Cai Shu secretly shook his head at the scene Lu Yin had just created. The four ruling powers silently cooperated when it came to stellular liquid. The first person Lu Yin had caught had been from the Celestial Frost Sect, but Cai Shu did not know which power the second man had come from. Still, the two men had known of each other, which meant they were both from one of the four ruling powers.
Lu Yin had found another stellular liquid mule, and though he had quickly released the man, the incident had terrified many people, and even the Smokecloud Sect’s master had been scared out of seclusion.
The first thing the sect master did after leaving isolation was invite Lu Yin into the Smokecloud Sect for a talk.
Yun Yang was truly relieved at this news, for as long as his sect master stepped forward, there was no way that Long Qi would return to the Cloud Shuttle.
Lu Yin was also happy to meet the Smokecloud Sect’s master, as this would lead others to believe that he frequented the Cloud Shuttle for so many days just to have the Smokecloud Sect bribe him.
The Smokecloud Sect was second only to the Liu family within the Middle Realm. They were a powerful organization that stood on the same level as the Nong family. They stood guard over the Cloud Shuttle for the four ruling powers. Legends claimed that the Smokecloud Sect came from a powerful Progenitor, but no one knew if the legend was true or not.
The Smokecloud Sect was based on a mountain that floated in the sky to the west of the Cloud Shuttle. There was no soil on this mountain, only smoke. This was the magical smoke that was the foundation of the Smokecloud Sect’s disciples techniques.
The moment Lu Yin saw the Smokecloud Sect’s mountain, he could not help but wonder if it was the same as the Fifth Mainland’s Smoke-Eater Peaks, as the two groups seemed to have a common heritage.
Actually, Lu Yin felt that many of the Fifth Mainland’s powers had inheritances from the Perennial World, and all of them seemed to be quite advanced. For example, he had witnessed powers similar to the Liu family, the Wen family, the Phoenix clan, and more.
Wang Dashuai and the others did not enter the Smokecloud Sect with Lu Yin, and he met with the sect master, Yun Mubai, alone.
Yun Mubai was the first ruler of an entire region who Lu Yin had met in the Perennial World.
The man seemed to give off the same feeling as Cai Shu, though Yun Mubai had an even more refined demeanor. However, Lu Yin felt a bit of familiarity from first sight, as the sect leader looked a great deal like Yun Tingting.
Yun Mubai smiled when he saw Lu Yin and said, “Gate Master Long Qi, I’ve heard about you for quite a while.”
Lu Yin smiled. He did not betray any of the fierceness he had displayed when arresting people at the Cloud Shuttle. “Sect Master Yun, this junior has long admired your reputation.”
“Gate Master Long Qi is the first person since the founding of Humility’s Gate to become a Gate Master before becoming an Envoy. To be honest, I did not quite believe the news when I first heard it, but I’ve since come to accept it. It appears that the Supervisor has an exceptional eye for talent, as Gate Master Long Qi accomplished something the moment you arrived in Huaiyuan,” Yun Mubai commented.
As he spoke, a young girl entered the room to serve tea to Yun Mubai and Lu Yin.
Lu Yin took a tea cup. “Sect Master Yun is mistaken. This junior did not accomplish anything, but on the contrary, I nearly created a disaster.”
Yun Mubai acted surprised. “A disaster? Is Gate Master Long talking about the stellular liquid?”
Lu Yin had not expected Yun Mubai to be so blunt, as he boldly brought up the subject before the serving girl could even leave. She heard the sect master’s words and looked completely shocked.
Suddenly, the girl’s expression changed and smoke rose from her head before she crumpled to the ground.
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank and he turned to stare at Yun Mubai. “You killed her?”
Yun Mubai smiled casually as he slowly sipped his tea. “Since she heard what I said, shouldn’t she die?”
Lu Yin had encountered many ruthless people since he had first started cultivating, but he had not come across many who were capable of killing people while talking and laughing. While Yun Mubai looked elegant and refined, he was actually an incredibly cruel man.
Yun Mubai was surprised at Lu Yin’s reaction. “Is Gate Master Long Qi very surprised? Words spoken between people such as you and I are not things that a mere servant can hear, and since she did hear, she had to pay the price, no?”
Lu Yin glanced at the girl’s corpse and felt incredible disgust for Yun Mubai. This sect master left Lu Yin feeling very uncomfortable, though also a bit guilty. If not for Lu Yin, the girl would not have died. Yun Mubai had killed the girl as a warning to Lu Yin.
“Sect Master Yun is decisive, and you deserve your position overseeing an entire sect,” Lu Yin commented indifferently.
Yun Mubai laughed. “People are also divided into different classes. There’s no need for Gate Master Long to care about the lives and deaths of such ants.
“Getting back to what we were discussing, what does the Gate Master Long think about stellular liquid?”
Lu Yin looked at the sect master with cold eyes. “Sect Master Yun, what do you want me to consider?”
Yun Mubai set his teacup down and grew serious as he focused completely on Lu Yin. “Gate Master Long is from the White Dragon clan. While you are merely a member of a branch family, you still possess a superior bloodline. You should understand the rules of survival in this universe. While the stellular liquid is a taboo and forbidden to be extracted, there isn’t anyone above the four ruling powers. What are your thoughts?”
Lu Yin replied casually, “The stellular liquid has nothing to do with me. I’m only concerned with catching traitors.”
Yun Mubai retorted, “I only oversee the Cloud Shuttle, and I have nothing to hide.”
Lu Yin sneered. “Is this the attitude that Sect Master Yun revealed when speaking with Guan Tong?”
A slight frown appeared on Yun Mubai’s face, and he tossed Lu Yin a cosmic ring. Lu Yin glanced at it and found it held nearly 50 million star essence. “I’m aware that Gate Master Long needs cultivation resources and this is of utmost priority to cultivators such as yourself. It’s our gift to welcome the new Gate Master to Huaiyuan Gate, and a similar gift will arrive every year. I just wish that Gate Master Long Qi will understand that there are no spies nor Redbacks at the Cloud Shuttle”
Lu Yin rubbed the cosmic ring he had just been given. In the past, such a gift would have delighted him, but what Lu Yin had just witnessed had soured his mood and he felt disgusted by Yun Mubai.
“If there are any traitors, we will know after investigating, but Sect Master Yun has no need to worry; I, Long Qi, will not disrupt the normal operations of the Cloud Shuttle.” Lu Yin had lost any interest in speaking further with Yun Mubai. Lu Yin stood and prepared to leave. The expression on the girl’s face as she died would not leave his mind.
Yun Mubai watched Lu Yin in a relaxed manner. “Gate Master Long, I’m not sure, but might you have met a certain girl while in the Dominion Realm?”
Lu Yin froze and turned around. “Yun Tingting?”
Yun Mubai nodded.
“I met her and we fought, but then we were separated.”
This was something that Yun Mubai must have been told long before. “Are Yun Tingting and Princess Long Xi together?”
Lu Yin shook his head. “I don’t know. It was too dangerous at that time, and even Junior Progenitor Long Tian wasn’t able to keep Long Xi close. I was not able to pay any attention to the others. Sect Master Yun should ask the Celestial Frost Sect, not me.”
With that, Lu Yin left.
Yun Mubai stared at Lu Yin’s back as the youth left. No particular emotion could be seen on his face, and the truth was that he was not at all concerned about Long Qi. The first incident had been nothing but an accident, while the second had truly been a coincidence. It was possible that Long Qi had an innate gift for observing things, but it did not matter at all so long as he did not disrupt the transport of the stellular liquid.
Since the youth had been given a gift, there was no chance that he would continue to frequently visit the Cloud Shuttle. After all, he was just a child. Thinking of this caused the sect master to glance over at the corpse of the serving girl. He then left the room, still unconcerned.
Indeed, Lu Yin did not return to the Cloud Shuttle for two days after receiving the gift from Yun Mubai, which greatly relieved Yun Yang. Every time Long Qi visited, Yun Yang would watch the new Gate Master all day, and it was exhausting.
During this time, Shang Qing received a call from Yu Chen.
“So, the rumors are true. No wonder my senior has been in a bad mood for the last two days and all of the disciples have been punished. While losing the stellular liquid is a minor matter, this incident had caused us to lose a great deal of face.” Yu Chen laughed.
Shang Qing watched Yu Chen and quietly listened to everything she said.
“As far as you know, did Long Qi know about the stellular liquid before finding it?” Yu Chen asked.
Shang Qing shook his head. “He didn’t even know what it was.”
“Then why was he trying to stir up trouble with the Smokecloud Sect?” Yu Chen was surprised, and a bit of doubt appeared in Shang Qing’s eyes.
Shang Qing replied, “The excuse he gave was that he was searching for traitors, but he was really there for resources. When the Guan brothers ran Huaiyuan Gate, the Smokecloud Sect offered them a great deal of cultivation resources every year. However, the sect showed no response when Long Qi became the Gate Master, and Wang Dashuai gave a bit of a nudge, so Long Qi went along with it.”
Yu Chen smiled. “So Wang Dashuai was behind it. He was sent to the Yinshan District because of a fight he had with Yun Yang, so it’s certainly possible for him to instigate some trouble. Stil…”
According to Yu Chen’s understanding of Long Qi, he was no longer just a son-in-law of the White Dragon Clan’s main family, but was something much more. He was a truly capable person who had managed to overturn her predictions and schemes time after time. How could such a person be so easily provoked?
However, she had no explanation for what had happened aside from what Shang Qing shared. Not even Yu Chen would consider that Lu Yin was simply using the Smokecloud Sect to purposely create a massive incident that would keep Cai Shu busy so that Lu Yin could escape with Shang Qing and the others.
While Yu Chen would never be able to find Lu Yin’s true motivation, she was still able to read through his actions and see that he had not merely acted in order to procure resources. If it was just for resources, why would he have nearly captured a second mule? What was the explanation for that? Yu Chen did not believe in coincidences, so she did not even consider such a possibility. With that view of the situation, it meant that Long Qi was truly too bold. How would such actions do anything other than make things worse? If that was the case… Yu Chen’s eyes flashed.
“I’ll give you information concerning a few other people for you to pass on to Long Qi. All of the people will be mules transporting more stellular liquid for the Celestial Frost Sect. As for your source, go ahead and tell him you received the information from me,” Yu Chen said.
Shang Qing was caught off guard. “Tell him I got the information from you?”
Yu Chen nodded. “Make sure he’s clear on that bit.”
She then passed on the information regarding the people over to Shang Qing and quickly ended the call.
After Yu Chen’s image disappeared, Shang Qing went to find Lu Yin.
“So these are all people who will be transporting stellular liquid for the Celestial Frost Sect? Yu Chen told you?” Lu Yin wondered.
Shang Qing replied, “She also told me to make sure that you knew the information came from her.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. That woman had a terrifying mind, and she had already seen that Lu Yin wanted to exacerbate the current situation. That was why she had sent him a few more targets. However, the people she had given information on could not be transporting stellular liquid for the Celestial Frost Sect, but must be working for one or another of the other four ruling powers.
Yu Chen wanted to see how Long Qi handled this situation, and so she had inserted her own schemes into the equation.
Lu Yin frowned. He felt like his actions had been seen through, but that did not actually matter. As soon as things blew up, he would leave. Even if he one day returned to the Perennial World, he would use a different identity. Long Qi would vanish, so preserving his identity was useless.
If not for the fact that Lu Yin was worried about Qing Chen who stood behind Cai Shu, Lu Yin would have long since left with Shang Qing and the others. He would certainly not have waited so long.
“When will these people be arriving at the Cloud Shuttle?” Lu Yin asked.
“In two months” Shang Qing replied.
Lu Yin nodded. “Then we wait for two months.”
Two months soon passed. During this time, Lu yin did nothing at all. Almost all traitors in Huaiyuan had already been caught. Normally, the Gate Master would work on the Gate’s intelligence network and assist various investigations, but Lu Yin did nothing at all. The members of Huaiyuan Gate grew increasingly upset with their acting Gate Master.
