Not long after Lu Yin snatched the heavenly drum from Nightqueen Yanqing, Starsibyl arrived at the Undying Realm’s best training ground.
Lu Yin was sitting atop the heavenly drum when he saw Starsibyl slowly walking towards him. His gaze remained calm. “I was wondering who would be the first to show up. Never thought that it would be you.”
“You guessed that someone would appear?” Starsibyl smiled at Lu Yin and casually sat down beside him, not showing any trace of aloofness despite the difference in their statuses.
Astonishment flashed through Lu Yin’s eyes. “Everyone in the universe knows that the Nightking clan places great importance upon its reputation. It was basically guaranteed that someone would speak up for Nightqueen Yanqing since I took the heavenly drum from her. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intentions of returning it.”
“I know. I’m only here to ask you one question. Do you really think that your identity as a Lockbreaker can completely protect you?”
Lu Yin fell silent. It seemed that his identity as a Lockbreaker could not be hidden from people after all, as those who wanted to investigate him would be able to easily find this information. The Lockbreaker Society did not value the secrecy of their members’ identities very highly, as to them, a Lockbreaker was a treasure amongst humans, so there was no need to conceal it. This was the society’s reasoning, and at this point, Lu Yin had no reason to continue concealing his status.
His identity as a Lockbreaker could help Lu Yin differentiate between two types of people. Wendy Yushan had not been able to discover his identity, which signified that her authority was either not very great or at least unable to contact the Lockbreaker research association. Starsibyl and the alluring Madam Nalan had easily discovered his identity, which just went to show the difference between these two groups of people.
“A two-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker is indeed enough for Nightqueen Yanqing to restrain herself openly, but she can still easily take action in secret. Even though the Lockbreaker Society will defend their members even when they are in the wrong, they aren’t so foolish as to become enemies with the Nightking clan over a dead person. Even if there’s any evidence, nothing will happen to Nightqueen Yanqing, and the matter will be resolved with some compensation and an apology at most. The Nightking clan can also easily come up with a justification for the Lockbreaker Society. As for Astral-10’s protection, you cannot expect to never leave Astral-10.”
Lu Yin looked at her straight in the face. “I understand what you’re saying, but sometimes, I can’t control my temper. Also, since you’re here, it means that you must’ve made a deal with that insane woman Yanqing.”
“You really don’t show mercy with your hands or your words. After all, she’s still a girl.”
Lu Yin was not swayed. “More like a lunatic.”
“The people behind you, your friends and relatives, will not be able to withstand the pressure of the Nightking clan. You must spare a thought for them.”
Lu Yin leisurely stretched as he said, “Cut to the chase.”
“Don’t pit yourself against the Daynight clan.”
Lu Yin was astonished. “Just that?”
Starsibyl nodded. “Yes.”
Lu Yin stared at her curiously. “Although I haven’t known that insane woman, Yanqing, for very long, I understand her well enough. She will not end a battle without exacting some sort of price.”
“I have already paid the price for you.”
“You did? Why?”
Starsibyl sighed before replying, “You must know that there’s a president of the Council of Astral Academy. I am the current president. The stability of the general student body within the Astral Combat Academy is my responsibility, and it is one that was placed upon me by the Ten Arbiters Council. As such, I must pay some price to assure its stability.”
Lu Yin was not naive, so why would he believe such words? However, if Starsibyl had really paid the price for them, then there was another problem looming on the horizon: there was no such thing as a free lunch in this universe. What did this woman want from him?
Starsibyl stood up, and a gentle fragrance wafted over to Lu Yin. She smiled at him and said, “Don’t overthink things. I’m not plotting against you.”
Lu Yin got up as well. “It’s alright. I’m not getting the short end of the stick anyways.”
She smiled, “You’re very amusing.”
“Is that so? I’ve always believed that I’m emotionally insensitive and slow-witted.”
Starsibyl turned around and slowly started walking away. “You’re already a member of the Council of Astral Academy, so find some time to meet everyone and formally establish your new position.” She then directly exited the Undying Realm.
Lu Yin watched her vanish as he pondered the situation. Although the Astral Combat Academy was a single institution, the politics brewing beneath its surface were not simple. Starsibyl was immeasurably mysterious while Nightqueen Yanqing was tyrannical, and there was also that deceptively simple Han Chong hiding in a corner. With all the various powers vying for dominance, it was less of an institution and more of a microscopic reflection of the struggle between the various powers of the universe. Hence, him joining the Council of Astral Academy was akin to skewering himself to be roasted over the fire. Perhaps someone would contact him soon.
“That’s Starsibyl? It can’t be, she looks like a student. Isn’t Starsibyl a powerhouse? Someone who can rival the Ten Arbiters?” The Ghost Monkey had his misgivings.
“Starsibyl is not just a single person. Multiple candidates compete for the title.”
“Competition for the job, huh? Interesting… you should stay careful of that woman. Even our star domain has heard a great deal about Starsibyl, and none of it is very pleasant. She has her own plots and schemes, so don’t end up working for her or else you’ll just end up being used and betrayed by her,” the Ghost Monkey cautioned Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was also thinking of this possibility. He really was not confident in facing against her schemes. This was mainly because of Lu Yin’s limited understanding of the universe’s power structure, which allowed others to easily plot against him. The only method that he had to resist her schemes was to simply limit his contact with her.
“Speaking of which, bro, you’re really ruthless. You even destroyed the Daynight clan’s reputation!” the Ghost Monkey marvelled, but Lu Yin remained silent.
“Still, the outcomes should be sometimes considered as well. What if the Daynight clan deploys some experts to assassinate you? I’m also afraid, as that’s a strong clan that even dared to directly invade the Astral Beast Domain! You’re just a Limiteer and will be easily crushed in the face of their might. I’ll be so unlucky if that happens. I…”
Lu Yin lost his temper at its incessant rambling. “Shut up! Answer my question if you don’t want to die.”
“What question?”
“Are you sure that the Daynight clan cannot save the Third Nightking?”
“I’ve told you before. It’s for sure, definite, and certain.”
“That’s good. As long as the Third Nightking can’t be rescued, I’ll still be valuable to them.”
“Valuable my ass. Do you really think the Nightking clan believes that you can help them?”
“If there’s even a glimmer of hope, then the Nightking clan won’t be willing to allow anything to happen to me.”
The Ghost Monkey agreed. “That’s also true. The Third Nightking is too important to them. Even if they’re certain that you know nothing, they still won’t let anything happen to you. This is just human psychology.”
“But what should I do if they look for me? I’ll have to offer some useful intelligence.” This was Lu Yin’s main concern, as if he didn’t hold any value, Nightking Yuanjing would not continue to protect him. His opponents were not only Nightqueen Yanqing, as the next to act would be Nightking Zhenwu. He was the great threat.
The Ghost Monkey fell silent.
Lu Yin was not in a hurry, though. The two were already of one body, so if Lu Yin died, the monkey would not be able to survive either. And since he knew that there was a high chance that he would have to face Nightking Yuanjing some time in the future, Lu Yin had to prepare some contingency intelligence for him.
Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing’s conflict had been temporarily resolved due to Starsibyl’s intervention. Over the next few days, there were occasionally some Daynight clan experts who came to the heavenly drum, but it had already been occupied by Lu Yin.
Astral-10 students could now visit the heavenly drum whenever they wished, and Coco played the drums there to her heart’s content. However, Hui Daynight never visited even though he had not helped the Daynight clan fight against Lu Yin either. He was stuck in an awkward position. Still, neither Nightqueen Yanqing or Tiankong Daynight had sought him out, and the latter had even protected Hui Daynight once.
It felt as if Hui Daynight had been exiled.
Just like that, half a month calmly passed by. Dao Bo and Han Chong returned from the warfront during this time, and Lu Yin was finally able to formally call for the Council of Astral Academy to convene with his identity as Astral-10’s student leader.
In the Dao of God, Lu Yin silently stood beneath the Tilting Tower. Not far away from him stood Liu Xiaoyun and Kuang Wang, who were the first to arrive. Han Chong arrived soon after, and he looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression, or rather, an expression of surprise.
Lu Yin had a peaceful look on his face, even though the Astral Combat Academy was still abuzz with the news of him and Nightqueen Yanqing’s conflict.
Starsibyl also arrived at that moment, and she smiled at Lu Yin before taking a stance nearby.
Many students had appeared and gathered quite a distance from the Tilting Tower, gazing over in amazement. This was a gathering of the ten student leaders: the Council of Astral Academy. Such a thing was a rare sight.
Wu Da also arrived, as he would not miss any newsworthy event for his life. However, he wasn’t qualified to listen to the council’s discussions and could barely see or hear anything, as the void around the meeting area was distorted.
Next, Dao Bo and Liu Yin arrived.
Feng Shang arrived as well, and he smiled apologetically at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was not bothered by the past incident with Feng Shang, especially since he had not been disadvantaged in any way. He had only found the battle somewhat ridiculous, as his first opponent in the ported battles had been Feng Shang, and he had instantly destroyed Lu Yin. That incident had caused Lu Yin to lose some confidence, but that debt had been paid back with interest now.
There was only one person left: Nightqueen Yanqing.
Xue Liuyun had died at the warfront, so Astral-4 was temporarily devoid of a student leader. Lu Yin felt that Sha was the most likely successor, as his power spoke for itself and he had even defeated Xue Liuyun. He was publicly recognised as Astral-4’s strongest student, but he had not returned yet either.
Nightqueen Yanqing appeared with a whoosh and arrogantly stared down at the rest of the student leaders. She was seething with anger when she glanced at Lu Yin, but she ultimately refrained from saying anything. She then descended with an aura that clearly expressed her annoyance.
“Alright, excluding Xue Liuyun who was killed in action, all the other Academy leaders have gathered here today. I shall represent the Ten Arbiters Council and Astral Combat Academy to formally announce that Lu Yin has joined the Council of Astral Academy, which has the responsibility to supervise, test, and protect the students of the Astral Combat Academy. Along with the authority of the Ten Arbiters Council, the responsibility to supervise, test, and protect the younger generation and to uphold the Ten Arbiters Council…” Starsibyl had many formalities to go through. The others had all heard it all before, but it was Lu Yin’s first time.
He paid some attention to one sentence, though. What did “along with the authority of the Ten Arbiters Council, the responsibility to supervise, test, and protect the younger generation” mean? Was the Council of Astral Academy responsible for more than just the Astral Combat Academy?
A thought suddenly occurred to Lu Yin, and he quickly realized that it was possible that Nightqueen Yanqing had spent so much energy to keep him from joining the Council of Astral Academy for another reason besides the special constitution that they believed him to have. It was possible that the Council of Astral Academy was not as simple as it initially seemed to be.
Soon, Starsibyl finished her customary speech and then looked at Lu Yin. She smiled and asked, “Student Lu, is there anything that you don’t understand?”
“Almost everything.” Lu Yin was very direct.
Starsibyl was stumped by his response while Kuang Wang and Dao Bo both laughed and shook their heads.
Nightqueen Yanqing contemptuously looked down at Lu Yin with a trace of ridicule.
Starsibyl gently said, “It seems that you have absolutely no understanding of the Council of Astral Academy.”
Lu Yin agreed, saying, “No one has told me anything about it before.”
Starsibyl had a helpless expression as she explained, “Very well then, I’ll give you a brief introduction. Generally, the student council helps the academy supervise the student body. However, the Astral Combat Academy is rather unique, as the mentors rarely test us and we students are primarily self-governed. Over time, the Council of Astral Academy’s authority has expanded, and with the formation of the Ten Arbiters Council, the Council of Astral Academy’s responsibilities have grown to include not only the Astral Combat Academy but the rest of the universe as well.”
