This was a plot that had been carefully laid over the course of multiple centuries, and even if it were revealed to its intended victims, not a single one of them would believe it. They would definitely search through every inch of the palace regardless of the risk.
They would not dare destroy the palace, either, because they had no idea exactly how the Undying Manual might be recorded down. What if they accidentally destroyed the manual as a result of their actions? Even though the chances of the Undying Manual being in the palace might not even reach 1%, they still did not dare to take this risk. Undying Yushan was taking advantage of their greedy nature to trap everyone and bring them all down with him.
“What do you think?” Undying Yushan asked as he looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin respectfully answered, “You’re very courageous, Your Majesty.”
“Do you have any questions?” Undying Yushan asked with a faint smile.
Lu Yin’s eyes shone. “Aren’t you afraid that those Innerverse organizations might destroy the Great Yu Empire in a fit of rage?”
Undying Yushan answered with a question of his own. “Why do you think that unfilial son of mine, Duke Yushan, did what he did?”
Lu Yin was initially confused, but then he remembered something. He gazed at Undying Yushan in surprise.
Undying Yushan placed his hands behind his back and indifferently said, “Everyone in the universe knows that Duke Yushan betrayed the empire. Even if the empire is destroyed, he will still survive. He will be the surviving bloodline of my Great Yu Empire.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he recalled the bitter look in Duke Yushan’s eyes that night and how he had reacted when he learned that Dorren Yushan was planning on stealing the first prince’s place. Everything made sense now. It wasn’t that Duke Yushan didn’t want to do it, but rather that he had been forced to by this dying emperor. All so that the Great Yu Empire’s imperial bloodline would be passed on. Or, perhaps, even the prince didn’t know that he was being used. This was actually true for both of the princes.
Undying Yushan was very vicious. In order to kill the plotting Innerverse powerhouses, he did not even mind forcing his own son to go against him. Had he machinated for centuries, just to kill these people? Was it really worth it? Duke Yushan had tried to destroy Violet Planet a hundred years ago so that Undying Yushan would die earlier. However, he never expected that Undying Yushan would have planned for this as well. He just genuinely didn’t care about his life and just wanted to take more people down with him.
“Why are you telling me all this, Your Majesty?” Lu Yin was nervous when he realized who he was dealing with.
Undying Yushan looked straight at Lu Yin. “I’m not joking when I say this. If you want, I can let you inherit the Great Yu Empire. Due to a certain item, influential powers in the Innerverse have set their eyes on the Great Yu Empire. It’s only a matter of time until it’s destroyed. Duke Yushan is just one way for me to preserve some things and so is Wendy. However, neither of them can be completely trusted, and I still need a third option.”
“You shouldn’t be looking for me,” Lu Yin said.
Undying Yushan smiled gently. “You’re King Zishan, which makes you the fourth person in line to inherit the throne, and you’re obviously the person I’d choose. Don’t worry. I’m not making you the emperor, but I do want you to inherit my resolve. When the day comes and you have sufficient power, I’ll be happy as long as you rebuild the Great Yu Empire and protect Zenyu Star. That’ll mean I haven’t completely disgraced my ancestors!”
Lu Yin didn’t understand. This was a huge responsibility that he simply could not bear. Besides, he wasn’t even the real King Zishan, but the man before him was baring his soul and putting his complete trust in Lu Yin. He didn’t want to betray this man’s expectations; Lu Yin had his own integrity.
He could also tell that the emperor was using a psychological trick on him. After all, Undying Yushan had resorted to all kinds of tricks to secure a path of survival for his bloodline. He had gone so far as to force his children to go against him, make siblings fight against each other, and disregard human lives. Lu Yin didn’t want to become that kind of person.
Undying Yushan sighed. “I know that it’s hard for you to accept all of this right now. Take this.” After saying that, Undying Yushan took a ring and passed it to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin curiously asked, “What’s this?”
“It’s a ring of authority of the empire. If something happens to me, Dorren, and Duke, then you can use this to command all the armies of the empire,” Undying Yushan said.
Lu Yin wanted to return the ring, but after he saw Undying Yushan’s hopeful gaze, he knew that he had no choice but to keep it. He knew what Undying Yushan was thinking. Given the current circumstances, Undying Yushan was in the most danger as he had been targeted for centuries. Next was Dorren Yushan, followed by Duke Yushan, and lastly, Wendy Yushan. While it wasn’t likely that she would fall into the line of danger, it was still a possibility. Thus, Lu Yin was Undying Yushan’s last hope because nobody paid any heed to him. Besides, he was currently in the Astral Combat Academy.
When Undying Yushan saw that Lu Yin had accepted the ring, he smiled. “That’s how King Zishan should be! Responsible! From now onwards, you’re the fourth official successor to the throne. And for becoming a successor, I’ll give you a present.” As he spoke, he produced a crystal card.
Lu Yin’s eyes brightened. This had been his entire goal! Since the Zishan clan treasure didn’t exist, Undying Yushan was obviously giving him something else as compensation.
“There’s a hundred thousand cubes of star crystals here. Treat it as a reward for becoming a Melder,” Undying Yushan said.
Lu Yin expected to receive a lot more, but to his disappointment, it was only a hundred thousand. His appetite for star crystals was growing larger and larger, and a hundred thousand cubes was no longer enough to warrant his excitement. When he had defeated Craynor, he had received almost ninety thousand cubes of star energy crystals from just that. Of course, he was aware that the Innerverse and Outerverse produced different amounts of star crystals. The Innerverse produced nearly a hundred times the amount of the Outerverse. The hundred thousand that Undying Yushan had just gifted him was akin to ten million in the Innerverse. So, relatively, it was actually quite a large sum.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Lu Yin answered gratefully.
“The production of star crystals is very low in the Outerverse. A hundred thousand isn’t much, but it should be enough to meet your needs for some time. When you become a Limiteer, I’ll gift you something else if I haven’t died yet.”
“The empire seems to be quite rich, Your Majesty,” Lu Yin stated, as if trying to sound something out.
Undying Yushan burst into laughter. “What are you trying to ask?”
Lu Yin recalled when various officials had tried to bribe him back at the capital star. Those officials had given him a pitiful amount of star crystals, and there was a huge difference between what he had received then and what Undying Yushan had given him now. It didn’t make any sense. No matter how wealthy the imperial family was, there shouldn’t be this large of a difference.
“Was I being petty when I wanted a welcome gift from those officials?”
Undying Yushan chuckled. “Not at all, because it was a welcoming gift.”
Lu Yin frowned. Calling it a welcome gift was actually a form of humiliation to him. He had made those moves with the intention of receiving bribes, but they had actually given him the appropriate amount for a welcome gift. The amount had been tiny. How embarrassing! To think that he’d been so satisfied back then while the officials had really thought nothing of him. They clearly saw the world differently. Lu Yin silently reprimanded himself with a reminder to be more careful in the future. When asking for bribes, don’t ask for a certain amount. Just collect the norm and don’t ask for an amount.
“Okay, I’ve told you everything that you should know and given you your reward as well. Now, I’m going to teach you some imperial battle techniques: the Invisible Aura Technique and the Ashen Energy Force,” Undying Yushan said sternly.
Lu Yin was astonished. “You’re going to teach me imperial battle techniques?”
Undying Yushan grunted in acknowledgement. “When I returned from the Innerverse, I brought four battle techniques back with me. They’re the Skybeast Claw, Air Flash, Invisible Aura, and Ashen Energy Force techniques. The Skybeast Claw technique was given to Yu Academy in the hopes of creating new talents for the empire. The Air Flash technique belongs to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, and the last two, the Invisible Aura and Ashen Energy Force techniques, belong to the imperial family. Since you’re an official successor of the imperial family now, you naturally have the right to learn those two as well.”
Undying Yushan was doing so much for him that Lu Yin was even getting a little emotional. “Thank you so much, Your Majesty, but I’ve already learned a lot of battle techniques. If I learn any more, then it’ll be difficult for me to learn and integrate them into my fighting style properly.”
Undying Yushan pondered his words over and agreed. “In that case, while you don’t have to learn the Ashen Energy Force technique, you must learn the Invisible Aura technique.”
“The Invisible Aura technique?” Lu Yin was confused.
Undying Yushan seriously said, “The Invisible Aura technique makes your aura invisible. In other words, it hides your battle power. When you use this technique, nobody will be able to determine your power level, even when you’re fighting. Back in the day, one of the main reasons why I was able to return to the empire from the Innerverse was because of this technique. If used well, it may very well save your life.”
Lu Yin was delighted, as this technique sounded very useful. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Invisible Aura technique wasn’t too complicated, and it merely required one to use their body to create a lock that would seal up star energy. While learning it did not take much time due to its simplicity, very few would think to use this method. It was a very sophisticated technique.
Lu Yin fully learned it in just twenty minutes.
“You learn so quickly! I’m shocked. I heard that you learned the 96th form of the Skybeast Claw in thirteen days and also managed to learn Tianming’s Three Stacks after seeing it once. Considering your talent, this is the first time I’m hoping that you’ll be able to marry Wendy,” Undying Yushan said with a ruefully sigh.
Lu Yin had been completely immersed in the excitement of having learned the Invisible Aura technique, but after Wendy’s name was suddenly brought up, his heart sank. He’d heard this woman’s name far too many times, and it was impossible for him to ignore her existence.
“I can do a lot for you, Little Yin, but I’m powerless when it comes to Wendy. She might be my daughter, but she is also a disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak. I alone cannot decide who her husband will be,” Undying Yushan said apologetically.
Lu Yin hurriedly said, “What happens between me and Princess Wendy will sort itself out. You don’t have to worry about it, Your Majesty.”
Undying Yushan nodded. “Alright then. Anyways, she should be back in a few days. Would you like to meet her?”
Lu Yin actually wanted to refuse, but after thinking it over, he remained quiet. He knew that his status paled in comparison to Wendy Yushan’s, but he should at least have the courage to meet her. “We can discuss this later, but I won’t immediately refuse.”
Undying Yushan was glad to hear his response. “Don’t worry. With me around, she won’t do anything to you.”
Lu Yin nodded.
“Also, don’t forget about that three year marriage agreement that you have with the Aunas,” Undying Yushan reminded.
Lu Yin could only nod again.
Undying Yushan patted him on the shoulder as he consoled, “That marriage contract will tie both sides together. Even if you don’t marry Jenny Auna, the Auna Family is already trying to curry favor with you. Haven’t you noticed?”
Lu Yin’s eyes shone as he recalled what had happened when he had met Rocky Auna outside of the Grand Astral Gate. The Auna family had obviously shown that they wanted to display their goodwill.
“For now, you don’t have any connections to the empire. Thus, the Auna Family, which also doesn’t belong to any factions, can be helpful to you. I don’t mind if my successor makes connections with external officials; it’ll all depend on you. Even if you don’t marry, those three years should be more than enough for the Auna Family to provide you with quite a bit of aid,” Undying Yushan said.
Lu Yin glanced at Undying Yushan. This person was teaching him how to use others, and also how to set situations up so that he would receive the results he wanted. Are these the emperor’s psychological tactics?
After a long time, Lu Yin left the palace. But he was pulled back inside right after by Undying Yushan, mostly to teach him how to deal with certain matters. From Lu Yin’s point of view, the emperor was teaching him things that were not widely known, yet were very effective. Learning from the experiences of someone who had governed an empire for over eight centuries was very valuable. Dorren and Duke Yushan had probably been taught like this as well, and it was now Lu Yin’s turn.
While thinking about the recent turn of events, Lu Yin unconsciously walked up to the Grand Astral Gate. He looked up and felt his heart tremble. Before him stood Rocky Auna, quietly looking at him.
