Lu Yin’s eyes went wide. The Fourteenth Gate? What was that?
Lu Yin knew Humility’s Gate had nine bases in the Middle Realm, and four in the Higher Realm, which meant there were thirteen Gates. However, there was also a fourteenth Gate, which was rather mysterious. The Fourteenth Gate did not have a defined location, but instead the members of this base were given jurisdiction over the entire Perennial World. This group alone caught as many traitors and Redbacks as the other thirteen Gates combined. The Fourteenth Gate consisted of Humility’s Gate’s most elite and secretive forces.
Lu Yin had not even considered that he might be transferred over to the Fourteenth Gate.
Joining the Fourteenth Gate meant that difficult assignments would be given. For starters, the bare minimum required of each person in the Fourteenth Gate was to arrest ten traitors a year. There were rumors that the Fourteenth Gate was responsible for more than 10,000 arrests every year, but no one knew if that was true or not.
Still, while more was expected from members of the Fourteenth Gate, they were also given incredible authority. They had the authorization to arrest and interrogate anyone in any part of the Perennial World. They were given this authority by the Commander of Humility’s Gate, who had also founded the organization and was regarded as their patriarch.
Joining the Fourteenth Gate meant receiving the protection of the Progenitor who supported the entire Humility’s Gate. Lu Yin would never need to worry about the Celestial Frost Sect’s scheming.
Lu Yin had not expected to be transferred to the Fourteenth Gate. Apparently his true identity was completely safe.
As Lu Yin was thinking about this development, his communication crystals vibrated again. He glanced at it and swallowed hard; Long Xi was calling.
He questioned for a moment whether or not to answer. This was a dilemma.
His communication crystals vibrated for a long time, and it was clear that Long Xi was not taking no for an answer.
Lu Yin felt as though he could already see Long Xi’s angry face through the vibrating communication crystals. No, he could not answer. Absolutely not. The woman was already furious.
He removed his communication crystals and threw it aside and let it continue vibrating.
The entire night passed, and the stone did not vibrate continuously, but there were frequent attempts to reach Lu Yin. The next morning, Lu Yin felt that Long Xi’s anger should have burned low, so when the communication crystals vibrated next, he answered.
Long Xi’s image appeared.
Lu Yin stared and blinked at the image. The woman appeared to be quite calm.
Long Xi quietly stared at Lu Yin. “What else haven’t you told me?”
Lu Yin felt confused. “What are you talking about?”
Long Xi carefully chose each word, “When I asked you how you managed to arrest the traitors in Yinshan City, you stayed quiet about the bet you had already made with the Guan brothers. When I asked you about that bet, you kept quiet about speaking with Humility’s Gate’s Middle Realm Supervisor. Now, I’m asking you about what you said to him, and I’m also asking if there’s anything else you’ve been hiding from me?”
Lu Yin swallowed. “It’s really not like that. I wasn’t trying to hide this from you, but I just haven’t had a chance to say anything yet.”
“Tell me!” Long Xi shouted as she stared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin coughed. “Well, I got transferred over to Humility’s Gate’s Fourteenth Gate, and was also ordered to immediately go see the Sword Monument. Apparently my reward for what I just did is to observe the Sword Monument.”
Long Xi closed her eyes in frustration. It was true, Long Qi really had been sent to the Fourteenth Gate. Long Tian had already told Long Xi about this, but she had not believed it to be true.
While it was true that Long Qi would be protected while in the Fourteenth Gate, it was not a mountain resort where people were sent to be kept safe out of sight. How had Lu Yin arrested the traitors, and how had he found out about the Guan brothers all being Redbacks? All of this information had come from an unknown source, and once that source disappeared, how would Long Qi be able to complete the tasks he would be given by the Fourteenth Gate? At best, he would be kicked out and treated as a joke.
However, that was the least of the problems. While the Fourteenth Gate protected its people, such protection came at a price, and the price was steep. Everyone who joined the Fourteenth Gate was known by their true name, and naturally they were constantly watched by countless people. Making a mistake when part of the Fourteenth Gate was not a small matter.
Long Xi’s heart kept sinking further and further. From the moment she had first heard that Long Qi had joined the Fourteenth Gate, the best ending she could imagine was seeing him kicked out and being treated as a joke, which would reflect upon the White Dragon Clan, and the entire clan would be humiliated. This was even the best outcome she could imagine.
“Do you know about the Sword Monument?” Long Xi had nothing else to say. She greatly regretted sending Long Qi to the Yinshan Mountains. She should have kept him locked away in White Mountain where he could not go anywhere, but it was already too late. She had realized her mistake too late, and everything that Lu Yin had accomplished had come from that unknown source of information. Just who was behind everything?
Lu Yin shook his head and replied honestly, “All I know is what Elder Long Kui told the two of us, so I don’t know any details.”
When Long Xi and Lu Yin had been returning from the Lower Realm, they had seen Zhang Dingtian, and at that time, Elder Long Kui had mentioned the sword monument and the legendary ancient Progenitor, Wu Tian.
Long Xi looked at Lu Yin. “There’s no need to worry much about those legends, as there’s no evidence to support them. All you need to know about the Sword Monument is that everyone who faces it has a chance of receiving some sort of inheritance, but that’s merely theoretical. The Liu family has protected the monument for countless years, and yet only a few of their descendants have ever managed to gain anything from the monument. Still, simply due to the sheer number of people who observe the Sword Monument, the number of successes adds up.
“There aren’t that many people who are allowed to study the Sword Monument. Even the four ruling powers don’t have many youths who are allowed to study the monument, as a price has to be paid for each person given permission. One of the privileges enjoyed by members of the Fourteenth Gate is to be able to study the Sword Monument. This is something that Humility’s Gate’s governor agreed to with the Liu family, and this is also one of the reasons that many people try to join the Fourteenth Gate.
“This is a great opportunity for you, and while it’s best if you manage to get something from your time there, don’t get upset if you leave with nothing.”
“Have you gone?” Lu Yin asked.
Long Xi’s brows rose. “Not yet.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed; not yet? So that meant that Long Xi was able to go, but simply had not done so yet. Long Tian had been willing to help Lu Yin because it meant that Long Xi would join the Junior Progenitor in the Dominion Realm. That meant that Long Tian also was hoping for Long Xi to increase her own strength, and the Sword Monument might have been one of the means he had provided.
“The Liu family doesn’t have much respect for the four ruling powers, and is even a bit hostile towards us, so I’ve asked Elder Long Kui to accompany you to the Sword Monument. After you study the Sword Monument, leave immediately. I’ll find a way for you to get into the Higher Realm and to the peak of Dragon Mountain. Until then, try not to go anywhere, even if the Fourteenth Gate gives you a mission. Make sure you run everything by Elder Long Kui, understand?” Long Xi solemnly cautioned Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded. “I got it.”
He showed his most honest face.
The more Long Xi saw this expression on Long Qi’s face, the more anxious she became. The moment she hung up with Long Qi, Long Xi immediately called Elder Long Kui and begged him to get to the Yinshan Mountains as soon as possible. She was afraid of Lu Yin acting up once again.
…
The clouds in the sky shot by. Lu Yin was sitting on Gui’s back behind Elder Long Kui.
The elder had arrived in the Yinshan District two days before, and had collected Lu Yin without saying a single word. Zhuo Si seemed to already know something about the situation and had not said much.
Lu Yin had only been in the Yinshan Mountains for two months, and yet the entire place had been turned upside down during that time. Mo Gaohe had been expelled from Humility’s Gate, and the fatty had returned to the Wang family.
While it appeared from the outside like Lu Yin had been the one to gain the most from this time, he was actually the most nervous out of everyone.
Elder Long Kui appeared to be calm, and he escorted Lu Yin in a certain direction.
Two days passed with Lu Yin not having the courage to speak a single word to the Envoy.
Previously, Lu Yin had made the journey from White Mountain to the Bifrost, and had passed over a great deal of the Middle Realm, but had not paid attention to it, as they had been traveling too quickly. However, this time he was heading towards the Sword Monument, and they were moving much slower than before, so Lu Yin was able to look around as they flew through the sky. In many regions of the Middle Realm, he saw a great number of wars being fought.
There would be conflict anywhere there were people, and so war was very common. However, the number of wars in this part of the Middle Realm in the Perennial World was far more than the number of interstellar wars Lu Yin had observed in the Fifth Mainland.
The Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse had only a few Enlighters, and they averaged less than one per weave. The Innerverse had only a few experts with power levels that exceeded 300,000, and even in the Neoverse, there were not many cultivators with power levels of more than 400,000. It was incomparable to this universe.
In the Middle Realm, almost every war that Lu Yin observed had Enlighters taking part, and many of them had power levels of 300 to 400,000. Fortunately, space in this universe was very stable, and not even Lu Yin was able to tear through the void. If space were any more fragile, this entire place would have long been destroyed.
Many wars paused when Gui passed by, and the mount’s passing drew the attention of several powerful experts who were Envoys, and each one of them left Lu Yin’s scalp numb.
Gui suddenly stopped his flight and looked off into the distance; his two heads pushed against each other, and the creature seemed rather cautious.
Elder Long Kui still looked calm as he stared at a certain empty place in the sky.
Lu Yin felt that something was not quite right. After a moment’s thought, he pulled out his upgraded gemspring water and put a drop in his eyes. His vision expanded, and the universe that he saw changed. He peered into another place, and in the dim void, he saw countless microscopic creatures, as well as a man looking over from far away with fierce eyes.
The man was shocked the moment he looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin quickly bowed his head. This man was an Envoy, and he was standing in the true universe, which was where Envoy’s fought.
The man emerged from the void and stared at Gui, Long Kui, and Lu Yin.
Long Kui calmly observed the man. “Get out of our way.”
Gui roared out a warning in time with Long Kui’s order.
The man’s expression slightly changed, and he quickly moved to the side. He had only just broken through to the Envoy realm, so there was no way that he would dare pick a fight with Long Kui. The man had no chance of victory.
It did not take any thought to know that someone had to have a powerful background in order to be able to use a mount with the strength of an Envoy.
Long Kui did not care about the man. Gui roared at the Envoy once more before quickly and arrogantly continuing on his way.
The man continued to stare at Lu Yin in shock. How could a mere Hunter have observed an Envoy when they were in the true universe? Could it have been some trick?
Just as Gui was passing by the Envoy, Long Kui suddenly turned his head to look at a certain point in the sky. The Envoy they were passing also stopped and turned to look at the same point in the sky as Long Kui.
Lu Yin whirled around to look as well.
There was a strange pattern in the sky, and the Envoy looked shocked the moment he saw that pattern. “No! I don’t want to go to the Star Alliance! I won’t go!”
Even as he spoke, he stepped forward and disappeared into the void.
The gemspring water could improve Lu Yin’s sight for only a minute, and so it was still active. Lu Yin was able to see the man flee into the true universe, and also see a massive hand reach down into the void and drag the man into the pattern in the sky. Instantly, the pattern disappeared.
Lu Yin was stunned, What the hell?
“Let’s go,” Long Kui casually said. Gui continued on his way and fled into the distance at a speed that was incomparable to his early speed. It seemed the beast was afraid.
Lu Yin felt intrigued. “Elder, what was that person talking about? The Star Alliance? What is that?”
This was something that he had not found any mention of when reviewing Guan Yun’s memories, but Guan Yun had lived for many years, and his memories were like an ocean to Lu Yin’s perception. He had only been able to review a very small portion of the memories, and it would have been impossible to have learned anything at all about Red Orchard City without being able to filter through the memories of those Lu Yin Possessed.
