“How could he attract so much sword qi? Who is that?”
“Lu Yin. That was Arbiter Lu. Didn’t you see him?”
“That’s Lu Yin? He’s too much! Not even Elder Li attracted as much sword qi as that kid. Did he break the sword qi barrier?”
“That was ridiculous! What a freak.”
“Elder Li is an expert whose power level exceeds 400,000, so how did Lu Yin draw in even more sword qi than Elder Li?”
“That’s impossible! Not even our senior sister can do that.”
…
Long Yun felt bitter; just how much was Lu Yin keeping hidden?
Liu Shaoqiu’s eyes flickered, and the hint of competitiveness that had been rising was instantly lit ablaze.
Liu Shen had a bitter taste in his mouth. After all, he was also still a young man.
Even the old man who had just scolded the Sword Sect disciples was left shocked and speechless. Although everyone was aware that strength was not the sole factor in how much sword qi was drawn to a person, strength still absolutely accounted for the majority of sword qi that was drawn to a person. Lu Yin had attracted so much sword qi that he had even surpassed Li. Elder. This was unbelievable; how was such a thing possible?
They all felt that Lu Yin must have cheated somehow.
On the other side, Lu Yin entered Swords Peak, and just as he landed, he felt the soles of his feet tingle. The sensation startled him, and he looked down at the ground.
“This is Swords Peak, so sword qi is ubiquitous here. It can appear anywhere from the earth to the houses, and even the food. So, don’t be too surprised.” a middle-aged man nearby smiled as he introduced Swords Peak to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded. “Thank you, Senior, for clarifying the confusion.”
The middle-aged man hurriedly said, “Alliance Leader Lu is too polite. I’m just someone who cleans up around the mountain, so there’s no need to be so polite.”
“Senior is too modest,” Lu Yin countered. The middle-aged man was an Enlighter.
Ku Wei approached Lu Yin’s side and began to complain, “Seventh Bro, this place isn’t fit for people to live. Sword qi can appear anywhere!”
Lu Yin glared at Ku Wei. “Don’t be rude.”
The middle-aged man merely smiled and did not rebuke Ku Wei.
It did not take long for Liu Shen and the others to also enter Swords Peak, and although shock was still shining through their eyes, none of them said much.
“Alliance Leader Lu, let me lead you to our sect master, as he has been waiting for a while,” Liu Shen said.
Lu Yin grew solemn as he nodded. The master of the Sword Sect was a major figure in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.
Although the Hall of Honor’s overseers were seen as the masters of the Human Domain, that was merely how things appeared to be. There were still various powers standing behind each of those overseers. For example, Nightking Zheng was from the Daynight clan while one of the other overseers was from the Sword Sect. Of course, that overseer would listen to the sect leader of the Sword Sect.
Two of the Hall of Honor’s overseers came from the Innerverse, and they were from the Daynight clan and the Sword Sect. This was one of the main reasons why the two powers were the most powerful organizations in the Innerverse.
In other words, the sect master of the Sword Sect was also someone who stood at the pinnacle of humanity.
Of course, this referred to not only his cultivation, but also his status.
The Sword Sect’s current leader was named Liu Qianjue. Not only was he the leader of the current generation’s Sword Sect, but he had also been the leader of the previous generation. He was an existence whose strength could not be estimated.
Lu Yin had met Liu Qiuyu in Ironblood Weave before, and he was the current generation’s sect master of the Sword Sect, but he was merely a transitional figure. In fact, he was actually known as the embarrassing person from the Sword Sect’s Liu family.
It could be said that the Sword Sect’s recent history was inseparable from its current leader, Liu Qianjue, whose hand had constantly governed the sect.
On his way to the Sword Sect, Lu Yin had considered what would happen when he met the leader of the Sword Sect, and he had also thought about what status he should use to speak with the sect leader.
Lu Yin had pictured this meeting taking place in a conference hall or a training room, and he had never considered that he would meet the sect leader next to a pond.
Sword qi occasionally rose out of the earth and pierced the soles of his feet, and the sword qi also permeated the air and pricked his lungs whenever he inhaled.
Sword qi was an offensive energy, and it did not match the scene of the tranquil pond. Still, this was the place that Lu Yin had been led to, and when he arrived, he saw an old man fishing in the pond.
Right before Lu Yin arrived, the old man caught a lively fish. It had a strange shape to its body and fins, but it was very beautiful.
“It’s a fish from Planet Gan. I haven’t caught anything else yet, but these don’t really taste good.” After that comment, the man threw the fish back into the pond and resumed fishing.
No one else was nearby.
Lu Yin walked up to the old man and stood a few meters behind the fisherman. It was unclear if Lu Yin had stopped because he did not want to move any further or if he was actually incapable of doing so. The sword qi surrounding the old man was terrifying and unfathomable.
“Junior Lu Yin greets Senior.”
The old fisherman turned his head to look back at Lu Yin. The man’s face had a gentle look, giving him the appearance of a kind elder. The moment the man turned around, all of the sword qi surrounding his body vanished, and he patted the spot on the grass next to him. “Come, sit and talk.”
Lu Yin nodded and casually sat down next to the old man.
After everything that Lu Yin had experienced—not to mention the sect leader of the Sword Sect—but even if he was speaking with an elder from the Hall of Honor, Lu Yin would be able to behave in neither a servile nor arrogant manner. He knew that members of the younger generation could meet their elders in a respectful manner without needing to be afraid.
The old man kept smiling as he looked at Lu Yin.
“Alliance Leader Lu, I’ve heard many impressive things about you for a long time,” the old man said softly.
Lu Yin smiled and replied, “This junior has also admired the master of the Sword Sect for a long time. It is an honor for this junior to meet you today.”
“Haha, what kind of honor? I’m just a rotten old man.” The old man laughed. He was indeed Liu Qianjue, the sect leader of the Sword Sect.
Lu Yin began by speaking of his admiration. “The Sword Sect is the most powerful sect in both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and they are the undisputed king of swords. Not even in the Neoverse is there a power that dares to claim that their swordsmanship surpasses that of the Sword Sect. It’s amazing how the name of the Sword Sect has been known by everyone for eons.”
The old man shook his head. “Don’t say such things about my Sword Sect. Even those giants from the Neoverse are nothing but ripples along the long river of time. No one can remain a blazing light forever, and the Daynight clan is the best example of that.”
Lu Yin glanced at the pond in surprise. “I just heard Senior mention that the fish that you just caught was from Planet Gan?”
Liu Qianjue replied, “Yes. This pond is connected to all of the mountains and rivers in this particular flowzone. This old man enjoys fishing.”
Lu Yin was amazed; fishing throughout an entire flowzone? This was certainly ambitious, but the sheer fact that this existed was a clear indication of the Sword Sect’s absolute dominance over the First Flowzone.
“Could I ask, Senior, how did you manage to create such a thing? This junior also enjoys fishing, and when I return, I would like to build a pond connected to the entire Outerverse,” Lu Yin asked.
Liu Qianjue looked over at Lu Yin with a strange glint in his eyes. “You should really punish the people below, and punish them heavily at that.”
Lu Yin was confused.
“Back during the Astral Combat Tournament, you fought with Shaoqiu, and this old man watched your fight. At that time, this old man ordered some people to recruit you, but unfortunately, they failed,” Liu Qianjue said.
Lu Yin suddenly remembered that when he had returned to Astral-10 after the Astral Combat Tournament, Old Cai had mentioned that the Sword Sect had asked Lu Yin to join them and become a direct disciple of the Sword Sect’s master. Additionally, Lu Yin’s status would be equal to Liu Shaoqiu’s. But with his ability, Lu Yin had known that he would not have been able to develop successfully within the Sword Sect.
There were countless geniuses throughout the universe. Lu Yin did not use the sword, so there had been no reason for him to enter the Sword Sect just to receive the status that went along with just a position. Lu Yin had actually been confident that the Sword Sect would reach out to him again, but various incidents had occurred after that, and the Sword Sect had eventually lost its appeal to Lu Yin. He had not expected the sect leader to remember such an incident from years ago.
Lu Yin had once been invited to become the direct disciple of the Sword Sect’s sect master, who was Liu Qianjue. Lu Yin had nearly become the disciple of the old man in front of him.
“If that recruitment had succeeded, you would have become my disciple, and my Sword Sect would have gained another genius. What a pity.” Liu Qianjue sighed.
Lu Yin smiled bitterly. “This junior is the one to have lost out on such luck.”
The truth was that, even with Lu Yin’s current strength, Liu Qianjue was still qualified to accept Lu Yin as a disciple. However, Liu Qianjue did not attempt to do so. Lu Yin had become a shining star throughout the entire universe, and there was no point in trying to recruit such a person.
“Alliance Leader Lu, what do you think of my Sword Sect?” Liu Qianjue asked. He looked back at the pond. The water was very calm.
Lu Yin answered, “This junior already mentioned his views. The Sword Sect is the ruler of the sword and has been famous throughout eons.”
Liu Qianjue shook his head. “Those exaggerations are meaningless. My Sword Sect does indeed have some accomplishments when it comes to the sword, and we are also the master of First Flowzone. Throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse, we have long since been unmatched with the exception of the Daynight clan. But now that they have gone silent, my Sword Sect has become unrivaled. Does Alliance Leader Lu agree with this assessment?”
Lu Yin grew serious. “Of course I would agree to such facts.”
“My Sword Sect has thousands of disciples, and their sword qi allows them to leave this place and roam the universe without any peer. Does Alliance Leader Lu disagree?”
“I naturally agree to this as well.”
“My Sword Sect has been passed down for countless generations, and we have a powerful background as well as a widespread influence. Our Thirteen Swords are a peerless sword technique, and it is capable of shattering the sky. Does Alliance Leader Lu disagree?”
“I still agree with everything that you have said.”
“In that case, this old man has some advice for you.” Liu Qianjue somberly stared at the surface of the pond. “Break up the Great Eastern Alliance.”
Ever since Liu Qianjue had asked his first question, Lu Yin had already guessed what was coming. Lu Yin had been shown the destruction of the Charm Mountain Sect as well as the conflict between the two groups of disciples aboard the battleship. And at this moment, Lu Yin was personally meeting with the Sword Sect’s master. Everything had been done to intimidate Lu Yin with the goal of encouraging him to dissolve the Great Eastern Alliance. After all, a united Outerverse was not in the best interests of the Innerverse.
The Innerverse had always surpassed the Outerverse, and of the various organizations in the Innerverse, was there a single one that did not profit from the Outerverse? Was there anyone who did not expect to harvest resources from the Outerverse? This was particularly true within the eight great flowzones, and of the top Innerverse powers, the Sword Sect, the Daynight clan, the Wen family, and a few others gained the most from the Outerverse. So, the Great Eastern Alliance harmed those powers the most.
After the Innerverse had reconnected to the Outerverse, the Blaze Realm’s attempt to overwhelm the Outerverse had failed, but many people had believed that the Sword Sect and the Daynight clan would eventually move out to suppress the Outerverse. However, Lu Yin had moved first and suppressed the Daynight clan, making it seem as if things had fallen to the Sword Sect now.
The Sword Sect and the Daynight clan were known as the top powers of the Innerverse, and they mutually restricted each other. This had worked out fine when the Daynight clan had been active, but after they went into isolation, the Sword Sect had become even more overbearing than before, and they had clearly locked onto the Great Eastern Alliance as their next target.
“If this junior hadn’t come back, and the Great Eastern Alliance had continued to be supervised by that old overseer, then what would the Sword Sect’s attitude have been?” Lu Yin asked. There was a hint of provocation to his words.
Liu Qianjue smiled, completely ignoring Lu Yin’s attitude. “The same.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “You would fight against one of the Hall of Honor’s overseers?”
