At this moment, Lu Yin and everyone else were all insignificant ants.
Lu Yin had placed first in ZENITH, but he was still nothing more than an insect before this overwhelming power.
Wendy Yushan and others tightly grabbed onto the spaceship to keep it from collapsing.
After a while, the universe grew calm once again.
Everyone looked out of the vessel in shock, and Ku Wei gulped nervously. Highsage Grandmaster has to win. He has to! Otherwise, everything’s over.
Space outside the ship had fallen completely silent, but all of the nearby stars had shattered into blackholes. It was an incredible scene to witness.
Lu Yin was panting heavily. His pupils transformed into runes as he scanned the area.
“So you’re not afraid of going blind.” A voice spoke up from behind everyone, startling Ku Wei so badly that he almost had a heart attack.
Lu Yin whirled around, only to see that it was Highsage Grandmaster. Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief and then quickly asked, “Senior Highsage Grandmaster, where is Shaman God?”
Highsage Grandmaster straightened out his clothes. “He left. That old monster is quite a difficult opponent.”
Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief.
Everyone else did the same.
“Senior Grandmaster is incredibly powerful! Invincible in the universe!” Ku Wei reflexively started flattering the old man. It had become an instinct for him by this point.
Lu Yin bowed to the old man. “Thank you, Senior Grandmaster, for your help.”
Lu Yin had been truly desperate when Shaman God’s doll appeared.
Highsage Grandmaster just waved a hand. “You’re welcome. I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before.”
Lu Yin grew curious. “You’ve already seen this before?”
Highsage Grandmaster did not say much in response, and instead warned Lu Yin. “You’re not the only one to be targeted. All of the other kids who entered the top ten are also being attacked by the Neohuman Alliance. It’s impossible for them to leave you alone since you’ve won this opportunity, so this old man will be staying nearby to protect you for a while.”
Hearing Highsage Grandmaster’s words filled Lu Yin with relief. With this ancient powerhouse present, Lu Yin had no reason to be afraid of Shaman God.
So, was everyone else being attacked too? It appeared that the opportunity that they had won was truly precious, as it was even enough to make the Neohuman Alliance afraid.
For the Neohuman Alliance to be so scared as to send out the Seven Skygods and for the Hall of Honor to use people like Highsage Grandmaster as bodyguards, it seemed that the rumors had been accurate this time. The opportunity awarded to ZENITH’s top ten was indeed related to the Progenitor realm.
Nobody from the Fifth Mainland had become a Progenitor ever since the ancient war with the Sixth Mainland. The Hall of Honor was desperate to gain a Progenitor, as such a powerhouse was their only hope of surviving.
Just as Highsage Grandmaster had said, when Shaman God had attacked Lu Yin, the other top ten members were also being attacked.
In the sky above the Cosmic Sea, a corpse king stood with a foot in two different regions of the sea, but the water of the Cosmic Sea did not even reach the creature’s knees. Every time it moved, the entire Cosmic Sea churned.
The Cosmic Sea was home to numerous bizarre weather patterns, and there were also four great pirate crews. However, none of that could pose any threat to this corpse king as it was one of the Seven Skygods.
Across from Corpse God stood Qinmei Mavis with Yuhua Mavis behind her. Qinmei Mavis’s face was pale. She had not expected to encounter one of the Seven Skygods on their way back to the Neoverse. This corpse king was not something that she could challenge. She could not even look up at the creature.
Corpse God raised a hand and reached out for Yuhua Mavis, his scarlet eyes like two dark red suns as his hand overshadowed the sky of the Cosmic Sea.
“Corpse God, stop!” There was a stern shout as the entire region turned green. A massive pair of eyes looked back at Corpse God’s scarlet eyes, causing the dark red and green colors to compete for dominance.
Qinmei Mavis and others were delighted and surprised. “Elder Lingzhi.”
“Little girl, in that year, I didn’t kill. Now, you’re strong. Come stop me, try,” Corpse God haltingly said. He spoke in the same broken and confusing manner as all corpse kings.
Lingzhi Mavis was the oldest of the Mavis family’s elite powerhouses, and she was even one of the Fifth Mainland’s seven Semi-Progenitors. However, she still looked like a young woman.
“Old freak, why don’t you all just die?” Lingzhi Mavis fiercely shouted back. Everyone in the Mavis family was the same; no matter how gentle they might outwardly appear to be, every last one of them was hot-blooded.
Boom!
The Cosmic Sea roared, and shockwaves overturned the sea.
In the distance, the battleships belonging to Leon’s Armada swayed and almost capsized due to the surging waves.
Even Highsage Leon himself was helpless at this time. They had just returned from the Innerverse, and they had not even settled in yet when this fight had suddenly broken out. There was no place for Highsage Leon in this fight, and he did not dare to get himself involved.
When a true top powerhouse appeared, even the four pirate crews were useless.
In the Neoverse, the group from the Cosmic Sect was also attacked, and another one of the Seven Skygods targeted them: Undying God. Fortunately, the Cosmic Sect also had one of the Fifth Mainland’s seven Semi-Progenitors among their elders, and that elder managed to save Qiu Shi.
The Hall of Honor had actually expected the Seven Skygods to focus their attacks on the Fifth Mainland’s youths who had entered ZENITH’s top ten, but they had guessed incorrectly.
The Hall of Honor soon received a message that shocked them all: one of the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Three Skies, Bu Kong, had died.
This news shocked both the Sixth and Fifth Mainlands.
Bu Kong had been one of the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Three Skies, and thus, he had naturally been well protected as the disciple of one of the Sixth Mainland’s Three Progenitors, the Progenitor of Secret Arts. Despite that, the Neohuman Alliance had still managed to kill Bu Kong.
The Hall of Honor could only imagine the Progenitor of Secret Arts’ rage at this moment.
No one had expected the Neohuman Alliance’s Seven Skygods to attack anyone from the Sixth Mainland. After all, the Neohuman Alliance had even cooperated with the Sixth Mainland in the past.
The Progenitor of Secret Arts had clearly not considered such a possibility occurring, and so, Bu Kong had tragically died.
When Lu Yin heard this news, he fell silent.
No matter if Bu Kong had been a friend or foe, it was a fact that Bu Kong had been one of the most talented humans in the entire universe. He had mastered numerous secret techniques and even comprehended a sourcebox array. It would be difficult to imagine what heights he would have reached in the future, but he had died here.
However, although Lu Yin felt a bit sad at hearing Bu Kong’s passing, he did not feel much regret.
Despite his own nonchalance, Lu Yin could imagine the anger of the Progenitor of Secret Arts.
“Not only was Bu Kong killed, but Wu Taibai was also attacked and seriously injured. It’s unknown if Wang Yi is dead or alive,” Highsage Grandmaster continued in a rather despondent tone.
Lu Yin frowned. “So the Neohuman Alliance deliberately sent the Seven Skygods to attack us first in order to lower the Sixth Mainland’s vigilance. Their real target was always the Sixth Mainland.”
Highsage Grandmaster shook his head. “Their true target is all of humanity, not a particular mainland. After all these years, we have grasped a good understanding of the Neohuman Alliance. We already knew that they would target you and Qiu Shi, but neither of those attacks were likely to succeed, as a few of us old ones would definitely be protecting you. Given the situation, they were only able to focus on the Sixth Mainland.”
“So they’ll just pick us off one by one, huh?” Lu Yin asked.
Highsage Grandmaster nodded, but he stared off into space with a complicated expression. “Only by joining forces can you have any real hope, and that hope lessens with every death. Fortunately, there are many talented youths in your generation, and even if Bu Kong has been lost, the Sixth Mainland can replace him with Zhi Yi.”
“What about Wang Yi?” Lu Yin asked.
Highsage Grandmaster shook his head. “I don’t know if he’s dead or not. If he can’t make it to the Neoverse by the appointed time, then he can only be replaced.”
After Lu Yin heard this explanation, he suddenly looked over at Highsage Grandmaster. This was not good. If both he and Highsage Grandmaster could think of such possibilities, then how could it have not occurred to the Neohuman Alliance?
The current younger generation was shining too brightly, and it had caused the Hall of Honor to ignore the possibility that other people would also be attacked. It had to be admitted that, while Yōu Qi, Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light, and Starsibyl had not qualified to enter ZENITH’s top ten, they had not lost by much. All of them were fully qualified to replace Wang Yi or any of the others in this opportunity to compete to change their destiny.
The Neohuman Alliance might have already made a move.
However, the situation regarding the others had little to do with Lu Yin, and he did not have the luxury to worry about others.
Before long, another call came through, and Lu Yin immediately accepted. An absolutely stunning woman appeared on his screen. She was Fei Liu, the captain of one of the seven crews under Leon’s Armada. Lu Yin had met this captain once before, and he had been told to call her Sister Fei.
“Little Lu, I still can’t find out who was behind that bookkeeper,” Sister Fei said.
Lu Yin’s heart fell. “How much of the payout was left behind?”
“I got there in time to find almost 360 million star essence still there,” Sister Fei said.
After ZENITH started, Lu Yin had called Leon’s Armada and asked Highsage Leon to send someone to find the largest bookkeeper for him to place his bets. He had specifically gone through Leon’s Armada, as he had been afraid that the bookkeeper would take off without paying if Lu Yin won his bet.
His worries had proven true, and Leon’s Armada had moved quickly. They had located the bookkeeper during ZENITH, and Sister Fei had personally kept an eye on them.
However, they had still been one step behind. The bookkeeper had already transferred the majority of the funds, and if Sister Fei had not acted as quickly as she had, then not even 300 million star essence would have been left over.
“Sister Fei, can you really not find out who’s behind that bookkeeper?” Lu Yin was not willing to accept this loss. He had bet 100 million star essence on himself at ten to one odds, which meant that he should have won a billion star essence. However, all he had ended up with was 300 million left. On top of that, he could not even claim the entire 300 million, as Leon’s Armada had been the one to locate the money, which meant that they were entitled to at least half and likely more.
There were still many accounts to settle. Besides that, Leon’s Armada was a band of pirates, and Highsage Leon himself was the Pirate King.
Sister Fei rolled her eyes. “I want to find them even more than you. Do you think that you’re the only one who placed bets with them? A lot of people have lost their money.”
Lu Yin frowned. The reason why this bookkeeper had been regarded as the largest and most trustworthy was that the gambling funds had been directly deposited into the Mavis Bank, and a full one billion star essence had been borrowed from the Mavis Bank.
This billion star essence had been what the bookkeeper had used as a guarantee to reassure people into placing bets. As long as anyone had proof of their bet and winnings, they would be able to collect their winnings straight from the Mavis Bank itself. It was very simple.
Since the betting had been done in such an open manner, there was essentially no risk of reneging. However, nobody had expected Lu Yin to bet so much and even win. He had actually won a billion star essence! Thus, the loan was only enough to pay just him back, and there were many others who also needed to be paid. The bookkeeper had taken a terrible loss, and they had naturally not been willing to accept it.
Without Lu Yin’s wager, the billion star essence would have been more than plenty to pay off all of the other winners. Even after paying off the interest on the Mavis Bank loan, the bookkeeper would have been sitting on a few hundred million or more in profit without any issue.
But Lu Yin had won.
The people behind the bookkeeper had simply fled. As for the billion star essence held by the Mavis Bank, no one was able to touch it without proof of their wagers from the bookkeeper. The bookkeeper had to pay the bank yearly interest on the loan, but the wagers that they had collected were enough to pay the interest fees for countless years.
The unlucky ones were those who had placed bets and won, as all of their money was gone without their initial bet being paid back. More importantly, no one knew who was behind the bookkeeper.
Lu Yin called Lulu Mavis, hoping to use his relationship with her to get access to some of the Mavis Bank’s internal records, but he was quickly told that that was impossible. The Mavis Bank had to maintain their clients’ confidentiality no matter what. Besides, the Mavis Bank had not suffered a loss in this situation, as they would still collect annual interest on that billion star essence loan, which was a substantial amount of money.
Having to eat the loss of hundreds of millions of star essence, Lu Yin felt frustrated to the point where he wanted to vomit blood.
All the money that Lu Yin had earned over these many years could not amount to what he had lost in this incident. No—he had to find out who had stolen from him. No matter what it took, he would get his billion star essence back, even if he had to take it from the Mavis Bank itself. Lu Yin would not accept anything less.
