As far as most people were concerned, the fact that Lu Yin had essentially prepared a dowry for someone else by uniting the Outerverse was something that was both ridiculous and pathetic.
In the Mordo Weave, at the Neo-Vestige Sect, Gong Ling incredulously stared at his gadget. This news was absolutely shocking.
“Sect Master, could this be fake? Could Tian Shao by trying to trick us into attending his meeting?” Gong Chou asked.
Gong Ling shook his head. “This can’t be fake. He wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.”
Gong Chou’s face grew ugly. “If really is true, then where will our Neo-Vestige Sect go? There will be no place for us in the Outerverse, and we cannot easily enter the Innerverse either. No matter where we go, we will be suppressed and dominated by others.”
Gong Ling softly replied, “We will go to the alliance meeting. I would like to see what this young master has prepared in order to coerce into joining this alliance and to resolve this matter.”
Gong Chou nodded. “Yes.”
Gong Ling looked back at the announcement, and he thought of Lu Yin. Lu Yin had managed to climb to the top from the very bottom, step by step. He had worked hard and survived through numerous life and death hardships, but he had never been able to defeat the Outerverse with a simple message. This was the power of those from the Neoverse, the core of the entire Human Domain. Even if Lu Yin had become the master of the Outerverse, so what? He had still been captured like that.
The incident with Lu Yin solidified Gong Ling’s fear of the Neoverse, and he realized that ordinary people could not even enter that place.
The news that Tian Shao publicized shook the entire Outerverse, and every single power began deliberating, only to ultimately decide to attend the meeting. This was true of even Millions City, the Dark Phoenix Clan, the people from the Sea King’s Dome, and the Lan family.
The Starfall Sea still had not recovered from the Sixth Mainland’s invasion, and as a result, many of their forces had decided to stay in the Outerverse for a period of time as instructed by the Hall of Honor. But in truth, the Starfall Sea was already gone; the black hole that had ravaged the area had created a barrier starting from the Neoverse, going across the Cosmic Sea, and through the Innerverse. Half of the Starfall Sea had originally been connected to the Sixth Mainland, so it had been sundered apart when the barrier appeared. Otherwise, there would have still been a bridge to the Sixth Mainland.
They were destined to remain in the Outerverse.
Upon seeing the replies from the Outerverse’s major powers, the corners of Tian Shao’s mouth curled up. “They’re actually choosing to take the difficult way out. That’s fine. Simply giving them a promise will allow my time here to pass smoothly. Whether or not these locals live or die has nothing to do with me. Once we’re done here, please invite the Azure Mansion over. It’s time for me to taste the Flower Queen.”
Behind him, Monster Chi adopted a respectful appearance. The power and information that Tian Shao possessed was not something that could be compared to the resources of the Innerverse or Outerverse—no one in the Innerverse had even been aware that the Outerverse had been ceded to the Sixth Mainland. This showed the sheer difference in the level of information that they had access to.
However, the Innerverse would soon receive the news as well, and the shock that would ripple through the region at that time would be no less than what the Outerverse was currently experiencing. The Blaze Realm would also need to find some way to retreat as soon as possible. After all, once the Outerverse was taken over by the Sixth Mainland, the Blaze Realm would be the closest Innerverse power to that foreign power.
Upon thinking of the border war between the Outerverse and the Sixth Mainland and the Sixth Mainland’s invasion of the Innerverse, Monster Chi felt a chill run down his spine. When it came to facing the Sixth Mainland, the Blaze Realm was merely an ant that could be swatted to death at a whim.
They had to find a way out of this dilemma, and clinging to Tian Shao was one possible shortcut.
…
Elsewhere, Mu En led Lei Nü, Shu Jing, and Lu Yin out of the Neoverse’s southern region, which was where the Seven Courts were located. They followed along the soil road and soon entered the Honor Zone.
Back when he had first entered the Neoverse, Lu Yin had been very curious about the Honor Zone. Just how on earth could such a large landmass exist in the universe? This piece of land covered nearly half of the Neoverse, but it was apparently just a relatively well-preserved fragment of the original Fifth Mainland.
Lu Yin could only imagine the full size of the Honor Zone.
Within a eonlight-grade Aurora, Lu Yin watched as the stars flew past them outside. Lu Yin could not actually see the stars, as everything was a light show due to the speed at which they were traveling. The vessel trembled slightly and then a light appeared in front of them. They had arrived at the Honor Zone.
Lu Yin could not describe his feelings at this moment, but it came with a realization of just how small people truly were.
The Honor Zone was a giant landmass, but it was impossible to see its end.
The moment they entered the Honor Zone, Lu Yin’s body sank down, as the gravity in this place greatly exceeded that of the outside world. Additionally, the space in this place was also different.
Lu Yin raised a hand and unleashed an attack with a power level that surpassed 200,000, attempting to tear through space, but it felt impossible.
When Shu Jing saw Lu Yin’s action, he commented, “The Honor Zone is the most well-preserved portion of the original Fifth Mainland, and it has the same spatial stability as the original Fifth Mainland. Thus, it’s quite difficult to tear through the void here, unless you’re capable of unleashing attacks whose power levels exceed 300,000.”
Lu Yin instantly understood. There were many places with different levels of spatial stability, especially in places where people were afraid of enemies teleporting in by traveling through the void. Within the Honor Zone, attack had to have a power level of at least 300,000 to tear space, and Lu Yin believed that if someone wanted to tear through the void to enter the Honor Zone, then they would have to be a powerhouse above the Envoy realm or at least an Envoy with special methods.
Inexplicably, he felt chills, as though he was being observed by an expert he could not escape from. Lu Yin moved over to a window and looked out into the sky. There, he observed unconcealed rune lines that represented exceptional strength shooting straight up into the sky in all four directions.
Lu Yin realized that they must be passing through a portal at that moment, and he could imagine that there were powerhouses protecting every corner of the Honor Zone. And since their perception covered such an enormous area, they had to be super powerhouses.
Lu Yin had expected the Honor Zone to be very prosperous or at least highly populated. However, upon arriving, he was greeted by a bleak and desolate land that was so vast that he could not see its end.
There was a dark, boundless starry sky up above them, and from time to time, huge creatures would fly by, stirring up hurricanes in their paths.
Lu Yin saw all kinds of rune lines appear around him. These rune lines came from not only people, but also from the various creatures around them.
They heard a low roar as they were exiting the ship. Mu En left first while Lu Yin, Lei Nü, and Shu Jing all followed behind him and saw a huge creature off in the distance. It was tens of thousands of meters long, and each step it took sent shockwaves flying through the air and ground, shattering the land beneath it.
Lu Yin was amazed. This creature was shaped like a cow, but it was covered in a thick layer of wool, and it had curved horns on either side of its head that linked up to create the outline of a heart. Although the creature’s rune lines were enough to match up to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000, the beast looked quite docile, which made for a bizarre juxtaposition given the beast’s powerful and massive size.
However, the beast’s size alone warranted its number of rune lines.
“That’s an ancient cniu, and they are used for transportation within the Honor Zone because the space here is too stable, resulting in many unpredictable changes. It is not suitable to travel in a spacecraft here as it is too easy to suffer an accident. Thus, these ancient cniu are our best forms of transportation, as they are fast, have a robust defense, and can even give ample warning before powerful foes arrive. Although it looks powerful, they have no offensive prowess and can only passively defend,” explained Shu Jing.
Lu Yin looked at the cniu that approached them step by step; was this thing running along?
Mu En looked at Lu Yin. “Let’s go to the Hall of Honor.”
Lu Yin nodded and took a deep breath. He was finally going to visit the seat of power that sat atop the entire Human Domain. This was the gathering place of the most powerful force in the entire domain, and it was also the base for the Hall of Honor’s enforcers and even the Lockbreaker Society. This was the core of the Human Domain.
The cniu was very docile, and it allowed Mu En and the four youths to climb on top of its wide back. After all, it was tens of thousands of meters long, and a luxurious estate had been built on its back.
While the four youths entered the residence, the cniu let out a low hiss before turning to face in a different direction and stepping forward. Lu Yin merely felt the scenery around him shift before he suddenly realized that they were no longer in the same place.
He froze; this was too fast! Starry mountains had appeared on either side, but they disappeared as fast as they had appeared, being replaced by an endless sea. A low roar echoed outside, but the sea had already disappeared.
It had crossed the sea with one step.
Mu En looked at Lu Yin and revealed a faint smile. “How is it? This is the Honor Zone, and this is your first time here, correct?”
Lu Yin nodded and said, “It’s different from what I had imagined.”
Mu En felt curious. “How so?”
Lu Yin replied, “I thought that there would be many people living here in large cities or floating planets. However, it really is just a vast landmass that’s actually desolate in nature.”
Mu En laughed. “Desolate? That’s simply because this landmass is far too vast. An ordinary person would not be able to climb to the peak of even a single mountain after a lifetime. An Explorer would struggle to travel from one mountain to the next, and a Hunter would face similar difficulties trying to cross a single sea. Did you ever consider that the various planets in outer space might have been torn from this landmass?”
This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard such a theory, and he instinctively wanted to deny it. After all, outer space was impossibly vast, and even if this landmass was bigger, it should still be impossible for fragments of it to form all of the various planets. However, after considering the matter, Lu Yin remained silent.
No one knew how the universe had been formed, and although there were various theories, the existence of cultivation civilizations, technological civilizations, and others had disproven justas many various theories. Could Mu En have just shared the Hall of Honor’s own speculations?
“As for you saying that this place is devoid of people, that’s merely because you cannot see them,” Mu En added on.
Lu Yin felt confused. “Can’t see them? Is that because we’re traveling too fast?”
Mu En shook his head. “I can’t tell you, but I’ll point it out to you when I see it.”
“Thank you, Lord Commissioner.” Lu Yin felt grateful.
Mu En asked with evident emotion in his voice, “Do you carry any resentment in your heart?.”
Lu Yin felt stunned, and he gave Mu En a serious look. “No.”
Mu En and Lu Yin looked at each other for a moment, and the Judicial Commissioner’s smile faded. “If you were someone else, that might be impossible. But you, you have experienced far too much, and you understand the cruelty of survival in this universe. Although you do not bear any resentment, I still want to say a few words to you.” After a pause, Mu En continued, saying, “The Cosmic Five were originally conceived as a ploy, and the survival of the Fifth Mainland hinged upon the success of this scheme. Shattering the Mountain and Seas Zone was something that the Neohuman Alliance could never have imagined we would be willing to do no matter the situation. And in a plot like this, everyone is a mere pawn, both you and us ourselves.”
“The Mountain and Seas Zone exploded?” Lu Yin exclaimed in disbelief.
Mu En was bewildered. “You didn’t know?”
Lu Yin shook his head. “This junior was in Aeternus Nation and never heard any news.”
Mu En nodded. “So that’s how it is.”
He then spoke some more, sharing selective bits of information to share with Lu Yin, though Mu En’s knowledge was also limited. Still, Lu Yin learned a great deal, and he also learned something else: when it came to the Neohuman Alliance, the Sixth Mainland had been horribly unlucky.
Lu Yin took a long time to digest what he had learned. It was no wonder why Mu En had said that the entire thing had been a ploy.
During the Sixth Mainland’s invasion, when Lu Yin had been in the Technocracy, he had seen hints that the Fifth Mainland had been plotting something monumental. However, the plan that he had just been told about had been in the making for far too long.
Without even considering the Neohuman Alliance, just the revelation that the Cosmic Five had been mere bait and that the Astral Tower had all been a scheme explained why the golden screen had whisked Shang Qing and the others away. Even if the entire thing had been a massive deception, the Hall of Honor would never be willing to sacrifice one of the most talented generations. It had merely been Lu Yin’s bad luck that he had not been on the golden screen when everyone else had been taken away.
