The biggest difference between Lu Yin and the Guan brothers was that Lu Yin had no fear of stirring up trouble. The more chaotic the better. If he was being treated as a bait he should have the resolve of being a bait. Even if things went south, he believed that Qing Chen would clean up the mess behind him. If they couldn’t be resolved, all the better. He would seek an opportunity to be absolved from this role.The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more resolved he became.
“So? Are we going?” Wang Dashuai looked like he was suppressing an even greater sense of anticipation than Lu Yin.
Lu Yin said, “We just need to wait for one more person.”
“Who?”
Lu Yin looked up. “Her.”
The fatty looked up to see Xia Taili slowly making her way towards them with a smile on her lips. The fatty was taken aback. “Her? Why’s she here?”
Lu Yin was also feeling uncomfortable, as he had not expected Xia Taili to actually accept his request. She was someone who had been left with nothing to do but wait on the Junior Progenitor Planet for Xia Shenfei, so she certainly had the time to go to Huaiyuan Gate.
“Brother-in-law, you still remembered your relatives after climbing higher, and you didn’t forget your little sister. Thank you.” Xia Taili smiled at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin smiled back. “I didn’t expect you to actually come.”
Xia Taili smiled happily. “Of course! I was free, and I’ve always been quite interested in Humility’s Gate. Also, brother-in-law just became the Gate Master here, which is fascinating. What’s wrong? Do you not have any targets to arrest? You can always just arrest someone first and then interrogate them later.”
Lu Yin saw Xia Taili’s eyes glowing with excitement, and his own eyes flickered. “That’s true. Come with me.”
Xia Taili’s eyes lit up even brighter. “Really? Alright, let’s go! Don’t even think about letting the target escape.”
The fatty stayed right on Lu Yin’s heels.
Liu Tianmu and Shang Qing were also nearby, and they similarly moved to follow after Lu Yin.
Cai Shu watched as the group of youths all left the headquarters. They were headed towards the Cloud Shuttle, so the Envoy quickly followed after them. As he looked up at the Mother Tree, he remembered his master’s comment about a terrible darkness that hid in Huaiyuan; just what was this darkness?
Huaiyuan’s unique location meant that it completely surrounded the Cloud Shuttle, sitting directly beneath the entrance to the Mother Tree’s Higher Realm.
No matter who they were, if they wished to use the Cloud Shuttle to enter the Higher Realm, they had to travel to Huaiyuan. This also meant that Huaiyuan Gate had the authority to arrest and interrogate anyone passing through, which was the number one reason why the Smokecloud Sect always donated to Humility’s Gate every year.
The Cloud Continent was a landmass formed from a strange smoke. Occasionally, a bit of the smoke would break free and drift up to the Higher Realm. There were thousands of these rising clouds at any given moment, and each one could carry anywhere from dozens of people to hundreds.
Countless people were lined up beneath this Cloud Shuttle, each of them waiting to board a drifting cloud and ascend to the Higher Realm. In addition, there were far, far more doing their best to submit an application so that they could also ascend.
Although the four ruling powers were based in the Higher Realm, that did not mean that they were the only forces in that place. There were numerous cities that needed servants to carry out tasks along with mysterious mountains and unfathomable oceans. People had an instinctive desire to explore, and the four ruling powers occupied less than half of the Higher Realm, and other people lived in the rest of the realm.
Also, there were many people who wanted to join one of the four ruling powers or learn from them.
As far as the people of the Middle Realm were concerned, reaching the Higher Realm was a glorious achievement in and of itself. They were willing to pay a steep price, and that was an important source of the Smokecloud Sect’s income.
Lu Yin and his party moved closer and closer to the Cloud Shuttle. Half of it floated in the air while the other half was connected to the Mother Tree’s trunk. This meant that as they moved closer to the Cloud Shuttle, they were also moving closer to the Mother Tree.
Lu Yin felt an involuntary shudder. Every time he saw the Mother Tree’s trunk, it looked like it connected the sky to the ground. Just how could a tree be so large? It was absurd! Even if he looked to the side, it was impossible to see the trunk’s edge. It had formed a wall that was the border of the Middle Realm.
On the other side of the Mother Tree’s trunk was a massive battlefield.
The trunk protected the Middle Realm from that battlefield.
“Are we targeting someone near the Cloud Shuttle?” Xia Taili was getting more and more excited. She certainly knew of the Cloud Shuttle.
As Lu Yin observed the busy Cloud Shuttle and the numerous disciples from the Smokecloud Sect who were standing guard there, he nodded.
“So we are going after someone from the Smokecloud Sect!” Xia Taili’s eyes had lit up brightly. She looked quite eager to proceed.
Lu Yin grew curious. “Were you hoping to go after someone from the Smokecloud Sect?”
Xia Taili rolled her eyes. “No. I’m just asking.”
Lu Yin felt that Xia Taili’s attitude was a bit strange. He looked over at Wang Dashuai, who was similarly confused.
A short while later, Lu Yin and his group slowly walked towards one of the clouds in front of the line. Everyone in the queue looked at them curiously.
When it was this close to the Cloud Shuttle, the line was very quiet and somber. It cost a substantial price to enter the Higher Realm, and everyone had to pay. No one wanted to be disqualified due to any sort of mistake, and Lu Yin and his group had appeared rather abruptly.
They quickly drew the attention of the members of the Smokecloud Sect.
The Smokecloud Sect’s disciples were typically arrogant and acted above everyone as they shouted at the people lined up, but the attitude of Lu Yin and those with him had caught the disciples flat footed. They did not quite know how to react.
This confusion allowed Lu Yin and those with him to peacefully step foot onto the cloud.
Lu Yin looked at the Smokecloud Sect disciples who were still some distance away. He asked, “So, no one’s concerned about us?”
Xia Taili lifted her head arrogantly. “They must have recognized me.”
Shang Qing said lightly, “They’re calling our bluff.”
“Is that the case?” Lu Yin muttered to himself. He lifted his hand and pointed towards a disciple with a mustache. “You, come here.”
There was a rule that most cultivators knew before arriving at the Cloud Shuttle, which was that the price to pay was not to ascend to the Higher Realm, but rather to receive the qualification to enter the Cloud Continent, so the question was, who was going to take you to the Cloud Continent?
It was easy to find the Cloud Continent, but one was not able to ascend however they pleased. A person would first need to wait in line, then wait to be told which specific cloud they could use to ascend, and then finally be appointed a guide who would control the cloud. These guides charged a fee, and payment was to be made to the custodian of the Cloud Shuttle, and those payments were made to the Smokecloud Sect.
There were thousands of rising clouds in the Cloud Shuttle’s area, and they could be merged together or dispersed depending on what was needed. Everything was arranged according to a schedule, and anyone hoping to go to the Higher Realm needed to follow the schedule and cloud that they were assigned to.
Scheduling was very complicated, or at least it seemed to be, and there was also the fee paid to Cloud Continent’s guides. Even after qualifying to enter the Higher Realm, if the guide’s fee was not paid, a person could only wait, as they would never be scheduled.
Not everyone was willing to pay the guides’ fees. There were some people who were absolutely confident that they could enter the Higher Realm without paying the guides’ fee, and they were content to wait several months. However, after being forced to wait for more than a year with no end in sight, everyone eventually caved and paid the fee to enter the Higher Realm.
Given these examples, most people were aware that the guides’ fee was absolutely necessary.
“Second Master, what are those people doing? They don’t seem to be getting in line.” A younger disciple standing behind the disciple with the mustache whispered to the older disciple with a malicious gleam in his eyes.
The mustached disciple slowly sipped his drink. “The only reason why someone would come in here and act so brazenly is if they have an impressive background. Don’t worry about them.”
“What if it’s just an act?”
“Then they’ll be out of luck,” the older disciple angrily retorted.
Right after that, the younger disciple stepped forward, approached the group of people who were led by the youth pointing his finger, and allowed the group through.
The mustached disciple blinked; was this person insane? He was the Cloud Shuttle’s chief dispatcher. While this was not a high position, it was still one with great influence. In particular, he had a powerful backer within the Smokecloud Sect. Despite all of that, this person who had barged into the Cloud Shuttle seemed to be completely unconcerned by such things.
The mustached disciple was not stupid, and he was actually quite sharp, which was how he had managed to become the chief dispatcher. After quickly analyzing the situation, he realized that regardless of who this youth was, he was not someone who the mustached disciple could afford to offend. Thus, he straightened out his clothes and walked over.
“Young Master, what are your orders?” The mustached disciple approached Lu Yin with a warm smile. He looked like the ideal customer service worker.
Lu Yin was stunned. Such behavior made it difficult to try to stir up trouble. Weren’t there rumors that the Smokecloud Sect’s disciples were crazy? The Cloud Shuttle was the Perennial World’s version of the Astral River Ark, and those who controlled such a ferry system would invariably enjoy a higher status and grow arrogant. What was going on? This guy should be full of himself.
“Get the person in charge of this piece over here for me,” Lu Yin casually demanded. He was assuming that the mustached man’s position was just too low. As soon as someone with an appropriate position appeared, they would definitely show a different attitude.
The mustached disciple showed an even more modest smile. “This little one is the chief dispatcher of the Cloud Shuttle. I wonder, what might Young Master need?”
“You? Isn’t the chief dispatcher that kid, Yun Yang’s, lover?” Wang Dashuai stuck his head forward and asked a strange question.
The mustached disciple’s expression changed the moment he saw Wang Dashuai. “You? You’re here again?”
Lu Yin looked back at Wang Dashuai. The fatty’s reaction at this moment was a bit strange. He seemed worried and as if he was dreading something. Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered how the fatty had talked about the Cloud Shuttle, and it seemed as if the fatty was trying to use Lu Yin to exact some vengeance.
At this moment, a cloud descended at the side, and an angry voice called out, “Is that Fatty Wang? How dare you come to my Cloud Shuttle!”
Lu Yin and the others looked over to see a young man yelling at them. He was quite handsome, but his face was very pale. It was readily apparent that his body had been ravaged of all color, and it almost seemed like his eyes were simply floating in the sky and looking down at them.
The mustached disciple quickly stepped forward when he saw the young man and respectfully greeted him. “Young Master.”
Wang Dashuai shouted, “Grandson Yun! Your fat master’s here, so what’s the problem?”
The young man sneered as he looked at Wang Dashuai. “There’s no problem. I’m just telling you that this place is a dead end for you.”
“Are you a toilet bowl? If you said the route is stuck, it’s stuck?”
“Fatty Wang, you better watch your words! This is the Cloud Shuttle, which is my Smokecloud Sect’s domain. Just watch me throw you out!”
“You wouldn’t dare! I’m from the Wang family!”
“Hmph, you think that I don’t know that? You brought trespassers to your very own Junior Progenitor’s team, and the Wang family is about to disown you! I’ll just give them a head start.”
“Try it!”
“I won’t just try!”
…
Xia Taili was excited, and her fists were clenched tight. She looked like she wanted to run over and join the fight.
Lu Yin nudged her. “Who is ‘that kid’?”
Xia Taili excitedly replied, “He’s the Smokecloud Sect’s young master, Yun Yang. He’s also Yun Tingting’s cousin. His status in the sect is very high, and he’s known as the little overlord of the the Cloud Shuttle. The fatty fought with him before, and their fight got both the Wang family and the Smokecloud Sect involved, which was why the fatty was dispatched to the Yinshan District.”
Lu Yin had guessed right. It was no wonder why the fatty had wanted to come here to make trouble at the Cloud Shuttle; he wanted to settle an old grudge. The little overlord of the Cloud Shuttle? That was an arrogant enough title.
