The Daynight clan was trying to destroy Lu Yin’s reputation, but Lu Yin had expected such a move a long time ago. As long as the Hall of Honor had not released any announcements to the entire universe, anything that targeted Lu Yin was nothing but slander, and he held control of the Outerverse’s media. Also, he was the Outerverse Allied Forces’ Commander, so he was completely unafraid of these accusations.
The various powers had wanted to withdraw from the Great Eastern Alliance primarily because they were afraid of offending the Innerverse’s great powers.
With his reply, Lu Yin had suddenly reclassified the powers from the Innerverse as plunderers, which meant that they were the Outerverse’s enemies. This caused all of the methods that the various great powers of the Innerverse had employed against him to fall apart, and Lu Yin was even able to expand the Allied Forces.
The main goal of growing of the Allied Forces was to further increase their influence.
Any random great power from the Innerverse could sweep across the Outerverse, as the Outerverse truly lacked for top experts, as most of them were in the Innerverse.
The Outerverse alone was not capable of stopping great powers like the Daynight clan, but if the Outerverse united as a single entity, then such a fight would no longer be as simple as a conflict between certain powers from the Innerverse and Outerverse. Rather, it would drag in the Hall of Honor itself into the fray. Once they intervened, Lu Yin refused to believe that the Innerverse would continue to dare to act against the Outerverse.
Lu Yin had never expected the Outerverse to have the strength to resist the Innerverse. However, a united Outerverse allowed him to move about as he wished, and his influence within the Hall of Honor had thus risen as a direct result of his efforts. This was the most important detail.
Right, there were also all sorts of resources available to him now.
If Lu Yin had not managed to unite the Outerverse, then there would not be three thousand androids at his disposal. The benefits of unifying the entire Outerverse were only just beginning to appear.
However, the troublesome aspect was that the Outerverse had declined for far too many years. Once they encountered any strong forces from the Innerverse, some of the Outerverse powers might instantly switch sides, and they might even trigger a catastrophic chain reaction.
At this time, he really wanted to know just where the backup Astral River Ark hidden within Blazing Mist Flowzone would appear.
As he thought about this, Lu Yin’s domain swept across the planet, looking for Lilyrose.
When Lilyrose felt Lu Yin’s domain, she reluctantly made her way to King Zishan’s palace.
In the past, she had had many thoughts concerning Lu Yin. She liked powerful men like him, but she no longer dared to make any moves on him. There were some men whom she could approach and others whom she could not.
Lu Yin belonged to the latter group, as he stood in a position that was far too elevated above her. In fact, he could already be ranked among the Ten Arbiters.
“I wonder, what has Alliance Leader Lu sought out this little girl for?” Lilyrose tried to maintain a calm expression in front of Lu Yin.
Lu Yin answered, “I want you to find a way to discreetly dig up the location of the backup Astral River Ark.”
Lilyrose grudgingly answered, “Alliance Leader Lu, I’m willing to help you if it’s possible, but I truly don’t have what you seek. The Astral River Ark doesn’t belong to the Blaze Realm, but rather to the Hall of Honor.”
“Still, the Blaze Realm has the authority to move the ark around, especially since the previous Astral River Ark was destroyed,” Lu Yin pressed.
Lilyrose grew upset.
Lu Yin calmly said, “If you help me, then I can also help you. It’s not impossible for me to make you the master of the Blaze Realm. You should understand that I have the ability to do so.”
Lilyrose was stunned. “The Blaze Realm’s master?”
Lu Yin stared at her. “Didn’t your mother do what she did because that person is the master of the Blaze Realm?”
The moment Lu Yin mentioned this, Lilyrose’s expression fell, and she fell into silent thought.
“I know you don’t trust me, but I, Lu Yin, was able to unite the Outerverse in just a bit over six years. It wouldn’t be that hard for me to deal with just a Blaze Realm, and my understanding of the Blaze Realm is not inferior to your own.” Lu Yin clapped his hands, and suddenly, fog swirled into the office and formed words: Smoker greets you.
Lilyrose was shocked. “Smoker?”
Lu Yin waved a hand, and the smoke dissipated.
Lilyrose stared at Lu Yin, completely bewildered. “Is that the same Smoker who tried to assassinate the master of the Blaze Realm and escaped unscathed?”
“He’s now the captain of my Great Yu Empire’s Second Squadron,” Lu Yin replied.
Lilyrose was astonished. Everyone from the Blaze Realm knew about Smoker, as that assassination attempt had shocked the entire universe.
The eight great flowzones represented the Innerverse’s greatest strength. Although Blazing Mist Flowzone was the weakest of those eight and bordered the Outerverse, and although the Blaze Realm only took up a third of Blazing Mist Flowzone, it was still a power that belonged to one of the eight great flowzones.
Over the course of countless years, nobody had ever gotten as close to assassinating a master of a great power that ruled over one of the eight great flowzones as Smoker, let alone escape unharmed.
That assassination attempt had propelled Smoker to become the Outerverse’s greatest assassin. Nobody could take his place.
Nobody knew how Smoker had accomplished such a thing, but he had been able to safely retreat from the Blaze Realm, which was enough to prove that he had an incredibly deep understanding of the Blaze Realm. Thus, this claim of Lu Yin’s was not illogical at all.
Lilyrose was moved—if she could be seated in that position, then she would not mind paying any price.
Lu Yin sat in silence as he sipped his tea. Although he could coerce Lilyrose into helping him, he would not receive her sincere assistance by doing so, which would render any such help useless.
After a long period of silence, Lilyrose said, “Alliance Leader Lu, I truly can’t find out where the Astral River Ark is hidden, and you should be well aware of my position within the Blaze Realm. On the surface, I’m the first ranked heir, but I have also been utterly denied by the Blaze Realm. Most of those in power are not pleased with me.”
Lu Yin did not speak. Instead, he silently listened.
Lilyrose glanced over at him and continued. “However, I do know a few people, and they might be able to help you.”
She then gave Lu Yin some contact information.
Lu Yin watched Lilyrose leave, after which he glanced at the contact information and called the person.
Before long, a man appeared on a screen before Lu Yin.
“Who are you?” The man looked young, but his bearings belonged to someone much more experienced. His mannerisms indicated that he had gone through the vicissitudes of life, and his eyes stared directly at Lu Yin, as if he was trying to see something from the youth’s expression.
Lu Yin frowned, as this person looked very familiar. “Who are you again?”
The man stared closely at Lu Yin, and although he seemed fierce, there was a trace of apprehension and unease in the man’s expression. “If you don’t recognize me, then how did you call me?”
Lu Yin replied, “Lilyrose gave me your info.”
The man’s expression changed slightly, and at that moment, a middle-aged man walked out from behind the young looking man. When the middle-aged man saw Lu Yin through the screen, his expression changed immensely the moment he saw Lu Yin. The call instantly ended afterwards.
Lu Yin set his gadget down and had Zhao Ran serve him one of her special drinks while he patiently waited.
On the other side of the call, the youth felt that the situation was a bit strange. “Uncle Meng, what just happened?”
The middle-aged man who was known as Uncle Meng had a solemn expression as he looked at the youth. “How did you get into contact with that person?”
The youth’s face went pale, and he nervously answered, “He called me. Lilyrose passed my information to him.”
Uncle Meng’s expression was perfectly serene, and nobody could tell what he was thinking.
The youth looked uneasy; he had lived like a street rat for many years, and he was worried about surviving through each day. Now that he had received such a call, did it mean that Lilyrose had betrayed them? The longer he thought about it, the more afraid the youth became.
After a long while, Uncle Meng solemnly said, “Paige, do you know who just contacted you?”
Paige shook his head. “He looked a little familiar.”
Uncle Meng sighed. “For all these years, we haven’t allowed you to come into contact with the outside world. Even when the Sixth Mainland invaded, you were kept hidden. As a result, it turns out that you can’t even recognize that person.” He paused for a moment before continuing, saying, “Remember this—he’s called Lu Yin, and he is one of the most powerful members of the younger generation in the current universe. He just defeated one of the Ten Arbiters.”
Paige was shocked. “He defeated an Arbiter?”
Uncle Meng nodded. “Do you know what it means to defeat an Arbiter?”
Paige’s face turned pale. “I do.”
Although Paige had not come into contact with the outside universe himself, his few experiences meant that he had learned some common knowledge that had been repeatedly drilled into him. For example, the Ten Arbiters were invincible and could not be defied.
Even the Lilyrose, who Paige worshiped, was nothing more than an ant before the Ten Arbiters.
The most important detail to them was that their greatest enemy, the Blaze Realm, did not have even a single one of the Ten Arbiters. They knew that the Blaze Realm was a terrifying power, but even they did not have an Arbiter, which showed just how powerful those ten youths truly were.
However, the person who had just called Paige had apparently defeated one of the Ten Arbiters. Paige could not even imagine such a thing.
“Uncle Meng, what should we do?” Paige was puzzled, and although he managed to maintain a facade of composure, uncertainty could be clearly seen within his eyes along with confusion and doubt.
Uncle Meng saw Paige’s emotions and sighed. They had sacrificed many people to protect this child, and had kept him completely hidden. They had not even allowed him to connect to the network. Thus, he had basically been brought up crippled without any opinions of his own.
“Call him back. Lilyrose won’t betray us. Since he contacted you, then there must be a reason.”
Paige swallowed his saliva, slowly lifted his gadget, and then solemnly dialed the last contact that had called him. He felt extremely nervous, especially since he now knew that he was about to speak to one of the top people in the current universe, and Paige did not know how he should present himself.
Lu Yin did not have to wait for very long before his gadget rang, and he answered the call. Paige’s image appeared on the screen. “Hi, I’m Paige.”
Lu Yin looked at the youth. “Have we met somewhere before?”
Paige felt confused and did not know how to respond.
Uncle Meng moved next to Paige and responded to Lu Yin. “Mr. Lu, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m known as Meng, and I am from the Gasfire Alliance.”
The Gasfire Alliance? Lu Yin felt that he had never heard of this group before.
“What’s your relationship with Lilyrose?” Lu Yin asked.
Uncle Meng said, “Cooperation. We have a common enemy: the Blaze Realm. The name of the Gasfire Alliance represents the blaze that is passed down from one generation to the next.”
Lu Yin smiled. “What a coincidence, the Blaze Realm is also my enemy.”
Uncle Meng heaved a sigh of relief, as he had heard of the problems between Lu Yin and the Blaze Realm before. Otherwise, he would not have even dared to allow Paige to call Lu Yin. “I wonder, what requests might Mr. Lu have for you to contact us?”
“I wouldn’t dare to make a request, but I asked Lilyrose a question. Since she doesn’t know the answer, I approached you guys,” Lu Yin said.
Uncle Meng was puzzled. “What’s the question?”
“Where’s the backup Astral River Ark?”
Uncle Meng was surprised, but he quickly thought things through. Although the Blaze Realm had gone to great lengths to chase down their Gasfire Alliance, they had been able to persist for so long because they had their own methods of survival, and their intelligence network was not shabby either. They were very clear on the fact that Lu Yin had already unified the Outerverse.
Since he had united the Outerverse, he would definitely face pressure and opposition from the Innerverse, and the various great powers would attempt to cross the Astral River to pressure him. The best way for them to do so was naturally to use the Astral River Ark.
This meant that whoever gained control of the ark would hold the advantage.
“I won’t hide this from Mr. Lu; we can indeed discover the location of the Astral River Ark, and we have even already received news that it will appear in a certain location, as it will ferry a group of people to the Outerverse,” Uncle Meng said.
Lu Yin nodded. “You can propose your conditions now.”
Paige swallowed his saliva again and kept staring at Lu Yin, not understanding how this person had managed to reach his current position.
Uncle Meng initially wanted to exaggerate their conditions. After all, Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse, which meant that he had control of tremendous resources as well as the Outerverse Allied Forces.
However, he suddenly looked into Lu Yin’s eyes, and Meng felt a mysterious chill go through his body. He suddenly considered Lu Yin’s experiences.
