Lu Yin’s physical body, strength, defense, domain, and even spiritual force had all improved a bit with his improved cultivation. His expression twisted slightly as he started thinking to himself; if he fought against Little Arrow Saint right at this moment, the outcome might be quite different from before. Lu Yin had not been able to use Truesight during his fight with Little Arrow Saint in the Daosource Sect’s ruins, and his odds of victory had been around fifty-fifty or slightly in the Realmling’s favor. But currently, the odds should favor Lu Yin sixty-forty if they fought.
No, it was possible that the odds might even be seventy-thirty. If he used all of his star energy to converge the First Sun, the power level of that attack should be enough to make an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000 feel nervous.
Each time a Cruiser completed a cultivation cycle, their increase in strength would not be overly drastic. However, if Lu Yin broke through to the Hunter realm, then his strength would undergo a qualitative change. At that time, not just Little Arrow Saint, but even the Daosource Three Skies might not be able to contend with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin had a rather accurate understanding of how his own strength compared to others. In the past, he had once guessed that at the Cruiser realm, he should be strong enough to have an intense battle with one of the Ten Arbiters, which had proven to be accurate. At this moment, he felt certain that once he broke through to the Hunter realm, he would be able to fight against those three Enlighters who were the Daosource Three Skies.
Although only a second had passed in the outside universe, Lu Yin had cultivated for a full year within the Timestop Space, leaving him exhausted.
He stepped out of King Zishan’s palace and saw that the sun was setting. High up in the sky, the three mainland rings released their own radiance, and a strand of twilight fell onto King Zishan’s palace.
King Zishan’s palace was second only to the imperial palace in terms of height, and Lu Yin stared at the afterglow of the setting sun, deep in contemplation. Suddenly, he realized that he had never watched the sunset from King Zishan’s palace, and he found himself enjoying the scene quite a bit.
Although his status as King Zishan’s descendant had been falsified, after so many years, Lu Yin had developed genuine feelings for this place, and it had become his home.
He stood at the border of the palace and watched as the last bit of light faded into complete darkness. Finished, Lu Yin looked away and stepped into the void before appearing outside the small pub.
Aside from cultivating, Lu Yin also enjoyed relaxing, and this pub was his go-to spot.
The tavern was exceptionally busy this night, and all of the tables were occupied.
Lu Yin altered his appearance and stepped in. He silently stood to the side and waited for some other guests to finish eating and leave.
“Brother, why don’t you come indoors? There’s an empty table there,” the owner offered kindheartedly.
Lu Yin smiled. “There’s no need. I like to drink wine outside.”
The owner nodded, and did not press him any further. He grabbed a chair for Lu Yin to wait in.
Before long, an outside table became available, and Lu Yin went with the same orders as always: wine and snacks.
Lu Yin sipped his wine as he breathed freely. He had just cultivated for a year straight, and taking an occasional break was very relaxing.
At that moment, a cry was heard from a neighbouring table. “Red- red female ghost?”
“What? Where’s the ghost?”
“There! There’s a red color over there.”
…
Lu Yin heard this commotion and turned to look into the distance, where he saw a smear of red and an alluring face approaching.
The guests in the tavern were all terrified by the sight, and they all fled. Meanwhile, the owner was so frightened that his calves trembled in fear as he stared at the slowly approaching woman who was dressed in red.
If someone this beautiful appeared in the dark night while wearing red clothing, then anyone would feel afraid.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. Why is this woman here?
This person was Lilyrose, one of the younger generation’s top experts who was from the Blaze Realm. She had been ranked thirty first on the Top 100 Rankings before the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse. During the long, chaotic war within the Innerverse, it was possible that many people had risen up and that even more had died. Her ranking could have either risen or fallen because of that.
Lu Yin had met this woman a few times before, but they had only spoken once, which had been back in Ironblood Weave when she had tried to seduce him only to be rejected.
She looked at the terrified expression of the pub’s owner and chuckled. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not a ghost.”
The owner swallowed his saliva. “Really?”
Lilyrose laughed as she smiled in a very enchanting and flirtatious manner. “What do you think?”
The owner blinked, but then he plucked up his courage. “May I know what you would like to drink?”
Lilyrose sat down next to Lu Yin’s table. “A pot of wine.”
“Oh, okay.” The owner quickly ran inside.
Lilyrose casually cleared the table and looked over at Lu Yin. Everyone else had been frightened away with only this person remaining behind. As a result, he had piqued her curiosity since he had to be a cultivator.
After the battle in the astral cemetery concluded, Lilyrose had spent her time recuperating from the injuries she had suffered at that time. She had stayed on Zenyu Star, and she had not been in contact with any men for quite a while. As she thought about this, she started to seriously size Lu Yin up. Although this person was not very good-looking, he was still alright and could barely be considered pleasing to her eye. She licked her lips, stood up, leisurely sauntered over beside Lu Yin, and sat down on the stool beside him. “May I sit here?”
“No,” Lu Yin instantly refused. He was also a bit speechless; it seemed that whenever he came to the tavern, he would run into an acquaintance. Did all of these people linger around King Zishan’s palace? Perhaps he needed to start checking the area with his domain.
Lilyrose was stumped; rejected? This person had actually rejected her?
Ever since her youth, no man had ever rejected her aside from that one person. And yet, she had just been rejected again just now.
Her eyes were dazzling, and she propped her chin up with a hand as she looked at Lu Yin. “Why not? Am I not pretty enough?”
Lu Yin had had enough, and he looked over at Lilyrose. “You’re a little annoying.”
Lilyrose blinked. She pointed to herself in sheer disbelief. “Annoying? Me?”
Lu Yin nodded seriously.
Lilyrose was stumped. At this time, the owner arrived with her wine, and he was slightly puzzled that Lilyrose had moved to a different table, but he simply served the wine. “Guest, here’s your wine.”
Lilyrose took it and shoved it towards Lu Yin. “Are you saying that I’m annoying?”
Lu Yin pressed a hand against the pot of wine and slowly pushed it back to Lilyrose. “Sit somewhere else.”
Lilyrose frowned and exerted a bit of force, pushing the pot of wine over to Lu Yin. However, she found that it was impossible to do so. Her eyes flashed, and the air suddenly became scorching hot as red lilies bloomed within the void. Even the appliances in the building exploded, scaring the owner as he hurriedly put out the fires.
Lu Yin’s gaze trembled, and he returned Lilyrose’s stare. “Move back.”
Upon hearing his words, Lilyrose was attacked by something indescribable. Her body trembled, and she almost collapsed. Her eyes betrayed her disbelief, as she knew that she had met a terrifying powerhouse. She immediately turned to leave without speaking another word.
Before she had taken more than a few steps, Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. “Wait a moment, come back.”
Lilyrose turned around and slowly bowed to Lu Yin. “The Blaze Realm’s Lilyrose has offended Senior, and I seek your forgiveness.”
Lu Yin calmly replied, “I know that you’re from Blaze Realm. I recognized the aura of the Karmic Flame Sword.”
Lilyrose was taken aback. If this person had recognized the Karmic Flame Sword, then he had to be from the Innerverse. She seriously observed Lu Yin’s face. After a moment, she felt that it was a bit familiar, and after realizing something, her entire expression changed. “Lu Yin?”
Lu Yin smiled and returned to his original appearance. “It’s been a while, Lilyrose.”
Lilyrose blankly stared at Lu Yin. She then heaved a sigh of relief and patted her chest. “You really scared me just now! I was wondering which senior I had run into. Brother Lu, you have to pay me back for that—I was nearly scared to death!” She then nonchalantly sat down and batted her eyes at Lu Yin in a naturally seductive manner.
Lu Yin indifferently asked, “Why are you here?”
Lilyrose explained, “I followed the Great Eastern Alliance’s Allied Forces into battle. So, when I was injured, I came back to Zenyu Star to recuperate.”
“Is that so? You’re not monitoring me on the Blaze Realm’s behalf?” Lu Yin drily asked.
Lilyrose revealed a slight smile. “Brother Lu is thinking too deeply. How could I, with my feeble strength, be qualified to monitor Brother Lu? Even Huo Houye died, and the Blaze Realm has no experts left in the Outerverse. Brother Lu doesn’t need to pay any mind to us.”
Lu Yin poured a cup of wine. “The Outerverse will soon reconnect to the Innerverse. Do you have any plans?”
“What is Brother Lu saying?” Lilyrose was puzzled.
“Nothing much. I’m just a little curious about the Blaze Realm,” Lu Yin casually replied. He then downed a mouthful of wine.
Lilyrose looked at Lu Yin in a charming manner. “I know that the Blaze Realm and Brother Lu have had their misunderstandings, but that has nothing to do with the two of us. Brother Lu can’t be thinking about singling me out, right?”
Lu Yin laughed. “It’s just a little misunderstanding, so it won’t come to that.”
Lilyrose chuckled. Then, she moved to pour a cup of wine for Lu Yin. Her pure white wrist lightly moved across the back of Lu Yin’s hand, and it felt very soft and comfortable.
In Ironblood Weave, this woman had tried to seduce Lu Yin, and she had still not given up.
She liked to flirt, especially with powerful people.
“Do you remember what happened back in Ironblood Weave? I invited Brother Lu out for a drink, but I was rejected. Who could have guessed that, after several years, we would actually have the opportunity to drink wine together.” Lilyrose gently licked her lips and exhaled lightly. Her scent wafted over, alluring to the extreme.
Lu Yin nodded. “That’s true. Several years have passed in the blink of an eye.”
Lilyrose drank some wine as a blush of rosiness appeared on her face. She looked slightly tipsy as she gazed at Lu Yin. “Brother Lu, my tolerance for liquor isn’t very good, so I won’t be able to get home tonight. Can I rest in King Zishan’s palace?”
Lu Yin’s lips curled upwards, and he used his hand to raise Lilyrose’s chin up towards his face. She obliged and let her head be raised as her body leaned in towards Lu Yin. His body also leaned forward, and right before the two touched, Lu Yin asked, “Do you know who made the Astral River Ark?”
Lilyrose instantly sobered up, yet she still acted drunk as she responded, “What about the Astral River Ark? Brother Lu, the view here is very beautiful.”
Lu Yin’s gaze trembled, and his spiritual force was unleashed through Night Advent. Everything before Lilyrose’s eyes turned dark as she was engulfed in his spiritual force. It gave her a crushing sense of terror, and at that moment, she felt like she was back at the border warfront in Ironblood Weave. She saw enormous beasts chaotically rush about, and there was a terrifying sensation that she was approaching the end of her life.
Night Advent lasted for two seconds, after which Lu Yin withdrew his spiritual force and looked at her.
Lilyrose panted heavily, her pupils oscillating between dilating and contracting. She was thoroughly drenched with the sweat of fear, as her mind had been stunned.
With her level of spiritual force, Lilyrose was not able to endure Lu Yin’s Night Advent at all, and the only reason why she had not fainted was because Lu Yin had shown her mercy.
Lu Yin was a Cruiser, the same realm as her, but there was a stark difference in their strength.
“Have you remembered yet? I want to know who made the Astral River Ark as well as who can fix it,” Lu Yin calmly stated as he released Lilyrose.
Her arms braced her body against the table as beads of sweat rolled off of her face. Her breathing gradually steadied itself, and her vision slowly cleared up. She could not believe how terrifying Lu Yin’s strength had become. The difference between them had not been this drastic during their last meeting. In fact, during the fights on Planet Pyrolyte, Lu Yin had not even been able to defeat Zhanlong Daynight, who had been ranked fifty fifth on the Top 100 Rankings. However, at present, he could easily crush Lilyrose.
No, to say that he had crushed her was still an understatement; she hadn’t even been able to resist in the face of Lu Yin’s strength. She did not know where to even begin.
Lilyrose looked up at Lu Yin, and fiercely replied, “Brother Lu, you said that you wouldn’t single me out.”
Lu Yin calmly replied, “I’m asking you the questions.”
Lilyrose bitterly answered, “Is this the behavior of the Great Eastern Alliance Leader? You won’t even let off a weak girl like me?”
