Even Little Bear’s expression was different when he looked at Lu Yin. His guess that Lu Yin might have coincidentally possessed some teardust had vanished the moment the red powder had appeared. Even though the red powder was nowhere near as valuable as teardust, it was still a rare material. Although Little Bear had not said anything about the red powder, he had absolutely kept an eye on it.
The moment the red debris appeared, Little Bear had become absolutely certain that Lu Yin had truly extracted teardust, not brought out some that he had already possessed.
At this moment, Little Bear was looking at Lu Yin with a completely different light in his bear eyes. It was the same light that had appeared whenever he saw people from the Sixth Mainland before it had been destroyed.
Lu Yin and First Edition City’s City Master spoke for a long time, though no one knew what words were exchanged between them. Even Kui Luo was ignorant of their conversation, though he simply was not interested in finding out.
From Kui Luo’s point of view, Lu Yin was still traveling down the wrong path. A cultivator should focus exclusively on their cultivation, not waste time on these trivial matters.
Two days after Lu Yin’s meeting with Midday, Little Bear was asked to bring out the Cloud Valley Master’s swordsman.
The Envoy looked nervous when he appeared. His face was pale, and he looked quite ill.
“When we first captured you, you said that you didn’t know who those people were, correct?” Little Bear asked in a cold tone.
The swordsman’s voice shook as he answered, “I really don’t know! I really don’t!”
Little Bear just sneered, “Are you saying that you don’t know Lu Yin?”
The Envoy was completely shocked, and his heart dropped to the bottom of a pit. Everything was over. First Edition City knew! Lu Yin and those with him would never know what the swordsman said, and he did not want to die. “Vice City Master, I was not part of this, but Lu Yin and the people with him planted a self-binding cocoon inside my body with an innate gift, forcing me to bring them here. I didn’t want to lie to you, but if I hadn’t, they would have killed me!”
Little Bear calmly stared at the swordsman. The bear then stood and moved behind the human. “A self-binding cocoon?”
The man nodded. “That’s right. It’s the innate gift of that old man following Lu Yin around. His innate gift is extremely powerful, and it can ignore distance to instantly kill me anywhere.”
“If that’s true, then why aren’t you already dead?”
“Because I didn’t say anything.”
“But we already know about them, so why would Lu Yin believe that you weren’t the one to tell us?”
The swordsman was startled, but he also found himself unable to answer this question.
Little Bear disdainfully said, “Ignore distance? You actually believed that? Let me tell you, Lu Yin and those others ran away long ago and fled the Technocracy. They can’t do anything to you.”
The swordsman was initially shocked, but he quickly became ecstatic. “Really? They escaped?”
Little Bear stared at the man with cold eyes. “Are you happy about that?”
The human quickly dropped his head. “I wouldn’t dare.”
Little Bear sat back down. “Tell me what they were trying to do here.”
First Edition City already knew about Lu Yin’s true identity, so the Sixth Mainland Envoy felt like he had no reason to hide anything, and he freely shared everything he knew.
Little Bear listened quietly before staring towards the Sophic Rift. It looked like Lu Yin actually had not lied. He really had wanted to visit the Sophic Rift even before he entered the Technocracy. How had he known that Origin Matter would appear there? Had someone told him?
“That’s all I know. Vice City Master, Lu Yin and the others never even considered visiting First Edition City at the beginning, as their only goal was to get to the battlefield between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, though I have no idea why they wanted to go there.” The swordsman spoke in a bitter tone, as he saw himself as an unlucky man. There were so many ways to enter the Technocracy from Endless Weave, and yet Lu Yin and the others had chosen the same particular path as him.
“I know their goal,” Little Bear replied.
The human was shocked, but he did not ask.
“Lu Yin wanted to get to the Sophic Rift because of… Origin Matter,” Little Bear solemnly explained.
The swordsman was confused, and he had no idea what Origin Matter even was.
Little Bear stared at the human. “I don’t blame you for Lu Yin’s actions. All I can say is that you were truly unfortunate. However, you can forget about us sending any androids to the Outerverse to help you with the Human Domain. We won’t send even a single one.”
The Cloud Valley Master’s swordsman instantly grew pale. “Lord Vice City Master, there has never been a problem with your First Edition City cooperating with my Sixth Mainland. Even if Lu Yin caused some problems, it has nothing to do with my Sixth Mainland! This-“
Little Bear suddenly interjected, saying, “If it has happened once, then it will happen twice. Do you expect us to do nothing the next time someone from your Sixth Mainland is forced to bring outsiders into my city? Do not forget that my First Edition City has suffered this time because of this.”
The swordsman remembered that he had been interrogated by First Edition City during the earlier commotion. When they had started questioning him, he had already guessed that Lu Yin and the others had made a move, but the investigation had shown no connection at all, which had greatly relieved the swordsman. However, regardless of if this new incident had anything to do with the Envoy, how could he possibly not be held somewhat responsible for escorting Lu Yin into the Technocracy?
The man went completely cold at this realization. He was the cause for First Edition City ending their cooperation with the Sixth Mainland, and not even ten of his lives would be enough to compensate for this loss. He would absolutely die upon returning.
The more the man thought about it, the more frightened he became. “Lord Vice City Master, please forgive me! What happened in your city this time was absolutely not something that Lu Yin and the others did! Also, this lowly one doesn’t dare to ask that you send many androids, but please follow through with your initial offer! Just send as many as you can. If your First Edition City cuts off my Sixth Mainland, this one will absolutely die! Please, Vice City Master!”
After a long while, Little Bear finally said, “It’s not that it’s impossible to cooperate with your Sixth Mainland, but because of what happened due to Lu Yin’s presence here, our cooperation will need to be renegotiated.”
The Envoy was completely confused, and he could not understand what the android meant. Still, the only option was to listen to the end and hear all the details.
“The Sophic Rift is continuously drifting closer to First Edition City, and we are falling to more and more of a disadvantage in our war against Sky Creation Academy. This is why we need the Sixth Mainland’s support for First Edition City: we need you to attack Sky Creation Academy from the opposite direction,” Little Bear explained.
The swordsman was startled. “Attack Sky Creation Academy?”
“That’s right, attack Sky Creation Academy. Of course, resources will also need to be supplied, as that agreement is the very foundation of any sort of cooperation between us.”
The Envoy was facing a true dilemma; how could he make the decision to attack Sky Creation Academy?
“If you don’t want to agree, then forget the matter.” Little Bear’s voice grew cold.
The human started begging once again.
The bear-shaped android relented a bit. “Actually, we’ve met several times in the past, so by your humans’ reckoning, we can be considered acquaintances. I don’t want you to go back just to die.”
The man hurriedly thanked the android.
“I’ll accept your thanks, and I can even help negotiate our cooperation, but it’s your choice about whether or not you want to agree,” Little Bear explained.
The Envoy was again left puzzled.
“I mentioned that Lu Yin came here looking for Origin Matter, so just mention this when making your report. Sky Creation Academy currently possesses Origin Matter. In order to cooperate again, we need the Sixth Mainland to attack Sky Creation Academy, but we have no desire for the Origin Matter, so once it’s found, it will belong to you,” Little Bear explained.
The Cloud Valley Master’s swordsman had no idea what Origin Matter was, but since Little Bear was offering a path to life, the man knew that this offer held merit. Out of desperation, the Envoy borrowed a gadget that was able to contact Endless Weave and beyond. He eventually made contact with one of the Four Empyreans who was stationed in Southside Weave past Endless Weave: Mr. Lifeview.
Mr. Lifeview was one of the Four Empyreans of the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect.
“Origin Matter? Such a thing actually appeared in the Sophic Rift?” Mr. Lifeview completely lost his composure. As one of the Four Empyreans, there were very few things that could excite him this much.
Origin Matter was a requirement to become a Progenitor, and not even all Semi-Progenitors had acquired Origin Matter or opened their three meridian points.
The Sixth Mainland also possessed an understanding of the three meridian points, as if they did not, their three Progenitors would have never been born. There were very few among the Sixth Mainland’s top experts who had opened their three meridian points, and it was precisely because of a lack of Origin Matter.
However, the person that they had sent to conduct their negotiations with the Technocracy had actually sent back word that Origin Matter had appeared in the Sophic Rift.
Mr. Lifeview’s first reaction was that of disbelief.
Right after that, he received First Edition City’s conditions that, to resume their cooperative relationship with the Sixth Mainland, they had to both attack Sky Creation Academy, which encouraged Mr. Lifeview’s disbelief.
However, regardless of his own beliefs, this news had to be shared with the other three of the Four Empyreans.
Soon, all of the Daosource Sect’s Four Empyreans convened: the Blood Homage Realm’s Bluedome Elder, the Sage Martial Realm’s Mr. Lifeview, the Rock Realm’s Herb Immortal, and the newly appointed Qing Hua of the Brahman Realm.
The moment they heard Origin Matter being mentioned, none of the four hesitated to meet.
Bluedome Elder was the first to voice his doubt. “How could Origin Matter suddenly show up in the Technocracy? My Sixth Mainland has existed since ancient times, and yet we have no Origin Matter left, so how could the Technocracy have any?”
Mr. Lifeview replied, “That’s true, but the Progenitor of Combat once mentioned that all of the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors possess the aura of Origin Matter, which means that the Fifth Mainland still has some left even after all these years. That’s our real target, and also why we attacked the Fifth Mainland. It’s nearly impossible to mistake Origin Matter for something else, which makes it even more unlikely for any to have appeared in the Technocracy, as it holds no value to those mechanical creatures.”
“It’s not impossible,” Herb Immortal interjected. He was the most low-key of the Four Empyreans, and he rarely voiced an opinion when they made decisions. However, no one would dare ignore him whenever he spoke, as he was senior to even Bluedome Elder and Mr. Lifeview.
“Don’t forget, even though the Origin Matter may have appeared on the battlefield, it belongs to Sky Creation Academy, and Sky Creation Academy is connected to that place.”
Bluedome Elder looked up. “The Fifth Mainland’s split… The primeval surnames?”
Herb Immortal gently corrected, “The primeval surnames did not split up, but rather abandoned the Fifth Mainland. During the ancient war, my Sixth Mainland was able to alter the Fifth Mainland’s sky precisely because the primeval surnames abandoned the Fifth Mainland. Without the primeval surnames leaving, the situation would have turned out very differently. This has always been clear to me, which was why I stationed someone at the Upper Three Gates; I did not want to allow the Fifth Mainland to use the Perennial World to revert their sky.
“Now that the Fifth Mainland’s sky has been restored, more and more people are appearing from that place.”
As soon as the Perennial World was mentioned, everyone’s expression became a bit more solemn. While they might completely despise the Fifth Mainland, they also knew that if not for the primeval surnames’ abandonment of the Fifth Mainland, the Sixth Mainland would have never been able to win the ancient war. After all, the Fifth Mainland had possessed more Progenitors than the Sixth Mainland at that time.
“If the Origin Matter truly did come from that place, everything makes sense. However, how could Origin Matter be given to Sky Creation Academy? Origin Matter is extremely rare, and it is also necessary to become a Progenitor. No one would waste such a thing,” Mr. Lifeview wondered.
