The Hall of Honor’s overseers were not people who had gained their position through a mere glib tongue; the resources at Bu Laoweng’s command could hardly be imagined.
Lu Yin instantly grew several times warier of Bu Laoweng.
Tian Shao did not interrupt his grandfather as he deferentially stood behind the old man’s projection.
Bu Laoweng looked at Lu Yin and smiled. “You are Lu Yin, correct?”
Lu Yin nodded. “This junior does not intend to be disrespectful, but this junior is a nominal disciple of Eversky Island, and Highsafe Shenwei is this one’s senior disciple. Since this junior calls Highsage Shenwei his senior disciple, if I were to salute senior, then Senior Disciple Shenwei might not accept my explanation. I’m sure that Senior Bu is familiar with Highsage Shenwei’s temper.”
Bu Laoweng smiled and waved a hand. “Etiquette is merely a superficial matter. Can these people saluting this old man actually offer me any true respect?”
His ancient eyes swept over everyone present, and many people’s hearts shook.
After that, Bu Laoweng focused his gaze back on Lu Yin. “There are likely many people who would like to catch this old man outside of the Neoverse to see what the nine overseers are truly capable of, haha.”
Lu Yin laughed as well. Bu Laoweng spoke and behaved in a seemingly easy-going manner, but his every word and action carried an innate sense of majesty and dominance. This was a person who was both worthy and superior. His skill of hiding his fangs behind a smile was something still beyond Lu Yin.
“You are a disciple of Eversky Island, which is quite a fortunate opportunity. You should cherish it,” Bu Laoweng said with a smile as he praised Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded. “This junior knows this.”
“Right, I’m curious, how did you escape from the Neohuman Alliance? Where is their headquarters?” Bu Laoweng suddenly asked, staring intently at Lu Yin.
Tian Shao reflexively raised his head and looked at Lu Yin.
Monster Chi did the same.
Lu Yin had been able to escape from the Neohuman Alliance, but this accomplishment was not something that the people of the Outerverse could fully appreciate. They knew that his feat was incredible, but that was about all. On the other hand, Bu Laoweng was perfectly clear on how shocking this matter was. Lu Yin had even been captured by one of the Seven Skygods, each one of whom was a powerhouse that stood at the peak of the entire universe. The Skygods were even able to fight against Arch-Elder Zen and retreat in one piece. The expert who had captured Lu Yin was on that kind of level, and Lu Yin had managed to escape from that person. This had shocked the entire Hall of Honor to its core in an extraordinary fashion.
If Eversky Island and Yan Shi were not standing behind Lu Yin, then someone from the Hall of Honor would have already suggested for Lu Yin be taken away and interrogated.
Lu Yin grew a bit embarrassed. “I’m not clear as to the whereabouts of the Neohuman Alliance’s headquarters. As for how I escaped, it was due to a mere coincidence.”
Bu Laoweng’s eyes flashed, as Lu Yin’s words were essentially no different than saying nothing.
“Might I ask, what has caused Senior to appear at a meeting of the Outerverse’s Great Eastern Alliance?” Lu Yin asked knowingly.
Bu Laoweng smiled and replied, “The Outerverse will soon be delivered over to the Sixth Mainland. Thus, the Hall of Honor has appointed me to supervise the Great Eastern Alliance during this period to prevent chaos and appease the people of the Outerverse. After all, if not forced to do so, the Hall of Honor would never be willing to forsake the Outerverse. I came here to discuss how to survive this crisis with the people here.”
Bu Laoweng’s words left many people in the meeting excited, as in contrast to Lu Yin, most people would naturally believe that Bu Laoweng was able to lead them through this crisis.
Lu Yin cursed himself for spouting too much nonsense. He had instinctively asked a question, which had instantly given Bu Laoweng the opportunity to pull the crowd to his side.
“There’s no need for Senior to bother with this little matter regarding the Outerverse. After all, Yuan Shi is here, and this junior has also just finished discussing the matter with Judicial Commissioner Mu En, who will be speaking to the other overseers. This junior greatly appreciates senior’s good intentions, and we will find a way to cope with the coming changes.” When confronted with Bu Laoweng’s position, Lu Yin could only rely on Yuan Shi.
Although the people of the Outerverse crowd did not have any knowledge of the Hall of Honor’s power structure, they did know one thing: unsurprisingly, given his power, Yuan Shi was someone at the highest level of the Hall of Honor.
Yuan Shi stood behind Lu Yin while Bu Laoweng was an overseer. These two sides left the crowd feeling extremely conflicted.
“Other overseers? Which overseers?” Bu Laoweng asked.
Lu Yin shrugged. “This is a private matter, and it is not something that is convenient to talk about openly. Senior, you can call your grandson back to the Neoverse. I happen to be at Mt. Microcosms at the moment, so I would love to have Tian Shao show this junior around.”
Tian Shao’s head snapped up, and in a grim tone, he retorted to Lu Yin’s comment. “Didn’t you want to keep me from returning to the Neoverse?”
Bu Laoweng’s expression grew stern as he stared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin remained fearless. “That depends on what choice is made.”
“This old man is curious. What could I choose that would cause my grandson to not be able to return to the Neoverse?” Bu Laoweng asked. His smiling expression had fallen away by now. He had realized that his habitual friendly old man act was not effective on Lu Yin.
Tian Shao stared at Lu Yin in a provocative manner.
Lu Yin had already voiced a threat, and he had no intention of being polite. “Senior, my senior brother, Highsage Shenwei, told me that one can die without a complaint, but once the older generation steps in, things change. This junior and Tian Shao are considered peers. Does Senior intend to intercede?”
Bu Laoweng replied, “Competition among peers refers to combat, but my grandson is not proficient at such things. How could he compete with you? At this moment, he is supervising the Great Eastern Alliance on behalf of this old man.”
“The Great Eastern Alliance needs no outside supervision.” Lu Yin’s tone had cooled, though its pitch had risen.
Bu Laoweng frowned. “Do you intend to go against the Hall of Honor’s orders?”
Lu Yin stared back at Bu Laoweng. “If I remember correctly, although the Hall of Honor is able to command the entire universe, it is not the master of the universe, and it has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of major powers without permission.”
“The Sixth Mainland-“
Bu Laoweng began to speak, but Lu Yin unceremoniously cut him off. “There’s no need to mention the Sixth Mainland. Even if the Sixth Mainland will take over the Outerverse, such changes require a great deal of time. And that’s not even mentioning,” Lu Yin’s gaze grew sharp as he stated, “The Outerverse will remain. The threat of the Sixth Mainland does not frighten us, and the Hall of Honor cannot force us to abandon our homeland. Even if we must die, we will resist to the end.”
“Good! We can’t abandon our home!” a man attending the Alliance Convention suddenly shouted out. His face was flushed, as he had been holding these words back for a long time.
“That’s right, we won’t give up our home!”
“We won’t give up!”
…
Not everyone was willing to accept fate and leave their destiny in the hands of others for them to decide. The people who were able to attend this Alliance Convention had risen up through the ranks, and there were many strong-willed people present. Many of them would rather die than surrender, and the moment someone took this stance, they would be willing to do anything.
Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse with the Great Eastern Alliance, but the Outerverse had never been truly united. They had merely been a loose coalition. Forget the entire Outerverse—Lu Yin was not able to truly control even a tenth of the Outerverse.
The Sixth Mainland wanted to take over the Outerverse, and as a result, the significance of the Great Eastern Alliance had suddenly taken a drastic turn. Now, it roused many people’s bloodlust.
The old man behind Tian Shao immediately released an overpowering pressure, but it was instantly offset by an even more magnificent power.
The old man was appalled. “An Envoy?”
Bu Laoweng was shocked that an Envoy had stepped out. Envoys were on an entirely different power level than Enlighters.
“I wonder which old friend is present. Please show yourself.” The image of the old man spoke up as he looked around.
No one answered.
Bu Laoweng asked again, calling out, “I wonder which old friend is present. Please show yourself.”
Still, no one answered.
Bu Laoweng’s face sank. The Outerverse was not as easily controlled as he had believed it to be. The overseer looked back at Lu Yin. “There is the Outerverse, the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and finally, the Neoverse. Out of all these places, the Neoverse is the center of the entire Human Domain. There are people here who can cause the Great Eastern Alliance to disintegrate with just one word, and there are also people here who can allow people to step into the heavens with just one word.
“You’re an intelligent person, and thus you should understand what this old man is saying. At this moment, what you have is not really yours. Rather, it’s just that others do not want to interfere. The smart thing to do is trade the cards in your hand for the greatest benefits possible.”
Lu Yin smiled lightly. “This junior has no interest in the Neoverse, and I simply wish to idle about in the Outerverse. To put it another way, I want to live and die with the Outerverse.”
Many of the representatives attending the meeting suddenly looked over at Lu Yin. This kid was not bad. This was a man from the Outerverse.
“Young man, you don’t know the true heights of the heavens. You believe that you can be reckless just because you have Eversky Island behind you, but Eversky Island can’t interfere in my Hall of Honor’s affairs, let alone someone like you, a mere nominal disciple. The Outerverse will be given to the Sixth Mainland, and only this old man can provide you with a path to survival. Why fight to the death? Who doesn’t have family and cherished friends? Young man, try and see the big picture.”
Lu Yin countered, “This junior is not old enough to see the things that form the bigger picture. Without the courage to fight, how can one even speak about the future? Without courage, it’s only possible to cower and hide when a strong enemy is at the door. That is not seeing the big picture, but rather cowardice.”
Bu Laoweng’s gaze grew sharp. “Insolent! Junior, do not think that Eversky Island’s backing is enough for you to speak to me in such a tone! Eversky Island has but a few people, and although they are exceptionally strong, they do not wield great influence and are unable to change the Hall of Honor’s orders. Before you think about relying on your position as an Honor Chosen, that title was stripped away when Nightking Zhenwu sacrificed his Honor points to accuse you of betraying my Fifth Mainland. This old man has always felt that the accusation had merit, and I will use my position as an overseer to take an action that can only be used once every hundred years. I will imprison you until you are cleared of all suspicion! You will not be able to get out of this.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “My Honor Chosen title will be reclaimed by Judicial Commissioner Mu En, and as for the matter regarding Nightking Zhenwu’s accusation, Yuan Shi will see to justice himself.”
Bu Laoweng’s expression turned solemn. “There is a privilege given to each of the nine overseers. Once every hundred years, we are allowed to veto anything that would interfere with a decision. Junior, I have not used this privilege for hundreds of years, but I will do so for you.”
Lu Yin’s eyes grew cold as he stared at Bu Laoweng.
Wei Rong and others looked on in silence as the two went tit-for-tat. Chaotic thoughts swirled through everyone’s minds; who here could have imagined that some youth would be able to stand up against someone from the top of the Hall of Honor. If Lu Yin came out on top from this skirmish, his status would completely change, and his influence would no longer be limited to just the Outerverse.
At this moment, the outline to a plan that he had once dreamed of, but also dismissed for being too unrealistic, reappeared in Lu Yin’s mind. That plan had been the basis behind his desire to attack the Innerverse, as well as his desire to create something unparalleled. Lu Yin had to win here.
While Lu Yin and Bu Laoweng were going back and forth, someone appeared in the same place as Bu Laoweng: Highsage Wudi.
