Lu Yin had already been at the Reverent King’s palace for two days. Just the afternoon before, the convoy from the Reverent King’s estate arrived. The convoy stretched on for several kilometers and even had watercraft carrying countless supplies within it, and it was all headed towards the capital. On both sides of the convoy, there were guards from Shanhai City’s military as well as the king’s private army. They were fortified in the outer perimeter by skilled warriors recruited by Ming Zhaoshu. There were easily over a thousand people in this convoy, and almost all of them were highly skilled individuals in the Martial King Realm.
Lu Yin did not understand how the Shenwu Continent could produce so many highly skilled warriors. If it solely had martial crystals as a cultivating aid, then it should have been impossible to produce this many skilled combatants in the Martial King Realm. Even though the Great Yu Empire was made up of thirteen filaments and contained countless planets, it would still be challenging for it to gather over a thousand Limiteers and let them cultivate freely. Credit should be given to the natives of this continent for their speed in absorbing the ambient martial power; it was possible that the Shenwu Continent’s natives absorbed martial power much quicker than they aliens.
As his mind wandered, Lu Yin found that his carriage had become slightly uncentered from the rest of the convoy. Lu Yin raised his hand to crack the whip, realigning the carriage to its correct position within the convoy once again. He had gotten to know the horses better over the past few days, and although they had initially been so hard to control that he had been forced to use martial power, with some practice, he had found that the horses were actually not that difficult to guide. In fact this had ended up being quite an interesting experience for him. Since he could not train during his time with the king’s entourage, he decided to just immerse himself in his role as a coachman.
His performance had even won praises from Butler Seven, who was slowly growing fonder of Lu Yin as they spent more time together. He had even approached Lu Yin with the intent of persuading him to stay on as a member of the king’s household.
Three more days passed without incident. By then, the Reverent King’s convoy had already left Shanhai City. They were now making their way towards Ming Island. The roads were flat and the convoy was also protected by additional regional troops along the way.
Lu Yin did not see Ming Yan at all during the past three days as she remained in her private carriage the entire time.
Her carriage was being operated by a gentle beast known as the He beast, and they were usually used by the Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu. During this journey, Ming Yan stayed with Ming Zhaoshu in the private carriage.
There was also a hierarchy among the drivers in the king’s entourage. Lu Yin was in the lowest caste as he was a cargo vehicle driver. There were other drivers in charge of operating the supply vehicles, military wares, and driving the carriages of noble families. The highest caste were those who drove the private carriages. Lu Yin had initially wanted to drive a private carriage, but those drivers were all elites and cultivators. Even Butler Seven had to defer to them, so it was a post that was currently out of reach for Lu Yin.
While he was deep in thought, a sudden wave swept across them. It was a wave of martial power emitted by a heavenly globe. This wave was something that Lu Yin had already experienced many times. All of a sudden, a tea stall at the roadside glared with light. This was a negative response to the heavenly globe, and it caused Lu Yin to look over in astonishment.
A young lady suddenly stood up from where she had been seated at a tea stall. Her expression abruptly changed as she rushed off into the distance.
“Grab her!” Ming Zhaoshu’s low growl sounded out from inside his private carriage.
Tang Si immediately leaped up and swung the lance in his hand. It made an arcing motion, and the space within the arc rippled like a wave as it pulsed out and ferociously charged towards the fleeing woman.
The lady gritted her teeth, and she turned around while brandishing her sword as a whistling sound rang out. Right after, blinding sparks filled the air, and her sword was shattered by the lance, the tip of the lance continuing to strike the woman’s arm. It caused her to bleed, and she was flung several meters backwards before landing hard on the ground and spitting out blood.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes; this woman was far too weak compared to Tang Si. Tang Si was as strong as the Astral Combat Academy’s student leaders, whereas this woman’s abilities didn’t even match up to an Area Master’s. She was likely someone from the Outerverse, and it appeared that she was doomed.
Tang Si landed on the ground with his lance in hand as he inched closer to the woman.
Her face held a pained expression, and she was regretting joining the trial this time around. The Outerverse trials were indeed only meant for truly exceptional individuals. While she might have been the most outstanding cultivator in her home planet, when it came to trials of this magnitude, she was just too weak.
“Surrender or prepare to die,” Tang Si said in an icy voice. The tip of his lance was just a mere inch away from the woman’s face. The woman had no choice, and she helplessly rose to her feet, unwilling to die.
At that very moment, various shadows could be seen rushing over from the distance. Tang Si looked at them, and a glint of panic could be seen in his eyes. He quickly turned around to look at the private carriage. Ming Zhaoshu lifted the drapes to see several figures appear. These people were the Ming Vanguard from the Ming Constables.
There were five of them in total, and they were all powerful individuals in the Martial King Realm; none of them were weaker than the captured woman. When they looked at the private carriage, they respectfully said, “The Ming Vanguard pays their respects to the Reverent King.”
“Why are you here?” Ming Zhaoshu asked curiously.
“We have been pursuing this alien. Thank you, Your Highness, for helping us to capture this fugitive.”
Ming Zhaoshu closed the drapes once more. “Leave.”
Tang Si swept a cold glare across the Ming Vanguard before walking away from the woman without another word.
The woman’s face turned a deathly white. She might have been granted the opportunity to live if she had been captured by the Reverent King. However, there was absolutely no such chance of surviving with the Ming Vanguard. She had already been on the Shenwu Continent for half a month and had heard many rumors about this organization, and she knew that they were a bloodthirsty group whose sole goal was to kill all trialtakers. When her thoughts reached this point, the woman felt as if she had fallen into a completely hopeless situation.
Lu Yin looked at her with pity, as he knew full well how cruel the Ming Vanguard could be. This woman was bound to suffer horrifically, and yet, there was nothing that he could do to save her.
The convoy continued to move forward, and very soon, the woman and the few members of the Ming Vanguard disappeared from Lu Yin’s view.
At this time, Lu Yin focused on Tang Si, who was ranked eighth on the List of Tempering. This man was very powerful, and if he had competed in the Astral Combat Tournament, then he would have likely reached the round of the top sixteen, making him comparable to the various student leaders. The Shenwu Continent was a mystical place with martial power that surpassed the stars. It was home to many powerful warriors, and when its forces combined, it was no surprise that they were able to stave off the Darkmist Weave and even the powerful forces of the Innerverse.
The more he learned about the Shenwu Continent, the more Lu Yin wanted to get more out of his time in this trial. The Shenwu Continent was not too far away from the Frostwave Weave and the Great Yu Empire. It was even closer to the Astral River, which made it a very strategic location. Making a name for himself here would only put Lu Yin in a more advantageous position.
The only thing that this continent lacked was technology. When the technology of this place caught up with the rest of the universe, the power that this continent would hold would be enough to raise the entire Darkmist Weave to the next level.
As night approached, the convoy stopped to rest as they were still quite a distance away from the next city. They had to cross two mountains to reach that city, and it was impossible to do so before dusk. It looked like they would have to spend the night where they were.
The space in this continent was so stable that even Explorers were unable to tear through it. To the invaders from the Darkmist Weave, however, this was not a good thing. Another reason why this sturdier space was not a benefit for the Shenwu Continent was that it meant that spatial storage items could not be made there. Thus, items such as Cosmos Rings could not be produced there. Hence, people could only carry their belongings on their person, which was a real hassle.
As night fell, the cries of beasts could be heard everywhere in the distance. Large flying creatures sometimes flew by, raising violent gales as they did so.
Lu Yin rested inside his cargo cart, and before long, Butler Seven walked over.
“Damn it! That snobbish prick. If it wasn’t for my recommendation back then, he would have never been able to rise up and become a private carriage driver. But now, he has the gall to tell me not to go near him. Ugh!” Butler Seven angrily spat on the ground and sat down beside Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was curious, “Who would dare offend you, Butler Seven?”
“That private carriage driver! I wanted to pay my respects to the king and princess, but he turned me away. Ugh!” Butler Seven was so angry that his face had turned ashen.
Lu Yin glanced over at the huge private carriage some distance away where he saw a middle aged man behind the He beast. He was the private carriage driver. “Why do the king and princess not want to get down?”
Butler Seven distractedly replied, “It’s to protect the princess’ reputation.”
“What’s wrong with the princess?” Lu Yin asked. He then suddenly recalled the rumor that he heard back in Taicang City.
Butler Seven carefully checked the surroundings before quietly answering, “The princess’ innocence was compromised, so she doesn’t dare to come out during this journey. Her main fear is that Crown Prince Ming Hao might get a hold of her and try to use her as a bargaining chip to cause trouble.”
“Crown Prince Ming Hao? He is from the younger generation compared to His Highness, right? Do they have some conflict?” Lu Yin asked, now completely interested in the conversation. As he asked the question, he pulled out a jar of wine that he had specially bought to gain Butler Seven’s favor.
When he saw the wine, Butler Seven smiled and took a giant swig. He wiped his mouth before continuing to explain, saying, “This isn’t a secret in the empire. Ever since His Majesty went to the central planet to fight off the foreigners, all state matters were placed under the Crown Prince’s authority. The excessive authority that his household now holds is something that some of the older members of the royal family are unhappy about. These people feel that the authority should still rest with the emperor’s palace and not anywhere else. Because of this, many of the older members have started trying to push the king aside. As a result, Crown Prince Ming Hao started to hate His Highness and now often goes against His Highness.”
Lu Yin pondered all this information for a moment as none of this had been in Wu Xia’s memories. Even though Lu Yin could not remember all the details within those memories, he could still remember most of it. He recalled that Crown Prince Ming Hao had been using various methods to instill fear into some person. If the person really did turn out to be the Reverent King, then this was no ordinary feud; the fear was being instilled to restrict the competition for the throne.
“In the Reverent King’s household, there are many people who work for the Crown Prince. His Highness is aware of this, but he does not investigate it either. He never imagined that a foreigner would break in and rob the princess of her innocence. This event was made known to the Crown Prince by some spies, and he then spread the news widely. This in turn caused her highness’ name to be dirtied, and now, no one knows what will happen,” Butler Seven explained with a sigh.
Lu Yin felt very sorry upon hearing this; a mere accident on his part had caused an innocent girl to be pulled into a power struggle. This was something that she would now have to deal with for her entire life since the Shenwu Continent was very conservative in how they treated a woman’s reputation. This was the trouble with narrow-minded viewpoints.
“Oh yes, what’s the deal with Tang Si? He seems like a formidable person,” Lu Yin casually asked.
Butler Seven nodded his head in agreement. “No one knows much about where he’s from, but he is indeed very formidable. There’s probably no one who can match him in the Martial King Realm—his rank of eighth on the List of Tempering is no exaggeration. Do you know how many powerful figures there are in the Martial King Realm? The members of the older generation who are still in the Martial King Realm are far superior to the younger generation in terms of both experience and ability, and yet, Tang Si is still more powerful than many of them. Achieving the eighth position is no mean feat. Within the entire household, he’s second only to the Reverent King in terms of his strength.”
…
The roads were bumpy, but the troops paving the way in front made the journey quicker. After a day, the king’s convoy entered the city.
“After we pass Fan City, we will enter Ming Island next. After another month of travel, we will finally arrive at the capital.” Butler Seven was delighted as he informed Lu Yin of the news. He enjoyed talking to Lu Yin as he felt that Lu Yin was smart, generous, and knew how to properly flatter himself. He liked Lu Yin so much that he was determined to bring the youth into the king’s household after they returned and even held thoughts of grooming Lu Yin as his successor.
Lu Yin looked up at the lofty city in front of them. As he gazed above, he saw a heavenly globe that occasionally let out waves of martial power. He did not know if there would be other trialtakers in this city as well.
Fan City had already prepared accommodations for the king’s convoy, and right after Lu Yin finished his meal, Butler Seven pulled him aside. “Little Seven, His Highness just asked me to get a few drivers to accompany the princess out for a short walk to clear her mind. Do you want to go?”
Lu Yin was overjoyed upon hearing this request. “Of course I will go! Thank you so much, Butler Seven!”
Butler Seven chuckled happily. “Any excursion involving the princess must be taken with extra caution. Apart from Tang Si, there will only be one handmaid and a few drivers. Remember, be on your toes and do not cause any trouble!”
Lu Yin hurriedly agreed with everything that he was told.
