Lu Yin’s eyes swept over the Cloud Valley Master, and he quickly looked at Nong Laohan before shifting his gaze to Ancestor Sightless, Ancestor Autumnfrost, and Cemetery Keeper. “Seniors, do you want to start a war with my Fifth Mainland?”
The Cloud Valley Master’s expression grew fierce after hearing Lu Yin’s words, and his expression became even colder than before. “You are threatening us.”
“Of course not, but from what you seniors have said, in a month, the entire Outerverse will fall under the Sixth Mainland’s control. However, that also means that, for the duration of this month, this place still belongs to my Great Eastern Alliance, which means that it still belongs to the Fifth Mainland. So this would mean that where you seniors are standing also belongs to my Fifth Mainland, no?” Lu Yin gave a small smile.
“Junior, you aren’t qualified to speak to me about such things. So what if what you say is true? What can you do about it?” Ancestor Autumnfrost shouted fiercely.
Lu Yin turned to face Ancestor Autumnfrost. “This junior is quite confused. You don’t want to speak to me, and yet you gave me a month to vacate the Outerverse and even waited for me to come and speak. If I’m not qualified to speak with you, then why did you ask for me to come here?”
He then looked at the Cloud Valley Master. “What did you seniors want to say to this junior? Do you intend to make this junior submit to you, or to simply make me promise to leave the Outerverse within a month?”
The Cloud Valley Master coldly replied, “My sword attendant was honored to entertain you.”
Lu Yin suddenly said, “Ah, so it’s about that. You’re very welcome. It was entirely coincidental that I met him. He almost died in the Technocracy, and this junior happened to be passing by and managed to save him. It’s important for humans to protect each other.”
The Cloud Valley Master’s eyebrows rose after hearing Lu Yin’s shamelessness as he stared at the youth’s serious expression. The old man knew that if he had not been aware of the true story, he would have most likely been deceived by the youth. Lu Yin lied without batting an eye.
“Why did you go to the Sophic Rift?” the Cloud Valley Master demanded.
Yuan Shi was caught off guard by this question. The Sophic Rift? If I remember correctly, that should be the Technocracy’s battlefield for the civil war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. Why did Lu Yin go there?
Lu Yin shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Have all of your forces leave the Outerverse within a month,” the Cloud Valley Master commanded.
Lu Yin looked amused at this demand. “So this is the true purpose of you seniors. If this junior asked it, would you take all of these people from the Sixth Mainland away?”
“That’s impossible. The Outerverse already belongs to my Sixth Mainland, and you have already been given enough time to leave. At best, we can give you a few more months, as long as you reveal everything,” the Cloud Valley Master replied.
Lu Yin shook his head. “A few months or just one month—what’s the difference?”
“The time that you receive depends on how much you can offer us,” the Cloud Valley Master loudly declared.
Lu Yin stared at the old man. This was the heart of the negotiations. The Cloud Valley Master was not merely asking Lu Yin why he had visited the Sophic Rift, but also about other secrets that Lu Yin held, such as the Nine Cauldrons’ battle technique, or other things that Lu Yin possessed that others did not understand.
The Sixth Mainland was threatening Lu Yin with the fate of the Great Eastern Alliance.
Lu Yin raised a hand and spread his fingers open. “Bluedome Elder promised to leave my Great Eastern Alliance five weaves. Is this promise no longer valid?”
The Cloud Valley Master answered without hesitation, “Of course it is valid, but we will decide which five weaves you keep.”
Lu Yin’s agreement that he had reached with Madam Hong had been for him to receive five weaves close to the eastern Astral River Ark, but they had never named the specific weaves. If the Sixth Mainland decided which weaves Lu Yin received, it was impossible for them to give him five connected weaves, which would make possessing them completely meaningless. Also, Lu Yin firmly believed that if he was given five weaves, the people who lived in them would not enjoy better lives.
“I don’t want five weaves. Instead, I want to exchange them for five years’ time to retreat,” Lu Yin countered.
The Cloud Valley Master sneered. “Impossible. You were offered five weaves according to Bluedome Elder’s words. If you want to trade for time, that all depends on what you can offer in the trade.”
“What if I disclose the deal to give me five weaves?”
“That’s your choice. You can try it.”
The Fifth Mainland had various internal conflicts, and the same was true in the Sixth Mainland. Even if Lu Yin publicized that he had promised to kidnap the Greenmen Duo for Bluedome Elder, it would not lead to anything, as it was not too important in the overall scheme of things.
There was no pressure for the Sixth Mainland to take over the Outerverse, and the only need for them to rush things was to force Lu Yin’s hand.
Lu Yin held too many secrets, and he had also established the Great Eastern Alliance, which meant that it was more important to him than anyone else. Everything at this point depended on Lu Yin’s priorities and whether or not he would be willing to divulge some of his secrets to save the alliance.
The moment Lu Yin had arrived to meet with the Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses, the one month countdown had already started.
Inside a spaceship, Yuan Shi was staring off into the distance. Despite having a power level of over a million, he was still completely helpless at this moment.
“Senior, in your opinion, which is a greater enemy of the Fifth Mainland? The Astral Beast Domain or the Sixth Mainland?” Lu Yin suddenly asked while staring at Yuan Shi.
Yuan Shi felt puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Lu Yin said, “This junior would just like to know, if needed, which one would you prefer to give Ironblood Weave to?”
Yuan Shi stared at Lu Yin and then considered the matter for a moment. “The Sixth Mainland.”
“Why?” Lu Yin asked with raised eyebrows.
.
Yuan Shi shrugged. “Our Human Domain holds a powerful grudge against both the Sixth Mainland and the Astral Beast Domain, but from a certain standpoint, the Sixth Mainland is still a human power, and it would be better for humans to be ruled over by other humans than beasts.”
“What if you remove all biases?” Lu Yin continued.
Yuan Shi said, “Just tell me what you want to do.”
…
It was not long before Lu Yin was talking to Elder Lohar on his gadget. “Alliance Leader Lu, do you really want to do this?”
Lu Yin’s expression remained stern. “Do it.”
Elder Lohar ended the call and instantly called the Hall of Honor’s overseers. Lu Yin’s plan was too extreme; he actually wanted to give Ironblood Weave to the Astral Beast Domain! Ironblood Weave had been the Human Domain’s primary bulwark against the Astral Beast Domain for countless years. To give the weave over to the enemy would be betraying all those who had died to resist the astral beasts’ forces.
Lu Yin’s plan was quite simple; he intended to leave Ironblood Weave to the Astral Beast Domain and then allow the Sixth Mainland and the Celestial Beast Empire to inevitably start fighting once they met.
Harm could not be allowed to befall the ordinary humans, but it was possible for the Fifth Mainland to give up Ironblood Weave. If this did not happen, then an intact Outerverse would be perfectly delivered to the Sixth Mainland, which would only strengthen their enemy.
This was the scheme that Lu Yin had come up with while traveling. He knew that he needed to find an opponent for the Sixth Mainland to fight against, and at the same time, he also needed to do his best to force First Edition City to encourage the Sixth Mainland to attack Sky Creation Academy.
No matter how strong the Sixth Mainland might be, as soon as they started fighting two different battlefronts, they would not be willing to step onto a third. This would thus give the Great Eastern Alliance an opening to safely withdraw from the Outerverse.
The Sixth Mainland had tried to force Lu Yin’s hand by threatening the Great Eastern Alliance in order to gain access to his secrets, so he simply needed to find a method to force the Sixth Mainland into a difficult position.
This was how war was. There were times when it was possible to gain a tactical edge over an opponent by taking a step back. For example, Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had given up half of Endless Weave so that the entire Human Domain could be connected to a single network. Lu Yin hoped to do the same by giving up Ironblood Weave. Also, this would give his Great Eastern Alliance a bit of leeway.
This strategy had come from Wei Rong, who was brilliant at indirect warfare.
Regardless of whether one considered the Sixth Mainland or the Astral Beast Domain, both were enemies. Once war truly broke out, Lu Yin would consider the plan successful if he managed to keep the ordinary humans safe. This was his bottom line.
At this moment, Frostwave Weave posed the greatest obstacle for Lu Yin. It was close to the northern part of the Outerverse, and it was also home to both Zenyu Star and Earth. It was very difficult for Lu Yin to let go of that weave.
However, maybe it was possible to keep the weave…
In Ironblood Weave, Elder Lohar ended his call and stared to the north.
“We have stood firm here for so many years, and yet in the end, I must give it to them,” Elder Lohar complained bitterly.
Behind him, Han Fei spoke up in a soft voice. “Elder, do you really intend to give Ironblood Weave to those beasts?”
“This is the overseers’ decision.”
Han Fei grew furious. “How many people have bled and died to keep Ironblood Weave? There has always only been one rule here: everyone is born to fight in this war and never retreat! Every child born here knows that we will never give in to those beasts, but we have to give the whole weave now? What are the overseers thinking?”
Elder Lohar looked at the man. “It’s not up to you or me to alter a decision made by those above us. Order everyone to immediately withdraw from Ironblood Weave. We have fifteen days.”
Han Fei was unwilling to accept this. “I can’t do this! And the people following us will refuse to accept it too!”
“Keep an eye on the big picture.”
“Keep an eye on the big picture? Fuck the big picture! The overseers’ big picture? Let those of us who have protected Ironblood Weave for our entire lives become deserters! Is this for the big picture? If that’s the case, I’d rather die here!”
Elder Lohar’s eyes betrayed complicated emotions, as he was even more unwilling to accept his orders than Han Fei. Elder Lohar had actually protected Ironblood Weave for even longer than Han Fei, and he did not want to abandon it. However, what else could he do? The orders that he had received could not be changed. Lu Yin had not kept his plan hidden, and it would be impossible to do so even if he wanted to. His only goal was to find an opponent for the Sixth Mainland to fight, and it was impossible for the Astral Beast Domain to be satisfied with just Ironblood Weave. The moment they conquered Ironblood Weave, their next step would be the rest of the Outerverse, which would give the Sixth Mainland a massive problem.
Lu Yin had provided the Astral Beast Domain with a grand opportunity, and regardless of if the Celestial Beast Empire went to war with the Sixth Mainland or not, the two would definitely be wary of each other.
This benefited the overall picture of the entire Human Domain, which Lu Yin had taken into account. The overseers had agreed, as this would erode the strength of both the Sixth Mainland and the Astral Beast Domain, which would be beneficial to the Human Domain in every way.
However, had the people on the front lines of Ironblood Weave even been considered?
They had spent entire lifetimes and shed endless amounts of blood to stand firm in Ironblood Weave, only to ultimately be ordered to abandon their posts. How could such dedicated soldiers accept such a ruling?
Elder Lohar took a deep breath and then accessed his gadget again to contact Lu Yin. The old man shared all of his thoughts and concerns with him.
Lu Yin did not speak. After a period of silence, Elder Lohar heard Lu Yin start to speak. “When the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse, how was Ironblood Weave able to hold off the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion?”
Elder Lohar could not understand why Lu Yin would suddenly bring that situation up at such a time.
At the Great Eastern Alliance’s border, Lu Yin continued, saying, “It was the united strength of the entire Outerverse. All of the Outerverse’s powerful cultivators at that time, including me, went to fight in Ironblood Weave. Why were we able to get there in time? Because of the network that connected the entire Human Domain. Elder, you should understand that for the network to become truly connected, a sacrifice was paid. What did Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao pay? Half of Endless Weave.
“Some people claim that he betrayed the Human Domain, and others say he went mad, but no matter how you spin the matter, you cannot deny that his actions were directly responsible for the Human Domain gaining a universal network. There is no way to quantify his crimes with how the Human Domain has benefited from his actions, which was why he was imprisoned in Gaia’s Swamp. However, Ironblood Weave must still remember Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao. The care and attention that he gave Ironblood Weave provided it a second chance that was needed to defend the border, and that was traded for half of Endless Weave.
“At this moment, I need to trade Ironblood Weave for a future chance of winning the war between the Human Domain and the Sixth Mainland. There are some things that you should not be told right now, but because of your concerns, I feel that I should tell you.” Lu Yin paused briefly before solemnly continuing, saying, “The Sixth Mainland has asked the Technocracy for reinforcements. They asked for tens of millions of androids to be sent to the Outerverse to aid them in a war against my Fifth Mainland.”
