully aware of this, and thus he did not dare resist.

Still, Lu Yin's slap left the man dazed.

Mu Duo felt quite satisfied. "Not bad. Don't act like such a weakling in the future."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Understood."

He then turned around and slapped the muscular young man again.

The action startled Mu Duo. Why another slap?

The muscular youth stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Why another slap? Who had told this guy to slap him?

The watching audience all stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin explained, "It's for symmetry."

The muscular youth seethed with rage, and a building anger filled his eyes.

Some distance away, Luo Laoer laughed heartily.

Zuo Yu tried to suppress a smile.

Mu Duo took a good look at Lu Yin and then praised him, "Not bad. Come with me."

Lu Yin hurried over. "Yes, sir."

Mu Duo had vented his anger with the first slap, but the second slap had given him the feeling that Lu Yin was a promising talent who could help build Mu Duo’s reputation. The man quickly decided to take Lu Yin under his wing.

While many people watched in surprise, Lu Yin, who should have been getting into trouble, ended up joining Mu Duo's group. Despite having the lowest status and being bossed around, no one would dare to offend him with someone like Mu Duo as his backer.

Luo Laoer no longer paid any attention to Lu Yin, though he was still interested in the Xuan surname.

Three days later, a bit of news arrived without warning: they were told that their destination had been changed to the Cloudflow Universe.

"Cloudflow Universe? Isn't that a parallel universe? Why are we going there?" Zuo Yu found it strange.

Mu Duo replied, "Cloudflow Universe isn’t just a parallel universe. It’s one of the numerous battlefields where we fight against Aeternus. It’s said that when we conquered the Cloudflow Universe, Aeternus actually interfered, which is why it became a battlefield."

Luo Laoer spoke up in a mysterious tone. "I'll let you in on a secret—there are rumors that the change in our destination has to do with a specific person."

"Who?" asked Zuo Yu curiously.

Everyone else also turned to look at Luo Laoer. He always managed to get a hold of confidential information.

"Zi Jing," Luo Laoer answered in a very soft voice, making sure that only the people in his group could hear his answer. Everyone else could only watch with envy.

"Zi Jing?" Mu Duo, Zuo Yu, and others all exclaimed in surprise.

Luo Laoer instantly motioned for them to be quiet. "Don't spread it around! I put in quite a bit of effort to find this out, so don't let my work be for nothing."

"Zi Jing? The notorious traitor?" Mu Duo was astonished.

Luo Laoer retorted, "She's not a traitor. She never betrayed the Transcendent Universe, though she did run away. It's said that she fled because a certain technology that the Transcendent Universe is researching will bring about unpredictable and disastrous consequences."

Zuo Yu pondered with a serious expression. "My grandfather once mentioned that that woman is very important. Her disappearance put a halt to the development of one of our crucial cultivation technologies. If she hadn’t been found, our progress would have stalled for a very long time."

"Since she’s returned, we'll soon see a breakthrough in that cultivation technology, which is why the Ruling Council has decided to move our battlefield to the Cloudflow Universe," Luo Laoer explained.

"What does Cloudflow Universe have to do with anything? Is Zi Jing from there?" Lu Yin interjected.

Someone sharply reprimanded Lu Yin, "Do you have the right to speak? Shut up!"

Mu Duo glared at the speaker. "He's under me. You shut up."

"Mu Duo, others might be afraid of you, but I'm not. My family has also been nominated to the Ruling Council."

"So what?"

Zuo Yu lost her patience. "Enough! Why are we arguing? My grandfather is part of the Ruling Council right now."

The other two instantly fell silent.

Lu Yin was speechless. These people were literally competing in who their backer was.