Lu Yin was not particularly concerned what happened to Yu Mu, as experts who did not have the strength of an Envoy did not qualify for Lu Yin’s notice. “How can I get the stellular energy pill?”
Yu Mu fell silent. Shamrock Enterprise was trying to hunt him down, so it was impossible for him to get the pill.
Lu Yin stared at Yu Mu. “I would expect that you have someone you’re familiar with who’s already in the hidden world of the company’s headquarters. So long as you find a way to get me that stellular energy pill, I will guarantee a very bright future for you. At the very least, you won’t have to fear for your life.”
Anticipation entered Yu Mu’s eyes, though he tried to keep it hidden. “There’s simply no way. The company’s management is very strict, and since I’ve been blacklisted, the people who I know in the headquarters will all come after me to kill me if they see me now.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “I can give you a universal armor strong enough to defend against Envoys.”
“This subordinate will do his best,” Yu Mu replied. He had been very interested in Lu Yin’s universal armor. The entire universe was aware that Lu Yin had very powerful items and power vessels, so if Yu Mu could get one from Lu Yin, the man would no longer need to worry about being chased down and killed. If he could get Lu Yin’s universal armor, Yu Mu would wear it even to sleep.
However, Lu Yin also did not believe that Yu Mu would actually be able to get a stellular energy pill from Shamrock Enterprise’s headquarters. He believed that it was already on Yu Mu’s hands and that Yu Mu had hid it someplace safe.
The stellular energy pill was Yu Mu’s only lifeline, so even if Lu Yin threatened him to hand it over, Yu Mu would deny that it was on him. Lu Yin could not force the matter, and could only wait for Yu Mu to deliver, while hoping that it would not take too long.
A day later, Lu Yin landed on a planet that belonged to Aegis, joined by Black Mask, Starfox, and several others.
At the moment, Aegis could not come close to comparing to their peak period. The assassin who had looked like a child had died, and the organization had never been able to replace others who had been killed, such as The Magistrate, Peerless Beauty, Feng Zi, and others.
Why Aegis had many assassins who were at the bottom of the organization, the loss of their more powerful assassins had greatly harmed their business. It had become impossible for them to target Hunters without sending out Black Mask or others of a similar level of strength.
“The Sixth Mainland has already taken over the western region of the Outerverse, and they’re not very far from here. You’re able to move over at any time, so what are you still doing here?” Lu Yin asked. He stood atop the highest mountain on the planet, and he was looking down. Black Mask and Starfox stood behind Lu Yin.
Starfox replied, “I’m used to this place.”
“In that case, are you planning on joining up with the Sixth Mainland?” Lu Yin asked.
Black Mask said, “No.”
“So then you want to die?” Lu Yin laughed.
Starfox and Black Mask glanced at each other, not sure how to respond.
“Is there something here that you can’t abandon?” Lu Yin asked.
Starfox felt cornered. “Alliance Leader Lu-“
Lu Yin quickly raised a hand to interrupt the man, “Just remember that I am also a part of Aegis’s top management, which means that I’m also qualified to know everything concerning Aegis. Consider the situation before speaking.”
Starfox thought for a while. “There are cracks in the void on this planet, and there are ruins of an ancient sect within those cracks.”
Lu Yin’s eyes instantly went wide, and a cold light flickered in them as he stared at Starfox.
Black Mask moved to stand in front of Starfox. “We found the ruins, and there was no need to tell you about them, Alliance Leader Lu.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “Show me.”
The planet was desolate. When standing in the place where Black Mask and the others had remained in cryostasis, it was possible to see an erect dagger. It looked ordinary, but there were two very ancient characters etched into the side of the blade.
“Bizarre Sect. The characters mean Bizarre Sect,” Starfox said. He stretched out a hand to touch the dagger, and his body then suddenly disappeared.
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. This crack in the void reminded him of the ancient centipede he had once visited. That centipede had fallen out of a crack in the void, while this dagger was connected to such a crack.
Lu Yin raised his hand to touch the dagger, and blackness covered his vision as his eyes went wide. A moment later, he was inside the spatial crack. It was a dim space, and when he looked around, everything seemed rather bleak. Off in the distance, a black sun could be seen. He could not even guess how much time had passed with the sun hanging in that place.
He was standing in ruins that were even more crumbled than the Daosource Sect’s ruins. The spatial pocket was not overly large, but it was certainly not small. Lu Yin released his domain, but all he could see were broken buildings, and some of them instantly collapsed to powder the moment Lu Yin’s domain touched them.
“Alliance Leader Lu, the buildings here are too old, so you can’t touch them, or else nothing will be left,” Starfox reminded.
Black Mask also entered the space. “Bizarre Sect was the name of this sect. We managed to find some battle techniques here, but unfortunately, due to their age, everything we found was incomplete. The battle technique that Calcifer used during the Astral Combat Academy’s tournament was one of the techniques that came from this place, but just like the others, it was incomplete and not very effective.”
“Apart from the damaged battle techniques, what else did you find here?” Lu Yin asked, carefully making his way through the space.
This sect should have been very powerful in ancient times. Lu Yin saw a few traces of battle, but because of so much time passing, it was impossible to determine any details at all.
“Everything else is gone. If we could have actually gotten anything from this place, Aegis would not have remained a minor assassination organization that was forced to remain in the Outerverse,” Starfox commented.
While the words sounded right at first, were they really so attached to this planet just because of these ruins?
Lu Yin turned to look at Starfox. “Did you also find the cloakstones here?”
Starfox’s body shook a tiny bit. “That’s right. Look, Alliance Leader Lu, and you can see that among the ruins, there are some buildings that were constructed out of cloakstone. It’s believed that in ancient times, the members of this sect used the cloakstones specifically to remain hidden from others. Those stones are the only things that remain useful from here.”
“True. It would seem that this sect was quite powerful long ago if they only used cloakstone as a building material,” Lu Yin casually commented.
Starfox’s expression changed drastically, and he glanced over at Black Mask.
Lu Yin looked at the two, amused by their interactions. “There are times that I really can’t understand why you two are so on guard against me. Without me, Aegis would already have been ruined or even completely destroyed, and yet is this really how you treat your benefactor?”
Black Mask grew solemn. “If Alliance Leader Lu knew in the past that cloakstone is a curio, would you have left them to us assassins?”
Lu Yin was startled at the question, but he still shook his head. “It’s too much of a waste to use such a thing for assassinations.”
“Curios are helpful to Envoys, but we don’t have any Envoys. We don’t have the strength to qualify to interact or trade with an Envoy, and even just one could easily destroy us. Our position should be clear,” Starfox made excuses.
Lu Yin nodded. “I understand what you’re saying. In that case, you can deal with me. I won’t destroy you, and I also won’t steal from you. After all-” Lu Yin suddenly smiled. “We’re part of the same organization.”
The corner of Starfox’s mouth twitched even as his heart sank. Part of the same organization? Lu Yin spoke as though he had no intention of making a trade or a purchase. Starfox and Black Mask looked at each other, both of them saw bitterness in the other’s eyes. Their most worrying problem had just arrived.
They had previously guessed that Lu Yin would eventually discover that cloakstones were actually curios, but they had not expected that day to arrive so soon. After all, just how old was this child?
“Fifty-nine cloakstones were discovered in Bizarre Sect. How many does Alliance Leader Lu need?” Starfox asked.
Lu Yin blinked. “You want some too?”
Starfox immediately became angry. “We were the ones who found them!”
Lu Yin dismissively waved a hand. “Honestly, it’s a waste for them to stay with you, so just sell all of them to me and tell me what you want.”
“Alliance Leader Lu, the cloakstones form the foundation of Aegis. Without them, it’s impossible for us to hide ourselves completely,” Black Mask explained in a low voice.
Lu Yin thought for a while. “Then I’ll leave you two of them.”
Starfox gritted his teeth. “Alliance Leader Lu, you’re demanding more than we even guessed; far more!”
He wanted to say more, but as he looked at Lu Yin, Starfox was struck again by the realization that this person was not anyone who Aegis could afford to provoke.
Lu Yin glanced around. “Actually, compared to the cloakstones, you should focus more on staying alive and protecting Aegis. If you stay here, you will eventually be devoured by the Sixth Mainland. If you want to move to the Innerverse, there’s no space available for you there, and it’s even worse in the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse. The reality is that only the Great Eastern Alliance can protect you.
“Since I can protect you, shouldn’t you give me adequate compensation? Besides, I’m not taking anything for free. Just speak up; I’ve got some good stuff for you.” At this moment, Lu Yin took out the giant mechanical arm and threw it over to Starfox. “Give it a try.”
Starfox’s eyes lit up. He had seen this arm before, as Lu Yin had used it when fighting against Yu Mu one time long ago.
The moment he put the arm on, Starfox felt something was off, and he looked at Lu Yin in shock. “Alliance Leader Lu, this?”
Lu Yin smiled. “This thing can release attacks comparable to a power level of 500,000. I’m giving you this in exchange for the cloakstones. Is it worth it? Also, the Great Eastern Alliance will protect Aegis. No matter if it’s in the Outerverse or the Innerverse, Aegis will always have a safe place as a member of the Great Eastern Alliance.”
Starfox stroked the giant arm with glittering eyes. This thing provided a battle power of almost half a million! That was the level of an Envoy! This item gave Aegis strength close to that of an Envoy.
Lu Yin looked at Black Mask, who was also staring at the mechanical arm. However, the machine was not very appealing to Black Mask. He was an assassin, and such an item was too conspicuous for his use.
“Not enough? Then how ‘bout this?” Lu Yin took out an Enhanced flashbomb. “When this thing bursts, it can instantly blind an Enlighter with a power level of up to 300,000. This should be something that you would like, right? I can give you five.”
Starfox’s eyes lit up yet again and he quickly took the flashbomb. Neither of the older men doubted Lu Yin’s words. Even though Lu Yin could act like a tyrant, he was still an honest person and he would not lie to them about such things.
“If that’s still not enough…” As Lu Yin spoke, neither Starfox nor Black Mask were able to stop themselves from looking over. Were they going to get even more treasures?
“Then it means that you want to betray the Fifth Mainland and go over to the Sixth Mainland, in which case I can only apologize.” Lu Yin’s voice grew icy as the stared at the two men.
Starfox quickly replied, “It’s enough. Alliance Leader Lu, I can give you fifty of the cloakstones. You should already know just how valuable curios are.”
Lu Yin considered the proposal and agreed. Fifty cloakstones was indeed enough. He did not even have so many Envoys following him, though the curios could be used to recruit Envoys.
“So, now can you tell me why you’re so reluctant to leave this place?” Lu Yin pressed.
Starfox felt trapped, but it was too obvious that they did not want to leave the planet. Anyone would be able to see the same as Lu Yin.
Black Mask looked up at the black sun. “That.”
Lu Yin followed the assassin’s gaze, surprised by the answer. “The sun?”
“When I first discovered Bizarre Sect, there were people here,” Black Mask explained. “The people had died long ago, and all of their bodies were stiff, but all of them were also kneeling and worshiping that sun.”
OMA’s Thoughts
Translated By: OMA
Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox
TLC’ed By: OMA
