Most of the Great Yu Empire only knew that Astral-10 had been driven from the Innerverse, and not many of them knew the specific details about Astral-10’s dire situation. Thus, Lu Yin did his best to avoid revealing the full extent of Astral-10’s tragic state.
Even with Lu Yin’s sparse explanation, his audience was stunned by the descriptions of the teleportation stone, ported battles, Rain Observatory, Sand Ocean, Nine Trial Zones, and everything else. Few Outerverse denizens had even heard of these mysterious places, especially the ported battles. The thought of freely pitting themselves against Innerverse powerhouses was so wonderful that even Rocky Auna grew excited from Lu Yin’s stories. It was a pity that he wasn’t a part of the younger generation.
“I wish that I were born a few hundred years later. If I were as young as little Yin, I would die to enter the Astral Combat Academy,” Xueshan Auna bemoaned.
“It’s a pity that Jenny couldn’t make it,” Rocky Auna said with a sigh.
Upon the mention of Jenny’s name, Xueshan Auna’s face changed. “Don’t bring up that useless thing. As the heir to the Auna clan, it would have been acceptable if she had merely failed the Astral Combat Academy examinations; however, she failed at the Sentinel trial stage and was even captured. Worthless.”
Lu Yin grew embarrassed, as Jenny had naturally been captured by him. Did Xueshan Auna mention this just to make me feel guilty?
Even though Xueshan Auna was genuinely furious, Jenny was still his daughter by blood and even the eldest child of his first wife. He could not stop his innate affection from showing through his eyes.
Lu Yin was reminded of an amusing phenomenon; regardless of whether it was a Hunter who had a lifespan of a thousand years or a weaker cultivator who could only live for a few hundred years, they tended to delay giving birth whenever possible. He had actually investigated this phenomena, and apparently, it was because most cultivators only wanted to have children when they had reached peak strength. By doing so, their descendants would have a greater probability of inheriting their innate gifts and strengthening their clan.
Just like Daynight and Mavis clan members, the children of powerful cultivators were more powerful than normal cultivators. Many cultivators in the universe had a dream of establishing a strong clan, so they often delayed establishing a family for as long as they could. Xueshan Auna had lived for several hundred years and only had one daughter: Jenny Auna. Undying Yushan similarly only had a few children.
Xueshan looked towards Lu Yin and, in a soft tone, asked, “Little Yin, what do you think of my girl, Jenny?”
Lu Yin’s heart pounded when this question was asked. “She’s a good person. She’s very kind and very pretty.”
Xueshan Auna smiled wryly. “You don’t have to be polite. As her father, I know that brat’s disposition extremely well. She’s stubborn and isn’t very talented. But she is indeed kind and very pretty.”
Lu Yin smiled. “Miss Jenny is indeed a good catch.”
Xueshan Auna nodded as his expression turned serious. “Since our two families have confirmed the engagement, when do you plan on having the wedding ceremony with Jenny?”
Lu Yin fell silent. After a while, he raised his head and seriously replied, “Uncle, I wish to focus on raising my strength for now. Could you give me some time?”
“His Majesty has previously discussed this with me. Three years is not a long time, but it isn’t short either. We can delay the wedding with Jenny for three years, but you must be engaged first.”
“I don’t accept!” Jenny shouted as she furiously ran in. She glared angrily at Lu Yin before demanding, “Give up! I won’t marry you. You’re not worthy of me.”
“Shut up. What audacity!” Xueshan Auna slammed the table, stood up, and pointed outside. “Get out! You have no right to speak here.”
Tears welled up in Jenny’s eyes as she looked indignantly at Xueshan Auna, “Father, I will not marry him, even if I die. I already have someone else in my heart. This person doesn’t even qualify to be compared with Brother Feng.”
“Get lost,” Xueshan Auna said as he waved his hand, causing an icy gust to sweep across the sitting room and toss Jenny out of the room.
Rocky Auna immediately tried to defuse the situation. “Brother, there’s no need to be angry. I’ll bring her around.” After saying that, he quickly ran out.
Lu Yin did not speak from start to end. He wasn’t concerned about the situation at all. Rather, he was actually glad that she had rejected the engagement because he didn’t know how to turn it down. However, he still had to put on an act. “Uncle, who’s this Brother Feng that Jenny mentioned?”
Xueshan Auna smiled bitterly. “He’s named Yan Feng, the young master of Fireforge Planet. When Jenny visited their planet to experience the other extreme of temperature, she was unexpectedly rescued by Yan Feng in a dangerous situation. But don’t pay it much mind, Little Yin. There’s no need to worry about Yan Feng. She was young back then and I cannot possibly allow her to marry into Fireforge Planet. That planet is too unsuitable for anyone from the Auna clan to call it home.”
Lu Yin calmly sipped his tea. He remembered Yan Gang from Fireforge Planet, and also that Ghostfire had mentioned it during Astral-10’s examinations. It seemed that that planet had some muddled ties with the Great Yu Empire, and its target seemed to be Wendy Yushan. Yan Feng, huh?
Lu Yin made a request. “Uncle, may I speak to Miss Jenny alone?”
Xueshan Auna paused, but then gave his consent. “Please be patient with her. That brat’s been spoiled to death, so don’t place much weight on whatever she says.”
Lu Yin smiled. “It’s normal for girls to be a bit headstrong. Things should improve after marriage.”
Xueshan Auna’s eyes shone at Lu Yin’s response as it seemed to indicate that Lu Yin wanted to marry Jenny, which was good news. “Yes, that’s right. Okay, go ahead.”
Rocky Auna returned, informed Lu Yin of Jenny Auna’s location, and then Lu Yin slowly walked over.
Jenny Auna was furiously gnashing her teeth. “So he still has the balls to look for me. Hmph, I’ll let you know the might of the Auna clan.” She activated her gadget and it seemed like she sent a message.
Lu Yin slowly walked through the courtyard as he immersed himself in the visuals of the Auna clan’s heritage, enjoying himself immensely. This was truly an incredible clan, as there were items of great cultural value that had been accumulated over the ages displayed everywhere.
Before long, Lu Yin found Jenny Auna, who had two Limiteers beside her. Lu Yin was unperturbed by the additional people and continued approaching her without any hesitation.
Jenny Auna defiantly pointed at him. “Teach him a lesson.”
The two Limiteers didn’t hesitate as they did not recognize him. Thus, they approached with the intention to strike heavily; there were no lack of Limiteers within the Auna clan.
An icy glint flashed through Lu Yin’s eyes. Although he had hoped that Jenny Auna would resist, his punishment could not be too excessive, lest it cause any annoying complications. He would teach her a lesson and by doing so, let the Auna clan see his truth worth. He considered his next course of action for a brief moment, and then vanished as he stepped out, distorting the very air around him.
With two soft slaps that resounded throughout the courtyard, the two Limiteers were struck to the ground, expressions of disbelief still on their faces. Fresh blood flowed down their sides and stained the ground red as the four arms that had been cleanly and instantly severed fell onto the ground beside them with a discordant plop. Lu Yin appeared before Jenny Auna and raised his hand, slowly touching Jenny Auna’s smooth cheeks.
This outcome shocked Jenny Auna to her core. How is this possible? Though the two Limiteers had not mastered any battle techniques, they were still Limiteers. In spite of that, they had been severely injured near instantaneously. Jenny looked at the scarlet blood spreading across the ground and felt an acute sense of danger. She didn’t even attempt to avoid Lu Yin’s hand that was caressing her face.
“I will tolerate being mischievous this once, but don’t go overboard. There won’t be a next time.” Lu Yin’s calm tone caused a chill to run down her spine. She had felt this once before, when she had nearly died during Astral-10’s examination. That had been an unforgettable experience, but that same feeling had resurfaced again with this man, her alleged fiancé.
Lu Yin smiled as he continued, saying, “We’ve known each other for so long, but I’ve never given you any gifts. Here, this is for you.” An exquisite ring appeared in his hand. It was a completely normal ring without any special abilities that he had obtained after rolling Pilfer with his die. Its craftsmanship was quite impressive and it should have had a rather considerable price tag. It was more than sufficient as a greeting gift to the Auna clan’s eldest daughter. Jenny Auna was still in a daze and could only stare at the ring, dumbfounded.
Lu Yin repeated, “Take it. This is my gift for you.”
Jenny Auna trembled; coincidentally, the blood was creeping towards her feet. She was extremely frightened, but she still stuck out her hand. Lu Yin accepted her snow-white hand and put the ring on her finger. He exclaimed, “Beautiful! This was an enjoyable meeting. I’m looking forward to our next one.” He then turned and left.
He did not bid farewell to Xueshan Auna as he knew full well that the Auna clan head was monitoring his every movement. Xueshan Auna would learn much about Lu Yin through these actions that he had just taken.
As Lu Yin went around the corner and his figure vanished, Jenny immediately took a step back to avoid the slowly expanding puddle of blood. She panted, and was only now able to react to what had just happened. She looked at the exquisite ring on her hand and thought about throwing it away, but the thought of Lu Yin’s icy gaze rose unbidden in her mind, and that wasn’t even mentioning the sorry state of the two Limiteers in front of her. She ultimately decided to leave the ring on her hand.
In the distance, Rocky Auna sighed. “Brother, he’s truly not simple. He can already use Flash so exquisitely that his technique is beyond most Limiteers as he is nearly able to shatter the void with his movements. How can his body handle it? It should be too fast.”
Xueshan Auna had an amazed expression on his face. He wasn’t just shocked by the young man’s power, but also his execution. In just a few seconds, he had subdued Jenny. No matter what his strategy had been, this King Zishan’s abilities were far beyond his imagination. He was obviously much more powerful than what he had previously been led to believe.
“Brother, Astral-10 must be truly extraordinary if it transformed him so much in just a couple of months,” Rocky Auna commented.
Xueshan Auna calmly replied, “There’s no need to be overly shocked. Those two Limiteers were very weak; even the Yu Academy’s Hall Masters can defeat them. And Little Yin easily destroyed one of the Council’s Limiteers. Those two can’t even qualify to carry Lu Yin’s shoes and would only shame us no matter the outcome. Normally, my Auna clan can act with impunity. This is also a warning for Jenny.”
Rocky Auna could not bear it any longer. “Jenny must have been frightened.”
“This will be a good experience for her then. Otherwise, she will truly end up suffering once she marries King Zishan. It’s better to face reality now than later.”
Rocky Auna nodded in agreement.
“Oh, we must also send a gift in reply to King Zishan. Don’t be stingy.”
“Understood. I’ll give the task to Torry.”
Xueshan Auna thought about it for a moment, but then nodded in approval. “Very well.”
Across the planet, the Zenyu Star space stations had all been sealed and the monitoring devices all deactivated. The cabin door of a spacecraft opened, and Wendy Yushan walked out. Jue Lang, Di Ou, Peach, and Bazeer were already there waiting for her.
Bazeer’s eyes gleamed when he saw Wendy Yushan. He stepped forward and respectfully greeted, “Representative Wendy, you must have had a difficult journey.”
“Mmm,” Wendy Yushan said, barely acknowledging him.
Jue Lang and the other captains stepped forward as well. “We pay respects to the Fifth Princess.”
The trio’s attitude was very deferential, even more so than when they faced Dorren Yushan. This was because of Wendy Yushan’s strength.
Wendy Yushan’s gaze swept across them all before finally stopping on Peach. She retrieved a large pile of snacks under Peach’s watchful eyes. “For you.”
