Since Tang Si was driving the carriage, Lu Yin wasn’t able to talk to Ming Yan. However, there was a very strange atmosphere between the two. Despite how noisy it was in the street, the only thing that Lu Yin could hear was Ming Yan’s steady heartbeat, and the only thing that he could smell was her delicate fragrance. It was a very wonderful feeling of closeness that left him feeling intoxicated.
“Your heart’s racing. Did you get poisoned?” the monkey suddenly asked, startling Lu Yin and forcing him back to the real world.
“No, you weren’t. That’s strange, what’s wrong with your heart? Everything else in your body is working normally. That’s really odd…”
Lu Yin didn’t have the time to explain what he was feeling to a monkey. However, what the Ghost Monkey had said did sober him up quite a bit; he couldn’t allow himself to get drunk over this infatuation. Ming Yan was the daughter of the Reverent King, who was a leader of the Shenwu Continent, while Lu Yin was a mere trialtaker. The difference between their statuses was just too stark, and the blood-feud between the sides that they belonged to had existed for an entire millennia; it was not something that could be easily resolved. The two of them were like two trees on opposite sides of a road; they might be able to see each other, but they would never be able to touch each other. His emotions were like the moon’s reflection in a still lake.
After his thoughts reached this point, Lu Yin suddenly felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head, chilling him to the bone.
He was merely a student and had neither the power nor the influence to affect the Darkmist Weave, much less the Shenwu Continent. Ming Zhaoshu alone was someone powerful enough to prevent Lu Yin from ever getting close to Ming Yan. This budding relationship was doomed to fail before it could even sprout.
Lu Yin was well aware that emotions were very important to a girl. Someone like Ming Yan, who was intelligent but also rather inexperienced in the matters of the world, would easily lose themselves in their emotions. The instant things fell apart, the amount of pain that she would feel would be far beyond what she could fathom at the moment.
Things couldn’t go on like this. Before anything even happened, Lu Yin had already realized that he could not allow this relationship to continue developing. With this in mind, Lu Yin resolutely stared ahead, quickening his footsteps to step in front of the carriage. He did not look back.
Lu Yin’s mood change was very apparent to Ming Yan, and her heart jolted. She was overcome with a sense of fear and discomfort that she’d never felt before, and at that moment, her eyes started to burn with tears.
There were some people who one could spend their entire lives with but still feel like strangers. And there were also others who one could instantly know that they were meant to be after a single glance.
For Ming Yan, Lu Yin was that kind of person. Their meeting had come along the wings of a butterfly, bringing happiness and dreams with it. At this moment, however, the illusion had shattered. Women were much more intuitive than men, and the subtle shift in Lu Yin was very obvious to the princess. She could already tell that he had made up his mind.
But why? Ming Yan lowered her head, her wet eyes betraying her sadness and frustration as her fists rightened. You still have my scent on you.
She was very intelligent, but intelligence and emotions were polar opposites.
Lu Yin sighed, filled with frustration, sadness, and pity as well for Ming Yan. Right now, his most ardent desire was to climb to the top of this continent and pull her into his embrace.
All of a sudden, a flash of black and white passed through his vision. Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, and he turned to the side as a procession of carriages from the crown prince’s palace moved past them. One of the men inside turned around to look at Ming Yan’s carriage, his eyes filled with a burning bloodlust.
Lu Yin felt a chill crawl down his spine, and he quickly pulled back to be flush with the side of the princess’ carriage. The man raised a fist and launched an attack while a boundless chill surged through the air. Wind and clouds swirled around each other as a vicious and terrifying martial force descended along with a domineering aura. Tang Si’s scalp went numb, and he found himself rooted in place out of fear. This pressure was even more terrifying than the attack that he had faced from Li Zimo!
The entire group of carriages from the Reverent King’s palace—no, everyone on the entire street felt as if they’d been punched in the head as they all coughed out blood. That man’s attack had destroyed the carriage’s walls, and he was about to enter its insides. He completely disregarded the soldiers standing to the sides. It made sense for him to do so. After all, even Tang Si had been subdued and rendered unable to lift a finger.
Lu Yin grit his teeth as all of his muscles went taut. He lifted a palm, disregarding the fact that he might expose himself by doing so. All he wanted to do right now was to save this girl. Without any hesitation, he activated his five-lined battle force, causing dark-gold rays to emanate out from his body. Nine stars revolved around him as a galaxy appeared in his palm; it was the Cosmic Palm.
The man noticed the attack that Lu Yin had sent his way, and his eyes narrowed, never expecting that someone would actually be able to react to his move. This is… five-lined battle force? The man did not dare to let his guard down against such a destructive attack and instantly altered the course of his attack to clash against Lu Yin.
The two palms collided, and with a bang, shockwaves distorted the air above before exploding high in the sky, scattering the clouds. On the ground, the pavement under their feet splintered. Rampant martial power flew about as they continued to contest each other. The shockwaves resulting from their exchange seemed to envelop both of them in a bubble as they continuously tried to dispel the other’s attack. Lu Yin and the man exchanged a look, and they both saw shock in the other’s eyes. It was at that moment that they recognized each other.
This person must be the genius from the Daynight Family who had defeated Nightqueen Yanqing: Zhanlong Daynight.
Zhanlong Daynight had also recognized Lu Yin. Amongst all the Limiteers, there were very few who could defeat him. Of those people, only Lu Yin had comprehended five-lined battle force. This was the person who the Nightking clan had ordered Zhanlong Daynight to kill no matter the cost.
The two of them never expected to meet the other under such circumstances. Their hands that were still pressed together twisted at the same time, and with another bang, a new round of shockwaves cut through the ground like a sharp blade. The two of them retreated simultaneously, but neither had gained an upper hand through the exchange.
This was not the only place where a fierce battle had broken out. The same scene was repeating itself all across the capital, and loud booms could be heard in all directions.
Zhanlong Daynight looked at Lu Yin seriously while his eyes revealed confusion, shock, and even bewilderment; his Technique of Immunity had been subverted. He licked his lips savagely.
“We’ll meet again,” he said before fleeing.
The entire battle had consisted of nothing more than just their palms colliding. Everything had taken place in less than five seconds. On top of that, chaos was breaking out all over the capital, allowing Zhanlong Daynight to flee with ease. As he departed, he left a trail of unconscious people behind him. Even Tang Si swayed a little and nearly fainted. He wasn’t strong enough to take even a single attack from Zhanlong Daynight.
Even so, he’d seen the entire event and witnessed Lu Yin’s true strength. This person was most definitely a Martial King, but he seemed to be even stronger than Li Zimo.
Lu Yin didn’t have the time to worry about anything else as he charged into the carriage and immediately checked to see how Ming Yan was faring.
Thankfully, she had only fainted and was just fine. He heaved a sigh of relief. It was quite a relief that she hadn’t been hurt even after being within such close proximity of a battle technique from the Daynight clan.
With a loud whoosh, a sharp glint flashed through the air before Lu Yin calmly grabbed a spear that was coming his way. He turned around to glance at Tang Si. “Are you trying to die?” He then exerted some minor force, causing Nine Stacks of power to vibrate through the spear and hit Tang Si. The Reverent King’s vassal could handle Five Stacks, but nothing beyond that. He was forced to let go of the spear and take a step back. With a “clang,” the spear crumbled to pieces.
Lu Yin loosened his hold and gently set Ming Yan down. He was just about to exit the carriage and leave when he saw that Ming Zhaoshu had suddenly appeared and was eyeing him coldly.
Lu Yin took a deep breath and bowed. “My lord.”
At that moment, some strange force surged down from the mountain peaks surrounding the capital and reached them. However, Ming Zhaoshu calmly raised a hand and dispelled the force. He then glanced at Lu Yin. “Come with me.”
Lu Yin had no way to hide or run. Ming Zhaoshu had comprehended a domain and must have seen his battle with Zhanlong Daynight. Lu Yin’s five-lined battle force was extremely eye-catching, but thankfully, the king had not immediately attacked. This indicated that negotiations were still possible.
Tang Si looked at Lu Yin with eyes filled with disappointment in himself. He had just lost to Li Zimo, and now, he had also been defeated by this person. It was quite a huge shock.
Within the king’s study, Lu Yin stood there, waiting quietly.
Ming Zhaoshu had his back to him with his brows firmly furrowed, clearly deep in thought.
After quite a while, Ming Zhaoshu turned and carefully appraised Lu Yin. “Should I address you as the Ming Constables’ vice-commander, Seven, or as the coachman of my residence, Lu Seven, or… as the trialtaker, Lu Yin?”
Lu Yin looked up. “How did you know that I was Lu Seven?”
Ming Zhaoshu’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not an idiot. Appearances can be changed, but your bones can’t be altered. Besides, you didn’t even change your external appearance by much. It was pretty simple to make the connection since the two names are so similar.”
Lu Yin bowed. “Thank you for not attacking me, my lord.”
Ming Zhaoshu snorted. “If you hadn’t saved Yan’er, I wouldn’t have let you off.” At that moment, Ming Zhaoshu revealed his anger as he glared at Lu yin. “You ruined my Yan’er’s reputation.”
Lu Yin could only bitterly answer, “My apologies, my lord, but I could not choose where I landed. I never thought that that incident would go on to ruin her reputation.”
“That means nothing to me at this moment. How are you going to take responsibility for that incident?” Ming Zhaoshu asked coldly.
Lu Yin was surprised. “I can still take responsibility?”
Ming Zhaoshu sat down while staring straight at Lu Yin. “What do you think this Shenwu Continent is?”
“A prison,” Lu Yin answered without any hesitation.
Ming Zhaoshu nodded as a dark look clouded over his eyes. “You’re correct. It’s indeed a jail. It might seem as if we have successfully weathered all the attacks from the Darkmist Weave, but in reality, our fates were decided the moment we were exposed. It’s nothing more than a matter of time.”
Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu. “You’ve analyzed the situation very accurately. The Darkmist Weave is just one of the seventy two weaves in the Outerverse. The Innerverse is the place where the true powerhouses dwell. No matter how powerful the Shenwu Continent is, it won’t be able to hold out against all the powerful organizations from the Innerverse. It really is just a matter of time.”
Ming Zhaoshu’s eyes flashed. “That’s why I would like to work together with you, who is powerful beyond your realm. In this way, my continent will remain safe as we merge into the greater universe.”
Lu Yin was confused. “There have been countless disciples from many powerful organizations coming here over the course of the past millennia. Why didn’t you seek them out, my lord?”
“Would you want to partner with the people who held your fate in their hands?” Ming Zhaoshu retorted.
Lu Yin shrugged. “If that’s how it is, then so be it. For example, right now, you hold my life. As for the continent, the Innerver’s powerful organizations can eradicate you with ease. You have no right to make any choices.”
“That’s why I’m trying to find a way to resolve things.” Ming Zhaoshu got up as he continued, saying, “You’re the leader of the Astral-10 branch of the Astral Combat Academy. I’ve heard that the Council of the Astral Academy holds a great deal of power. The goal of this trial is for the trialtakers to join the Outerverse Youth Council. I’m willing to help you increase your score so that you can stand on your own two feet in that place. With your status as a member of the Council of the Astral Academy, you’ll definitely have the right to speak up and even influence the Darkmist Weave.”
Lu Yin was shocked. “You know quite a lot about the greater universe, my lord.”
“It’s been a whole millennia since we were exposed, and since then, we’ve captured quite a few trialtakers. Not all of them are as hard to open up, such as that disciple from the Blaze Realm. He told me everything that he could and even the secret of the Blaze Realm’s ultimate battle technique, the Karmic Flame Sword,” Ming Zhaoshu calmly said.
Lu Yin was speechless. Arikar had turned out to be pretty useless.
“If I manage to enter the Outerverse Youth Council and also use my status as a member of the Astral Combat Council, then I do indeed have the right to speak up. However, I won’t be able to decide the future of the Shenwu Continent anytime soon,” Lu Yin explained, not sugarcoating the truth at all. Ming Zhaoshu was smart, and if Lu Yin tried to pull any tricks on him, it would only lead to a quick death.
