The votes were even at four in favor and four against, which meant that some negotiating was needed.
This was also why San Liang had immediately pushed for Mr. You’s dismissal at the beginning of the meeting, as the loss of an ally made things more difficult for Nan Yuan. If Mr. You were still present, there would be no deadlock, as it would be five votes to four.
Zi Jing, Yang Ji, and Si Hong had no enmity with Lu Yin, but they also intended to abide by the principles of the overseers’ council.
This vote also clearly demonstrated which of the overseers were Lu Yin’s staunch supporters. One surprise to Nan Yuan was the realization that Old Man San Shang was one of Lu Yin’s firm supporters.
Xin Jiao’s support was no surprise, as she was the overseer representing the Cosmic Sea. At the moment, Leon’s Armada was indisputably the dominant power in the Cosmic Sea, so Xin Jiao would likely face the same fate as Mr. You if she did not support Lu Yin. Mr. You’s dismissal had served as a powerful incentive for Xin Jiao to cast her lot in with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin had surpassed the point where he needed to draw people to his side to support him, and at the moment, Lu Yin could bluntly threaten people into supporting him.
Given the deadlock, Liu Ran’s dismissal merited further discussion.
While the council’s meeting room grew noisy, Leaf King and Lu Yin were still happily chatting away with each other just outside the room.
Regardless of how the two men truly felt about each other, neither would reveal a single thing openly.
Lu Yin carefully examined Leaf King, feeling curiosity and confusion; was this man really the same sort of creature as Sapling?
After leaving Burial Garden, while on his way to Black Street, Lu Yin had learned that someone had attacked the Ross Empire’s mobile fortress and that both Xia Yi and the big tree had escaped.
Even though there was no evidence that anyone had attacked Lu Yin’s garden, Wei Rong and several others were convinced that the big tree had hidden its true strength and had fled when a commotion had erupted. Lu Yin did not believe any of that. He felt that it was far more likely that his companion outside the overseers’ council had secretly attacked the garden by using Xia Yi’s escape as a diversionary tactic.
Lu Yin’s biggest question was just how the big tree had managed to escape from Leaf King along with Sapling. Leaf King was powerful enough to escape from Liu Huang’s attack, which was more than enough proof of the man’s strength.
Actually, after considering the matter a bit more objectively, Lu Yin felt that there was something quite suspicious about the big tree that had constantly tried to escape.
The answers were with the man right in front of Lu Yin, but unfortunately, there was no way to get any answers from Leaf King.
“Alliance Leader Lu, do you have any thoughts about Liu Ran’s dismissal?” Leaf King suddenly asked. He stared at Lu Yin with a charming and handsome face, but he was unable to see through the youth’s thoughts.
Lu Yin acted completely unconcerned. “That’s the council’s business. I really don’t have an opinion.”
“Then why are you here, Alliance Leader Lu?” Leaf King felt quite puzzled by Lu Yin’s presence.
Lu Yin turned to face Leaf King and gave the man a brilliant smile. “I’m about to replace Liu Ran to become the new overseer.”
Hearing these words caused Leaf King’s expression to completely change.
At the same time, the overseers finally managed to come to an agreement to dismiss Liu Ran from his post as an Overseer and appoint a different person to represent the Innerverse on the overseers’ council.
Liu Ran exited the overseers’ meeting just as Mr. You had done. However, in stark contrast, Liu Ran did not look discouraged like the other former overseer.
Instead, Liu Ran faced Lu Yin and gave the young man a deep bow.
Lu Yin nodded, and then Liu Ran walked away. He looked quite relaxed.
If Liu Ran was being honest, he had never wanted to be an overseer as he had only ever been the Sword Sect’s puppet. Liu Qianjue had made all the decisions, and Liu Ran had merely been Liu Qianjue’s mouthpiece on the overseers’ council.
Liu Ran’s dismissal meant that he would be generously compensated by the Great Eastern Alliance, and after he returned to the Sword Sect, he would enjoy a very respected status. Liu Ran essentially considered himself a pensioner.
“The new overseer needs to be someone with a great deal of influence in the Innerverse, and they must also be supported by many different powers. I propose that Shamrock Enterprise’s Leaf King take the vacant overseer position to represent the Innerverse. Any thoughts?” Nan Yuan immediately spoke up in the overseers’ meeting room, and he started staring at all of his colleagues when he finished speaking.
Everyone had long since known about this appointment.
The Great Eastern Alliance utterly dominated the Innerverse, and Shamrock Enterprise was the only option for an overseer if there was a requirement that the overseer had to be someone from outside the Great Eastern Alliance. Nan Yuan’s choice was very obvious to everyone.
The Great Eastern Alliance controlled the Innerverse while Leon’s Armada controlled the Cosmic Sea. While this made it look like Mr. You and Leaf King were in very similar positions, the key difference was that Mr. You was no different from a stray dog while Leaf King controlled Shamrock Enterprise. Such tremendous influence, wealth, and power made Leaf King perfectly qualified to become an overseer.
Mr. You had also once enjoyed the support of a powerful force in the Cosmic Sea, and even if the Longevity Brigade no longer existed, he was not someone who should have been removed so unceremoniously. For example, no one had suggested that Xin Jiao be dismissed from her post, and even if Lu Yin wanted to do so, he would have to plot and scheme quite a bit to make it happen.
San Liang looked up. “Overseer Nan Yuan has proposed a candidate, so I will do the same: the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin.”
Nan Yuan’s expression instantly changed. “What did you just say?”
San Liang repeated, “I propose that the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin, replace Liu Ran as the new overseer.”
“Seconded,” Bu Laoweng quietly said.
“Seconded,” Old Man San Shang repeated.
“Seconded,” Xin Jiao said.
Nan Yuan’s face contorted. “Lu Yin is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance! How can he be allowed to become an overseer?”
Yang Ji arched a brow. “What do you mean? Can the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance not become an overseer? Then what about me? I’m the leader of the Light World.”
Nan Yuan hastened to explain himself, “Overseer Yang Ji, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Yang Ji gave a derisive snort. “Seconded!”
Nan Yuan quickly said, “Overseer Yang Ji, you-“
“Seconded,” From the other side of the table, Zi Jing also voiced her support.
Nan Yuan’s pupils shrank. Already, five of the overseers had agreed to appoint Lu Yin as an overseer, so even if Si Hong disagreed, there was nothing that Nan Yuan could do about it.
“Seconded,” Si Hong said.
Nan Yuan’s vote meant absolutely nothing. Of the current seven overseers, six had already voiced their support of Lu Yin becoming an overseer. There was nothing that Nan Yuan could do to stop this.
San Liang smiled at Nan Yuan. “Overseer Nan Yuan, it’s your vote. Do you support appointing the Great Eastern Alliance’s leader Lu Yin to become the new overseer?”
Nan Yuan’s eyes turned stony. He gritted his teeth and softly said, “I don’t support this.”
San Liang happily stated, “Very well, six in favor and one against. Lu Yin is to be our newest overseer. Let’s welcome the overseer to our ranks.”
The door was opened by the stationed protector as soon as San Liang finished speaking. The man had already watched Mr. You be forcefully ousted from his seat and had clearly seen Lu Yin’s control of the overseers’ council.
As Lu Yin passed through the door, the protector bowed low. “Congratulations to the overseer.”
San Liang and the other overseers all stood up. This was a show of respect that was given to new overseers, and even Nan Yuan was forced to follow suit. He needed to at least adhere to the minimum required decorum.
In the room behind Lu Yin, Leaf King appeared to still be perfectly calm. So this was the goal of Bu Laoweng and the other overseers feigning sickness. They had made a gross miscalculation. Leaf King had not expected Lu Yin to actually reach for the position of overseer himself, and there was no doubt in Leaf King’s mind that the final vote had been six to one in favor of Lu Yin’s appointment.
Leaf King averted his eyes and rose to take his leave.
At the top of Mt. Microcosms, Arch-Elder Zen quietly watched as Lu Yin entered the council’s meeting room. A person appeared behind the Semi-Progenitor. “Reporting to Arch-Elder Zen! The overseers’ council’s Mr. You and Liu Ran have been dismissed from their posts. The newest overseer is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin.”
“What do you think of Lu Yin?” Arch-Elder Zen suddenly asked.
The person who had arrived to make the report was none other than the Interstellar Supreme Court’s Da Qiu.
The Hall of Honor’s current Honor Chosen were Shang Qing and the others of his generation, but Da Qiu was someone from a previous generation of Honor Chosen.
Throughout the years, the Hall of Honor had had many, many Honor Chosen, though very few of the selected youths ever managed to become Envoys. The moment they passed that particular threshold, their status in the Hall of Honor would transform. This was what had happened to Da Qiu.
He was already considered as the Hall of Honor’s fourth Judicial Commissioner, and Arch-Elder Zen greatly favored the newly risen Envoy. In fact, Da Qiu was the youngster that Arch-Elder Zen favored the most highly, aside from Shang Qing.
“Lu Yin?” Da Qiu was caught off guard by the question.
Arch-Elder Zen indifferently explained, “You traveled a bit with him once, so what do you think of him?”
Da Qiu did not hesitate to consider the question at all. “Lu Yin is this subordinate’s friend. He helped me with my breakthrough to become an Envoy, and without him, your subordinate would not have survived to this day. I owe him greatly.”
Arch-Elder Zen was left speechless. This was not the first time that he had asked this question, but apparently, Shang Qing and now Da Qiu both openly viewed Lu Yin as their benefactor. How could he have expected this?
Shang Qing and Da Qiu represented the future of the Hall of Honor, and yet both of them were close to Lu Yin and felt that they owed him a favor. How was Arch-Elder Zen supposed to treat Lu Yin after learning about this? This was not even considering the fact that the Chief Justice, Qing Ping, was Lu Yin’s senior disciple brother!
At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen felt incredibly fatigued. He had never dreamed that the day might come where he would lose control of the Hall of Honor, but that day was upon him.
Even if he tried to suppress Lu Yin at this time, all such efforts would prove useless. No matter what, Lu Yin would be able to reach the top in the future. He had the charm and skill required to do so. Additionally, Lu Yin was treated as the Lockbreakers Society’s darling, and old man Xiu Ming was quite fond of the youth and greatly appreciated his talent.
“Let’s take a step back,” Arch-Elder Zen said tiredly.
Da Qiu felt a bit confused, but he slowly backed away and left.
There were certain people that could only be dealt with early, as they would become unstoppable once they built up enough momentum. This perfectly described Lu Yin.
No one was aware of the fact the Lu Yin had reached the point where not even Arch-Elder Zen could suppress him, as Lu Yin’s influence had spread too far.
Inside the council’s meeting room, Lu Yin took his seat and examined the room. “I assumed that you all held your meetings in some sort of special place, but this room is perfectly ordinary.”
San Liang smiled. “This is the room where the first overseers council was held back when the Hall of Honor was first established. This room holds a special significance to the Hall of Honor.”
“Alliance Leader Lu, I may call you Overseer Lu in the future, haha!” Yang Ji laughed.
Lu Yin smiled. “Overseer Lu doesn’t have a very pleasant ring to it, so just call me Brother Lu. There’s no reason to maintain distance between us.”
“Alright, Brother Lu.” Yang Ji smiled brightly, though his true thoughts were known only to himself.
Lu Yin had actually contacted many of the overseers on his way to Mt. Microcosms, and Lu Yin had actually threatened Yang Ji with the knowledge that he had gained his seat as an overseer by offering a gift. If this news ever leaked, Yang Ji’s reputation would be damaged badly, which was why Yang Ji had become willing to support Lu Yin, though only once.
This stipulation did not bother Lu Yin, as he had sufficient support from the other overseers even without Yang Ji.
“I haven’t seen you for a while, but you’re becoming more and more active, Brother Lu.” Zi Jing smiled.
Lu Yin smiled back at the woman. “Naturally. As for you, you’re becoming more and more beautiful.”
Zi Jing laughed. “Brother Lu is as entertaining as ever. How about coming to my place to enjoy some tea once this meeting is over?”
“Sure.”
“This old man also has some good tea to share,” Old Man San Shang spoke up as he smiled at Lu Yin. It was impossible to tell that the old man was merely a puppet.
Lu Yin nodded to San Shang.
The atmosphere had completely changed in the meeting room the moment that Lu Yin entered. The somber feeling had disappeared, and it felt more like a place to visit and chat about tea.
Nan Yuan stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes, but the man was powerless to do a single thing. Except for Nan Yuan, not a single one of the other overseers dared to offend Lu Yin, even if they did not unilaterally support him.
Lu Yin’s gaze suddenly fell onto Nan Yuan. “Is there some issue that Overseer Nan Yuan would like to bring up? This is my first day as an overseer, so I admit that I’m quite curious about everything.”
Nan Yuan’s expression instantly changed, and he casually replied, “There’s no issue to address on my part. Is there something that you would like to discuss, Alliance Leader Lu? You can just speak your mind.”
Lu Yin smiled. “Actually, there is.”
He looked around. “This council needs to have nine overseers to avoid a deadlock, like what happened just a bit ago. Deadlocks accomplish nothing and only waste time and energy, so I propose that the council be completed with the appointment of Lei Qingqing as the final overseer.”
