The commotion from the cosmic battle between Lu Yin and the Daynight elder was too great, and it quickly attracted the attention of the troops stationed in the nearby weaves.
The Daynight elder had spent twenty minutes trying to deal with Lu Yin, but he could not breach the youth’s defenses. In the end, the elder could only helplessly leave. “Child, you won’t have a good ending after becoming enemies with my Daynight clan. You’d best consider your next moves carefully.”
Lu Yin silently watched as the Daynight clan members left, and even the corpses of the dead Enlighters were taken away.
The Daynight clan did not want anyone to know about this matter, and Lu Yin shared that opinion. His status had not been stabilized yet, so if it was revealed that the Daynight clan was his mortal enemy, then the Great Eastern Alliance’s cohesiveness would fall even more.
Everyone knew that Lu Yin had a conflict with the Daynight clan, but outsiders were under the impression that this was not a terrible grudge.
After the Daynight clan elder left, Ku Wei put away his Withered Bark and rushed over to Lu Yin, seething. “You knew that we were going to be ambushed! You deliberately tricked me into coming out here!”
Lu Yin answered in a brusque tone. “Where’s your evidence?”
Ku Wei was enraged. “Bullshit, what evidence? You kicked me to the side a moment before their attacks arrived, which proves that you knew about them beforehand. So why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m not able to discover such experts. You saw for yourself how incredibly strong that old fart was,” Lu Yin said.
Ku Wei gritted his teeth and stared at Lu Yin. “Only an idiot would believe you.”
“That’s up to you.” Lu Yin paid him no mind.
Ku Wei was so furious that he ground his teeth. However, there was nothing that he could do to Lu Yin. In truth, Ku Wei was still reeling in shock from the attack, as he had almost died. The attacker had been an old freak with a power level of more than 400,000, but fortunately, Ku Wei had brought his Withered Bark along. Otherwise, a single spiritual force attack would have left him braindead if not outright killed him. In that scenario, regardless of if it was Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum or the great plans of the Ku family, everything would be finished for Ku Wei. What a bastard.
Of course Lu Yin had deliberately taken action. Since there was someone from the Seven Courts beside him, it was necessary to test this person from time to time. Lu Yin had thought that when Ku Wei encountered grave danger, some older experts from the Seven Courts would appear. He had never even considered that Ku Wei would be able to save himself.
These ancient powers truly did have unfathomable foundations.
“What’s that piece of dead wood you were hiding in just now?” Lu Yin asked curiously.
Ku Wei replied in a nasty voice, “Something that I picked up. I don’t know what it is.”
Lu Yin’s gaze grew sharp. “Is that so? Why don’t you think about your answer again.”
Ku Wei was about to open his mouth and vent some of his anger. However, after he saw how cold Lu Yin’s expression had become, he paused. Lu Yin looked as though he wanted to beat someone, and Ku Wei panicked, scared that he had lost his reasoning. He had actually nearly forgotten that this person had defeated one of the Ten Arbiters and that he did not pale even when compared to the top heirs of the Seven Courts. Ku Wei could not beat Lu Yin, and he was even hoping that Lu Yin would help him.
In but a moment, Ku Wei suppressed all of his anger and barely managed to force out a smile. “Forgive me, Your Highness. I’ve thought it through again, and I’ve remembered that it’s a power vessel unique to my Ku family. Throughout the ages, it’s been called Withered Bark, and although I don’t know the principles behind its manufacturing process, this toy has an extremely robust defense, and the elders gave me one for when I’m out on missions.”
“How many of these Withered Barks does your family have?” Lu Yin asked.
Ku Wei hurriedly shook his head. “Very few.”
He saw that Lu Yin did not really believe this claim, and Ku Wei became flustered. “Your Highness, there truly are only very few remaining. How many power vessels could we have that can withstand attacks with power levels of 400,000? I trust that even Your Highness does not have more than two.”
Lu Yin replied, “Don’t worry, I don’t want to take it from you. What are you so nervous about?”
Ku Wei pursed his lips, as he did not trust Lu Yin’s character. This fellow had a special fondness for wealth, which was something that many people were aware of.
“Since your Ku family has this Withered Bark, what about the other families from the Seven Courts?” Lu Yin asked.
Ku Wei thought about it. “All of them basically have something like it. For example, the Ce family has their Immovable Chessboard and the Yōu family has the Netherworld River. Since we’re able to contest the Hall of Honor, it’s impossible for us to not have something like this hidden.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, and he became even more certain of certain elements behind the scenes. The Neoverse definitely had not put forth its full efforts during the Sixth Mainland’s invasion.
If the Sixth Mainland was able to fully dominate the Fifth Mainland, then it would have relied upon that strange suppression they had on the Fifth Mainland cultivators, their imprints, and the specialties of their three Progenitors: bloodlines, martial imprints, and secret techniques.
The Seven Courts’ background was related to a Progenitor, and each family should have a similar level of strength. Since the Hall of Honor was able to suppress the Seven Courts, then they must have an even stronger foundation. And yet, he had not seen them during the battle in the Cosmic Sea.
Just what exactly was the Neoverse planning?
While Lu Yin was ruminating over these thoughts, Ku Wei grew more nervous the longer he watched, as he was afraid that Lu Yin would force him to hand over the Withered Bark. He hurriedly spoke up. “Your Highness, will that old fart from the Daynight clan come back? Should we report this to the Hall of Honor?”
Lu Yin replied, “Even if we report it, there’s no point. The Hall of Honor oversees the entire human race, but they would require evidence to act on something like this. Besides, I wasn’t killed, so the Hall of Honor has no reason to act.”
“These fellows are outrageous! They actually dared to attack you. If they had killed you, then the Daynight clan would be out of luck,” Ku Wei said hatefully.
Lu Yin shook his head. “It depends on the circumstances. The possibility of Nightking Zhenwu becoming one of the Cosmic Five is quite high because of what happened with the Champions’ Stage, which means that the Daynight clan will likely become a privileged family. They’ve reached the point where even the Hall of Honor needs to show the Daynight clan some face.”
After the discussion reached this point, Lu Yin suddenly reacted. What was the point of discussing such things with Ku Wei?
“Let’s keep going towards the Dark Phoenix family,” Lu Yin said.
Ku Wei was surprised. “We’re actually heading to the Dark Phoenix family’s territory?”
“Obviously.”
…
The Dark Phoenix family had previously announced that they had sealed themselves away for the next hundred years, and every power had received this notification.
The Sixteen-Layered Dark Flames was enough to intimidate the entire Outerverse, and nobody could break through it. It was powerful enough to even make the Phoenix family wary.
However, after Lu Yin’s visit, everything had changed.
Only the final layer of the Sixteen-Layered Dark Flames remained now, and even though this layer was the most powerful one and could even deter Envoy-level powerhouses, a single layer of Dark Flames was just too thin. People could even peer through it and see the Darkflame Continent.
The Dark Phoenix family felt as though they were wearing invisible clothing. They wanted to cover themselves up, but it was impossible to do so properly. This was an extremely embarrassing situation for a large clan like the Dark Phoenix family.
The entire Dark Phoenix family had been cursing Lu Yin recently.
At this moment, the Dark Phoenix family was confronted with an awkward situation. They had announced that they would seal themselves away for a hundred years, but the last layer of Dark Flames was not able to fully conceal them, which was rather humiliating. However, if they did not continue to seal themselves away, then they would be going back on their previous announcement.
This was a matter that the Dark Phoenix family had discussed for a long time.
On one particular day, just as Tanno Phoenix was about to continue the clan’s discussion once again, the final layer of Dark Flames began to distort.
They could never forget this scene, as this exact phenomenon had occurred on the day when the other fifteen layers of Dark Flames had vanished.
Tanno Phoenix and the others rushed to the edge of Darkflame Continent, and there they saw Lu Yin once again. This time, they were separated only by a single layer of Dark Flames.
An ineffable mixture of frustration, hatred, helplessness, and remorse whirled about in Tanno Phoenix’s heart. Finally, he snarled, “Lu Yin, what the hell are you trying to do?”
Lu Yin pursed his lips even as the Skyblaze Stone continued to absorb the final layer of the Dark Flames. Ku Wei stood beside him, and behind Ku Wei were the few Dark Phoenix family members who had been standing guard outside of the continent.
Since they were only separated by a single layer of Dark Flames, Lu Yin was able to see the hatred in their eyes, and he was actually a little embarrassed.
His current actions were no different from directly stealing from these people. No, he was not stealing, but pillaging.
Ku Wei moved forward. “His Highness saw that this continent was being burned by this Dark Flames, and he could not allow the citizens here to be in such agony. Thus, he came to rescue them. There’s no need to thank us.”
Upon hearing Ku Wei’s words, Lu Yin was amazed. This person was quite well spoken; he had indeed come here to rescue the ordinary people living on the Darkflame Continent who were suffering from the high temperature. He was doing a good deed.
Tanno Phoenix became so furious that his body trembled, and the other Dark Phoenix family experts who were present were similarly enraged. Quite a few of them even cursed Lu Yin under their breath. “Shameless, despicable, nasty.”
“This thief, how can he even say such words?”
“Only a fool would believe him.”
…
Lu Yin proudly raised his head and revealed a serene expression. “Patriarch Tanno, I heard that the Darkflame Continent is being roasted by these flames and that you guys have been suffering from a horribly high temperature. As the Outerverse Allied Forces’ Commander and the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, I, Lu Yin, cannot just let this go.”
Ku Wei loudly continued, saying, “Why are you all still not rushing to thank Alliance Leader Lu? Hurry up and prepare a banquet to welcome the Alliance Leader!”
Another round of curses emerged from the Dark Phoenix family, and they all charged towards Ku Wei. This person was the very definition of a henchman.
Lu Yin suddenly realized that this fellow had tremendous potential.
The wrath of all the Dark Phoenix family members had been diverted from Lu Yin to Ku Wei, as he was simply too infuriating.
“Alliance Leader Lu, please show mercy,” Tanno Phoenix hurriedly said, as he did not want the last Dark Flames layer to be absorbed by Lu Yin.
However, Lu Yin continued on as though he had not heard anything.
Ku Wei shouted, “There’s no need to be courteous. For your safety, Alliance Leader Lu will not rest until he’s completed his duties. Rest assured, all of this Dark Flames will be absorbed, and we will find a way to track down the person who released these flames and force the culprit to apologize to the entire Darkflame Continent.”
Tanno Phoenix was growing frantic now. “Alliance Leader Lu, this is my Dark Phoenix family’s Dark Flames! Please show mercy.”
Ku Wei shouted, “It’s alright, Patriarch Tanno. You’re being far too polite.”
“Alliance Leader…”
“Patriarch Tanno…”
Countless members of the Dark Phoenix family ground their teeth upon hearing Ku Wei’s words, and the hatred that they felt for him had already surpassed everything else.
Ku Wei completely ignored them, as they were just an Outerverse clan. They had even been chased out of the Innerverse, and just his title was enough to scare these people.
No matter how much Tanno Phoenix shouted, all of his efforts were disturbed by Ku Wei. Then, finally, the last layer of Dark Flames was absorbed into the Skyblaze Stone.
This layer of Dark Flames had been powerful, and Lu Yin felt a scorching sensation as he held the Skyblaze Stone.
He felt that, if he had not upgraded the Skyblaze Stone with his die, it was possible the fiery dragon might have already emerged.
When the Dark Flames completely vanished, Tanno Phoenix and the others all felt their hearts fall. The protection that their ancestor had arranged for them in the form of the Sixteen-Layered Dark Flames was completely gone now. Along with it disappeared their Dark Phoenix family’s ability to seal themselves away and the ability to defend themselves against any Envoy-level powerhouse.
In just a few short years, all three of the Outerverse’s powers that should not be provoked had been pulled down from their exalted position by Lu Yin. The Neo-Vestige Sect even belonged to him, as they had lost the protection of the Arrow Mountain Elder, rendering them no longer able to stand up to Lu Yin.
Millions City did not dare to offend Lu Yin either. No matter how wealthy the city was, since it was a mobile fortress, it fell under the command of the Outerverse Allied Forces’ Commander. As long as Lu Yin was willing, he could order Millions City to appear at any location in the Outerverse at any time. The only reason he would need to give was that a powerful foe might possibly invade from there.
Finally, the Dark Phoenix family had had its Sixteen-Layered Dark Flames completely absorbed by Lu Yin. That, coupled with the death of their ancestor, Yen Phoenix, meant that they had lost any and all ability to intimidate anyone in the Outerverse.
The three formerly glorious powers had fallen one by one, and the Great Eastern Alliance had stepped up to replace them.
The screen of protection had disappeared, and the Dark Phoenix family no longer was willing to provoke Lu Yin. They were not even able to act logically at this moment, and they could only helplessly follow Ku Wei’s suggestion and host a banquet to welcome Lu Yin.
Ku Wei was thrilled, as he loved to watch others who clearly wanted to take advantage of him and his people be forced to put on smiling faces and welcome them. This was a very refreshing feeling.
