Xia Yi responded in a glacial tone, saying, “My Seven Courts is not afraid of Eversky Island.”
“There is no need for any of this. Whether or not this child has been controlled by the Neohuman Alliance is something that must be tested by the Hall of Honor, so he needs to go there. Additionally, if he is indeed free of the Neohuman Alliance’s manipulations, then his talent means that he will definitely become a pillar of the Fifth Mainland.”
“I do not need him to protect my Seven Courts! A mere child just spoke to me in such a rude manner, and he may well grow up to be an enemy rather than a friend in the future.”
“A child is nothing but a child. Why would Patriarch Xia be so concerned?”
“I can agree to not killing him, but he must be taught a lesson as a warning to others.”
Xia Yi was determined to harm Lu Yin. Upon seeing the Xia family patriarch’s stance, Lu Yin frowned and clenched his fists. He looked over at Xia Jiuyu and saw that Xia Jiuyu looked calm, as though none of this was important. This person was the Xia family’s patriarch, someone who would not even spare his own son and who raised his children with a compulsion to train. He was utterly ruthless.
“Brother Xia, why must you make things difficult for a junior? This child spoke some words, but he did not mean to cross Brother Xia. Perhaps things were triggered by the Neohuman Alliance.” Hui Zhi spoke up, stopping Xia Yi.
Xia Yi looked over at Hui Zhi, wondering why he was speaking up for Lu Yin.
Lu Yin also looked at Hui Zhi.
Hui Zhi looked back at Lu Yin. Hui Santong was standing behind his patriarch.
Lu Yin realized that Hui Santong must have already shared the information about Hui Kong with Hui Zhi.
Mu En spoke up again, saying, “This child is a five star intermediate Lockbreaker from the Lockbreaker Society. Patriarch Xia should consider giving face to old Geoffrey. Even if that old man does not give face to others, he is still very protective. This child, as the ruler of the Outerverse, helped out the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and he can be considered to have done Geoffrey a favor.”
Xia Yi’s eyes narrowed. Eversky Island and the Lockbreaker Society were both known to be quite overprotective, and although Xia Yi could deal with Eversky Island, the Lockbreaker Society was different.
That group of Lockbreakers were capable of doing anything.
Yōu Kexin glanced at Lu Yin in surprise. “You’re a five star Intermediate Lockbreaker?”
Lu Yin answered, “Yes.”
Yōu Kexin’s expression suddenly changed. “In that case, Brother Xia, just let him go for now and don’t bother with him.”
Xia Yi was left speechless, as people here were already moving to protect their own. Yōu Kexin was also a Lockbreaker, and she had even studied with Geoffrey. Thus, she often and readily protected fellow Lockbreakers.
The more senior the Lockbreaker, the more they would be protected by the society. After all, only Lockbreakers could understand what their fellow Lockbreakers faced, and they had a tradition of protecting their own.
When Lu Yin had first joined the Lockbreaker Society, he had indeed made the right choice. The society had helped him numerous times over the years.
Xia Yi stared at Lu Yin. “Junior, watch your words in the future.”
Lu Yin and Xia Yi stared at each other, neither showing any fear.
Mu En looked at Lu Yin. “Why aren’t you apologizing to the Xia patriarch? These people are elders, and you should address them in a proper manner.”
Lu Yin felt helpless, but he also knew that Mu En was trying to help him. “Patriarch Xia, this junior spoke rashly.”
Xia Yi coldly snorted and placed his hands behind his back.
As the patriarch who was the head of the Seven Courts, Xia Yi had far more details to consider when acting than the other family leaders. Maintaining the stability of the Seven Courts was the most important matter to him, and he was naturally greatly concerned with Lu Yin’s words. Lu Yin could only think of two motivations behind the patriarch’s reaction, and although one was the patriarch’s proper duty as the chief of the Xia family, the other was that they might be colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, as the most suspect family was the Xia family. Otherwise, the patriarch’s reaction would not have been so exaggerated.
Whatever the reason for the patriarch’s reaction, it was none of Lu Yin’s business.
“Did you absorb Progenitor Chen’s blood while within the tomb?” Hui Zhi suddenly asked.
Lu Yin nodded affirmatively.
“In that case, the phenomena from someone breaking through to the Hunter realm was you?” Ce Laoyan asked.
Lu Yin was confused. “Phenomena? This junior couldn’t say.”
“It was him,” Ce Jiu confirmed, as all of the other youths had seen it.
The crowd was amazed, and Mu En sighed. “What an amazing phenomena. It would be wonderful if you are not under the Neohuman Alliance’s control.”
Lu Yin pursed his lips. “This junior is truly not being controlled, and I am willing to be tested.”
Mu En laughed. “That’s good.”
“Judicial Commissioner, don’t listen to him! Perhaps the Neohuman Alliance has developed a way for him to pass the test.” Ku Lei could not stop himself from speaking up.
Lu Yin looked at the young man like he was an idiot.
Ku Pu slapped Ku Lei across the head. “Shut up! The Hall of Honor is not something that you can order about.”
Ku Lei could not understand what he had said wrong.
Ku Wei forced himself to stifle his laughter.
Mu En was not concerned. “Children are just children. There’s no need for Patriarch Ku to be so serious,” he said, but he did direct a serious look at Ku Lei. “My Hall of Honor will always suppress the Neohuman Alliance, and no matter what means they may develop, it is impossible for someone to cheat the test. This is something that my Hall of Honor can guarantee.”
Ku Lei finally realized what he had said wrong, as it had been improper for him to publicly underestimate the Hall of Honor, as that promoted the strength of the Neohuman Alliance.
The elders gathered around and wanted to ask Lu Yin many things, such as what he had experienced after being taken, as well as what changes he had undergone after absorbing Progenitor Chen’s blood, not to mention the location of the Neohuman Alliance’s headquarters. There was much more they wanted to say, but they were all stopped by Mu En, except for a question that Xie Ahua posed, which Mu En allowed.
“You said that the child from the Specter Clan was admitted to Astral-10 in the Outerverse at the same time as you, yes? And that he had the same cultivation as you at that time?” Xie Ahua asked.
This question was what had triggered everyone’s suspicions of Lu Yin.
Lu Yin replied, “Yes. If you seniors are suspicious, you can ask Astral-10’s mentors. This junior is not lying.”
In a complicated tone, Xie Ahua said, “It is actually possible that this situation regarding Silver is not that complicated, though this means that the Specter Clan will reappear.”
Lu Yin grew curious.
All of the juniors looked over at Xie Ahua.
Actually, even Yōu Kexin, Ce Laoyan were puzzled.
When it came to knowledge of the Specter Clan, no one had a better understanding than the Xie family.
Xie Ahua explained, “Each time someone from the Specter Clan breaks through to a new realm, they are reborn, allowing them to remove their bones and recultivate with death energy, which allows their physique to grow stronger. This is somewhat similar to the Nine Clones Technique, but it is a completely different method. The reason why my Xie family and the Specter Clan are nemeses is because their bones are the best material for our cultivation technique.
“However, members of the Specter Clan are typically only able to remove their bones once they become Enlighters, and only after a period of time will they fuse back together with their bones, which increases their strength several fold. If this Silver was able to molt his bones at such a young age, then he might actually be even more powerful than you believe.”
Lu Yin was not surprised by this warning at all, as he did not really know how strong Silver was, and Lu Yin had never seen Silver go all out either. Instead, he always used a butterfly knife with a calm and relaxed look. Thinking about it would actually give one chills.
Xia Luo was the exact opposite. He was gentle to everyone and felt like a breeze, as though everything was under his control. But at the same time, no one ever knew what Xia Luo was thinking.
Silver and Xia Luo had both visited Earth. One of them cultivated the Specter Clan’s techniques and had developed his skeleton while the other cultivated the Nine Clones Technique.
Lu Yin felt the two were strange, as though they were opposite sides of the same coin.
That said, many of the people who had participated in that trial on Earth were not simple: Lulu Mavis, Lu Yin, Silver, Xia Luo, and that was not even mentioning the people who had disappeared into Jupiter, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue. There was also Liu Shaoge, who had stayed in the Outerverse.
Earth had produced an eccentric group of gifted individuals.
Even though the Seven Courts were one of the Three Dark Hands, they had been given that title due to their control of Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum.
When it came to actually dealing with the Neohuman Alliance, the Hall of Honor had always remained as the master of the Human Domain.
The leaders of the Seven Courts had many questions that they wished to ask Lu Yin, but in the end, Lu Yin was taken away by Mu En. Lu Yin needed to be tested, and if he failed the test, he would be instantly eliminated by the Hall of Honor.
Ku Wei wanted to follow along, but Ku Lei had already reported Ku Wei’s actions to Ku Pu, and Ku Pu did not even give Ku Wei the opportunity to speak.
Lu Yin was being taken away to be tested, and he would not be able to contact the outside world during this time, let alone take along someone like Ku Wei. Still, Mu En had told Lu Yin that people from Eversky Island would definitely be present for the testing, which put Lu Yin’s mind at ease.
Mu En took Lu Yin to the Hall of Honor. At the same time that this was happening, Tian Shao was standing atop the Astral River Ark, looking towards the far-off Outerverse that he was about to enter.
The news of the people from the Sixth Mainland moving into the Outerverse in the future was something that very, very few people were aware of.
Tian Shao’s current goal was to take advantage of the Outerverse and gain accolades that would improve his ability to climb ranks within the Hall of Honor.
Holding the position of ruler of the Outerverse would be quite the record, and it would allow him to stand out brilliantly.
Few people in the Innerverse were aware of Tian Shao’s identity, but he had deliberately informed the people of the Blaze Realm as a means of highlighting his influence. Due to this, the Blaze Realm had sent along many experts with Tian Shao for his protection even though he did not need any protection.
“Tian Shao, here is your rod,” said a Blaze Realm powerhouse as he handed over a fishing rod.
Tian Shao took the rod. He had heard that one could fish within the Astral River many times, and he had long since wanted to try it for himself.
Many people said that fishing in the Astral River was dangerous and that it was not something to attempt before becoming an Enlighter, but Tian Shao was not concerned. After all, there were two experts near him who each had a power level exceeding 400,000, and this was only the Astral River.
No one was able to clearly see through the energies of the Astral River, and one would need quite a bit of luck to catch a few of the odd creatures.
There was a middle-aged man some distance away who was also fishing. His expression was dark, and he looked quite solemn.
Ever since the Great Eastern Alliance had returned the Astral River Ark, it had been operated normally, and the Innerverse and Outerverse could be considered as reconnected. However, due to the Hall of Honor’s interference, no one from the Innerverse had made any attempts to stir up trouble for the Great Eastern Alliance so far.
“Young man, good luck catching a fish.” The solemn looking man looked over at Tian Shao and smiled as he encouraged the youth.
Tian Shao arrogantly replied, “It’s only fishing in the Astral River; it’s nothing much.”
The solemn looking man’s expression instantly fell, and he stopped talking.
Tian Shao simply ignored the man, but an old man spoke up from behind the youth. “Young master, that man is not weak.”
Tian Shao was surprised. “Not weak? How strong is he?”.
The old man glanced over at the solemn-faced man. “A conservative estimate of his power level would be over 300,000.”
Tian Shao was shocked. “It’s possible to randomly run into such a strong person in a barbaric place like the Innerverse or Outerverse?”
As he spoke, he glanced over at his fellow fisherman before saying to the old man, “Invite that old red monster to come out.”
Soon, an expert from the Blaze Realm appeared. He was Monster Chi, an expert with a power level of more than 400,000, though he was still extremely respectful when speaking to the youth sent by the Hall of Honor. “Tian Shao, you called for me?”
Tian Shao smiled, and the old man explained what had just happened.
Monster Chi glanced at the solemn-faced man who was some distance away, and then explained to Tian Shao, “There is a group who spend all year fishing in the Astral River due to their interest in the creatures that live there. They call themselves the Anglers Club.”
“So that’s how it is.” Tian Shao quickly understood. Someone capable of fishing in the Astral River naturally was not weak, but Tian Shao did not hold such people in high regard. After all, there were numerous experts in the Neoverse whose power levels exceeded 300,00 or 400,000.
