Lu Yin looked at Zhu San and showed a half-smile. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”
Zhu San bowed low. “Alliance Leader Lu.”
“There’s no need to call me Alliance Leader Lu. After all, your Zhu family has returned to the Ce family, which means that you’re no longer a part of the Great Eastern Alliance,” Lu Yin replied.
Xi Qi watched the two with curiosity.
Zhu San’s tone turned bitter. “The Zhu family was always part of the Ce family, and we were simply sent to Millions City. Returning to the Ce family was also done because of orders we received, not because we wished to betray you, Alliance Leader.”
“I know. What are you doing right now? You look like you’re trying to avoid something.” Lu Yin was curious.
Zhu San suddenly remembered something, and he quickly said, “Alliance Leader Lu, your alliance’s Liu Tianmu is in danger! There’s a lucky opportunity behind me where I just came from, but there are powerhouses from the Sixth Mainland who are fighting against Liu Tianmu. They even have an Envoy!”
Lu Yin’s expression changed when he heard Zhu San’s story, and he quickly moved forward with both Zhu San and Xi Qi in tow.
It was impossible for Liu Tianmu to fight against an Envoy, but since the Sword Sect had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, it meant that Liu Tianmu had become one of Lu Yin’s people. Naturally, Lu Yin would move to help out if his people were being bullied.
“How strong is the Envoy?” Lu Yin asked.
Zhu San replied, “They’re an Imprinter.”
Lu Yin nodded. That was no issue for him. As long as he was not up against a World Imprinter or someone even more powerful, Lu Yin would be alright. At the moment, his only worries were for Liu Tianmu.
It did not take Lu Yin too long to arrive at the place that Zhu San had mentioned.
They were immediately met with the sight of sword qi crisscrossing through the sky as Liu Tianmu fought against an opponent. Further back, Hui Santong was fighting against Fan Shun, who had once been one of the Sixth Mainland’s Realmlings.
As for the Imprinter whom Zhu San had mentioned, the expert was not participating in the battles. In fact, far from participating, the person was sipping on tea at the moment.
Xi Qi’s eyes went wide at the sight of an elegant old man who was sipping his tea in the distance. Was this really the proper place to enjoy tea?
Even the fish was stunned by this sight.
While he enjoyed his tea, the old man was giving pointers to the Sixth Mainland cultivator who was fighting against Liu Tianmu. There was no need for the old man to say anything regarding the battle between Fan Shun and Hui Santong. Fan Shun had his Forest World technique as well as several secret techniques. The fight was far from comparable to the excitement of Liu Tianmu’s battle.
A young man was fighting Liu Tianmu, but he was already a Hunter, though he was not quite strong enough to face Liu Tianmu.
Another person released attacks, preventing Liu Tianmu from landing any fatal attacks on the Hunter. Without this, the young man would not have even been able to hold his sword against Liu Tianmu.
“That’s right, just treat this as a sparring match with one of the Fifth Mainland’s Ten Arbiters. This will allow your combat experience to improve greatly. Not all of the Realmling positions have been filled, and your grandpa hopes that you’ll be able to win one of those positions one day. You already have the foundation to qualify,” the old man slowly said as he addressed the young Hunter.
Liu Tianmu’s sword flashed, and although the young Hunter hurriedly avoided the attack, it was impossible. Fortunately for the young man, an Enlighter blocked the attack, but not even the Enlighter dared to receive Liu Tianmu’s attacks carelessly even though he had a power level of over 300,000.
Liu Tianmu had a cold expression on her face as she thrust her sword forward with the edge flipped over. She attacked the Enlighter with the Fifth Sword, and proceeded up to the Eleventh Sword. As soon as she finished, she started casting the Twelfth Sword.
The Imprinter sipping tea in the distance shouted, “Didn’t this old man tell you not to use those sorts of techniques? Those will kill Wu She, don’t you get it?” An overpowering force shot out from the true universe and shattered Liu Tianmu’s sword.
Liu Tianmu spun around, and her star energy condensed to form another sword. She faced the Imprinter and released the Thirteenth Sword.
She had previously had the courage to challenge Lu Yin even though she knew that he could defeat Envoys. There was no way that she would be intimidated by this Imprinter.
The old man was so furious that he stepped forward and disappeared. Liu Tianmu’s eyes were determined, and the star energy sword in her hand dissipated before forming a long black sword.
She waited. She was waiting for the old man to attack her after emerging from the true universe. This was the same tactic that she had used to challenge Lu Yin: she simply hoped that he would not be able to endure her attack.
The sword technique that she was preparing to use had nothing to do with one’s cultivation.
The old man emerged behind Liu Tianmu, and she spun around and attacked with her sword, but the old man disappeared even before Liu Tianmu managed to finish turning around. He was not there when the sword slashed through the air.
Liu Tianmu’s expression changed slightly, as this Imprinter had avoided her attack before it could land. He was an Imprinter, and he was facing her, who was both a junior and an Enlighter; why was he still being so cautious?
“Watch out!” Hui Santong shouted.
The Enlighter behind Liu Tianmu raised a hand and attacked her shoulder with a hidden weapon. Her arm instantly turned numb, and her sword fell from her grasp, clanging onto the ground. The young Hunter grinned and shot towards Liu Tianmu, his hand stretched out towards her. “I want to see just how powerful the Fifth Mainland’s Arbiter Liu Tianmu really is.”
He reached for her neck, grabbing Liu Tianmu from behind and slightly to the side. The Imprinter appeared, looking calm and relaxed while the Enlighter just stared warily at the swordswoman even though he knew that she could not move after being struck by his sneak attack.
Just as the young Hunter’s hand was about to touch Liu Tianmu’s neck, her entire body twisted.
The Imprinter was stunned. “No! Get back!”
While he shouted, his stellular energy burst forth and suppressed all of the star energy in the immediate area as he attempted to restrict Liu Tianmu from doing anything at all.
Unfortunately, he was too late. The Sword Sect’s Thirteen Swords was a battle technique that introduced the concept of cultivating a domain as early as the Second Sword. Liu Tianmu did not even need to use star energy, as she simply used her domain to shatter the young man’s arm. Her domain struck like a thousand sharp blades. The Hunter let out a scream, and countless sword cuts appeared all over his body as blood dripped to the ground.
The Imprinter angrily shouted, “You bitch! Do you want to die?”
Liu Tianmu stared at the old man with cold eyes. She was unable to move, and she was powerless to resist the Imprinter’s attacks. Even if she had not been completely restrained, she would still be helpless against this man. Not everyone was Lu Yin.
Suddenly, golden meteors fell from above, aimed at where the Imprinter would attack Liu Tianmu. Hui Santong had made a move, but the old man just snorted in contempt and waved a hand to smash the meteors away. Stellular energy swept out once more, blasting Liu Tianmu aside. When she struck the ground, she spat out blood.
Hui Santong was facing a crisis of his own. Fan Shun had used Reversal Cycle, and Hui Santong’s eyes grew incredibly focused as he tried to counter with Omnibreak. This was a very dangerous move, but he managed to find a hole in Fan Shun’s Reversal Cycle and escape. However, the moment he escaped from the secret technique, Hui Santong found himself surrounded by trees and unable to move.
“Little girl, if I tell you that you can’t survive, then you have no choice but to die.” The Imprinter stared at Liu Tianmu with eyes that blazed with cruelty and savageness.
Liu Tianmu’s expression remained the same as ever, though her eyes were filled with reluctance and killing intent as she stared at the old man.
However, the old man’s foot stopped just as he was about to step onto Liu Tianmu’s arm. It was not just the old man either; Fan Shun and the Enlighter were also frozen in place. It was not even that they were unable to move, but rather they had been frozen stiff. They were all being suppressed by a domain, and it was as if like they had sunk into a quagmire. This domain was shockingly powerful, and even the Imprinter was only able to move his head very slowly.
Lu Yin was silently standing in place a few thousand meters away from the Imprinter, his hands clasped behind his back. He silently stared at the Imprinter.
The old man’s pupils constricted when he saw Lu Yin’s face, and he took a step back as he stared at Lu Yin. “The Fifth Mainland’s Alliance Leader Lu.”
Liu Tianmu also turned her head, though she let out a relieved sigh when she saw Lu Yin. As she turned around, her glasses fell off, exposing her face. She looked a bit silly without them.
This surprised Lu Yin. Of the Ten Arbiters, Ling Gong was a cute little girl, so she hid her appearance within a bulky armor. It turned out that Liu Tianmu had a relaxed and natural beauty, so was she trying to hide that with her glasses? It seemed like everyone was trying to disguise themselves.
A bit further away, Fan Shun was still able to move, but his heart dropped when he saw Lu Yin.
If it was still during ZENITH, Fan Shun would not feel fear towards Lu Yin. Even though he didn’t have any hope of defeating Lu Yin back then, Lu Yin had still been someone within the same realm of strength as him. However, things had changed. Lu Yin had disappeared for years after ZENITH, and when he returned, there were rumors that he had become capable of fighting against Envoys and even defeating them.
There were also quite a few Envoys in the Great Eastern Alliance, but Lu Yin’s strength was still unfathomable. He was qualified to speak with World Imprinters and even Cosmic Imprinters. Fan Shun was no longer on the same level as Lu Yin.
“Who gave you the courage to attack me?” Lu Yin asked in a casual tone as he stared at the Imprinter.
The Imprinter’s eyes narrowed. “Young man, don’t be foolish. While I know that you have powerhouses protecting you, we’re in Burial Garden right now. Everyone is separated when they enter, so do you really think that your powerhouse can get here in time to protect you?”
Lu Yin’s mouth curled into a smile. “Tell me, what do you consider a powerhouse to be? Is it someone who can beat you? If that’s the case, then I’m a powerhouse.”
The Imprinter clenched his fists and disappeared. He had entered the true universe and then instantly attacked.
In the distance, Zhu San’s face went pale. This person was an Envoy! An Envoy! Zhu San had no idea what it took to fight against such a powerful expert.
Excitement danced in Xi Qi’s eyes. Even though she was confused at the moment, she knew that Lu Yin definitely was not a stupidly stubborn person, so she was certain that Lu Yin was confident in succeeding if he had been willing to come to this Imprinter.
The fish on Xi Qi’s head kept flapping its fins. “Beat him! Beat him, skilled two-legs! Beat him!”
Lu Yin remained quietly standing where he was after the Imprinter entered the true universe. The man was able to see Lu Yin, but it was impossible for the young man to see the Imprinter. This was the greatest difference between Enlighters and Envoys. The other thing that made facing an Envoy as an Enlighter so terrifying was their stellular energy. The Imprinter could suppress Lu Yin’s star energy, rendering it completely useless. This young man was not the Imprinter’s opponent. He might have a powerful domain, but it still was not enough to pose a threat.
These were the Imprinter’s thoughts, and yet he was a very cautious person. He had even dodged Liu Tianmu’s last ditch attack, so there was no need to mention how he would act against Lu Yin.
Lu Yin’s hands were still clasped behind his back, and instead of turning to look at the Imprinter, he looked at Liu Tianmu lying on the ground. It was not readily certain if she was dead or alive. “You’re facing the wrong sort of opponent. That old man’s too cautious to face your Thirteenth Sword.”
Liu Tianmu’s voice was indifferent, “Even if I had struck him with the Thirteenth Sword, it still wouldn’t be enough to defeat him. The Thirteenth Sword isn’t invincible, and at best, I would only be able to injure him.”
“Have you learned the Fourteenth Sword?” Lu Yin asked.
Liu Tianmu’s eyes twitched. “Not yet.”
“Misery is actually a sort of emotion. You already have a foundation in the Thirteenth Sword which you’ve mastered, so you’ll certainly be able to learn the Fourteenth Sword,” Lu Yin said. After the Sword Sect had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin had started to regard Liu Tianmu differently from before. There was no longer any reason to be wary of the woman or the Sword Sect. Liu Tianmu had become one of the Great Eastern Alliance’s elites, so Lu Yin was willing to help her grow stronger if possible.
Liu Tianmu stared at Lu Yin. “What about you? You’ve also learned the Thirteenth Sword.”
Lu Yin gave her a small smile and then stretched out a hand. The sword that Liu Tianmu had taken from Liu Guai disappeared before reappearing in Lu Yin’s hand. He slashed at an empty portion of the sky with the sword. This was Misery, the Fourteenth Sword.
