Five days later, the Nalan family sent over its first batch of resources in several shipments, and the Six-Fingered Tribe also delivered the materials that measured higher than 30,000 on the crystal scale. The price was so inexpensive that even Lu Yin felt rather embarrassed.
Ban Jiu was very excited, and he happily accepted all of the materials. He promised Lu Yin that as long as all the materials were supplied, he would be able to manufacture the first batch of Explorer-level androids in just half a year.
Lu Yin was elated; in just half a year’s time, he would have an entire army of Explorers that were not afraid of dying, and their power could even increase if their materials were upgraded.
The Explorer realm was a dividing line for cultivators, as reaching that realm allowed a cultivator to freely roam about the universe. While there were more than 100 Explorers within the Great Yu Empire, not all of them worked for the empire. The strongest cultivator on many planets were mere Explorers, but they did not work for the Great Yu Empire. The number of Explorers truly working for the empire amounted to a mere few dozen.
This was not just the situation in the Great Yu Empire, as the same was true for most other Outerverse powers as well. It should be known that the guardians for each individual planet at Erudite Flowzone’s border warfront were also just Explorers.
To Lu Yin, an Explorer was not a powerhouse, but that was only his opinion. In the broader scope of the entire universe, Explorers were definitely within the ranks of the stronger powerhouses.
To date, not a single power in the Outerverse had been able to assemble an army of Explorers.
Lu Yin wanted to assemble the first army of Explorers, and their numbers would even approach 1,000.
With this motivation, Lu Yin grew more enthusiastic. He had Kayze guard the door of King Zishan’s palace and ordered him to not let anyone enter the residence.
In a secret room, he began to roll his die. When it slowly came to a stop, Lu Yin was delighted to see that his very first roll was two pips: Blackhole Disassembly. He was ecstatic, as this was exactly what he needed at this time.
When he saw the Blackhole Disassembly appear, Lu Yin quickly extended the duration and then began the dull process of disassembling all of the firearms that he had collected.
It was not his first time doing this. He had once disassembled many sets of universal armor to obtain polarium that he had then upgraded to polarium essence, so he was already accustomed to this process.
Fortunately, the disassembly speed was not too slow. After two days, Lu Yin delivered the materials to Ban Jiu, completely exhausted.
The older man was jubilant. “Thank you, Your Highness! Your subject promises that half a year from now, we’ll deliver fifty Explorer-level androids to you.”
Lu Yin nodded, but then he suddenly felt like something didn’t sound quite right. “What? Fifty? Wasn’t it supposed to be more than 1,000?”
Ban Jiu was stumped. “When did this subject mention more than 1,000 androids?”
Lu Yin slapped his forehead. He had forgotten that although he had obtained enough materials for more than 1,000 androids by disassembling firearms, that was just one of the materials needed. The other materials they had were much lower in quantity, and altogether, they only had enough to build fifty androids.
“Your Highness, although the materials are still being ordered, the quantities are grossly insufficient. That combined with the losses that we’ll naturally sustain during the manufacturing process, means that fifty is already the best that we can hope for, though there may be a discrepancy of two to three androids,” Ban Jiu explained.
“How much material are we short of to manufacture 1,000 Explorer grade androids?”
“The Nalan family has already transported all of the materials that they were able to gather, but Lord Gavin said that the empire’s treasury is empty for the moment and that we don’t have the funds to buy any more materials.”
In the end, it was still about not having enough money. Lu Yin glanced at his cosmic ring. He still had 80,000 star essences, but that was his personal money, and the empire even owed him 50,000 star essences on top of that. He could not continue loaning money to the empire indefinitely, or else he might not have enough resources for his waning phase. Should he borrow money from the Nalan family yet again? He felt a little embarrassed at even considering the possibility.
He thought about it, but then decided upon another method: the Mavis Bank. He could go to the bank and take out a loan, though he did not know what sort of interest they would charge him.
This was a rather appealing idea, but then, Lu then remembered how Lulu had wanted to visit the empire. The Mavis Bank was not just a bank, as it also represented the Mavis family, which was after the Seven Courts’ Yu Family’s secret technique. Thus, getting involved with them might not be a good idea.
Lu Yin quickly abandoned the idea of approaching the Mavis Bank and taking out a loan, and he also dismissed Ban Jiu. For the moment, he would just focus on getting these fifty androids manufactured, and after thinking it through, he had also realized that he might not actually need as many androids as he had initially thought. He might be able to upgrade these fifty androids to the Cruiser or even Hunter grade and then further develop them from there. Otherwise, if the numbers were too great, he might find it difficult to properly manage and develop them all.
Ban Jiu had just left King Zishan’s palace when Gavin requested an audience with the Royal Regent.
Lu Yin was most afraid of seeing the finance minister at this moment, as this old fellow would definitely complain about the empire being broke. So, Lu Yin simply closed his doors and rejected the visitor.
The night was refreshing, and King Zishan’s palace was brightly lit, to the point where it illuminated a great area surrounding the palace. To many, the nightlife was just getting started.
Lu Yin extended his domain, and he found some frenzied couples enjoying themselves in the bars as well as that lonely bar with only a few scattered people enjoying their own wine silently. He saw many matters that should not be made public occurring in smaller alleys, and he also saw many other things take place.
He then retracted his domain, as there were some matters he was better off not knowing about.
The empire’s economy had just stepped onto the right track, but because Lu Yin had just placed an order for all sorts of materials, the recovery had been stalled yet again. If not for the Nalan family being so patient with the Great Yu Empire and its debts, Lu Yin would have been forced to foot the bill.
He stared at the brightly lit Zenyu Star throughout the night as a small tinge of lonely hit his heart. Maybe his desire back on Shenwu Continent to take Ming Yan away with him to Zenyu Star had not been a bad one. There were indeed times when a man needed to act a bit more decisively.
He drank his wine and involuntarily fell deep into thought.
He had just taken a step out of his residence when his surroundings fell utterly silent. The lights were still lit and present, but even the wind had stopped, and all noise had vanished. The leaves that had been drifting down to the ground also froze in midair. Everything still felt natural, but also strange at the same time. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Lu Yin remained silent and did not move, though beads of sweat rolled off of his forehead. He could not feel any aura, and although his eyes were already filled with star energy, he could not see any rune lines whatsoever. Everything around him was frozen, and he did not know what strength was needed to accomplish such a thing, but it was indescribably formidable. He felt like he had caught a glimpse of a deity’s strength, where it was untraceable yet also ubiquitous.
“It’s been quite a while, but you’ve become much more powerful,” a soft voice rang out from behind Lu Yin.
Lu Yin’s mind raced and he whirled around to see a familiar face. “M- Master?”
The person who had appeared behind Lu Yin was the nominal master whom he had met after falling into the isolated space with the golden ocean: Mister Mu. This man had given Lu Yin the Fatesand, and he had also upgraded Lu Yin’s physical body to its absolute limit.
Mister Mu calmly studied Lu Yin. “I was passing by, so I came over to see you.”
Once he finished speaking, everything returned to normal; the leaves finished falling to the ground, the wind blew gently past the two men, and the distant lights flickered once more. It was as if everything that Lu Yin had just witnessed had been nothing more than an illusion, but he was also certain that it had been real, and that Mister Mu had caused everything to become still.
“Disciple Lu Yin pays his respects to Master.” Lu Yin bent at the waist and bowed low.
Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. “You’ve built up quite the reputation during this time, and your performance on Ironblood Weave’s battlefield was outstanding.”
Lu Yin replied, “Thank you, Master, for the compliments. This disciple wonders when he can become Master’s formal disciple?”
When he had left the space with that golden ocean, Lu Yin had only been Mister Mu’s nominal disciple. Even with his ability at that time, he had not qualified to become his formal disciple, but Lu Yin was confident in his current self. Disregarding his breakthrough to the Explorer realm, his battle force had reached seven lines, he had comprehended a forcefield from his domain, and he had also mastered the Yu Secret Art. This time, he was extremely confident in his potential.
“It looks like you are confident in displaying your destiny at this time, but Master must remind you that, since you are now an Explorer, my requirements for accepting you as a formal disciple have also changed compared to when you were only a Limiteer. If you fail to become Master’s formal disciple, your status as a nominal disciple will also be lost, and I will erase all of your memories related to myself. You can choose,” Mister Mu calmly informed him.
Lu Yin was stunned at this information, but he gritted his teeth after thinking it through. “Disciple still wishes to try.”
Mister Mu nodded, and the next moment, their surroundings reverted back to the scene a moment ago, where everything had stopped. “Alright, you can display your destiny for me now.”
Lu Yin directly skipped past his battle force and domain, as while seven lined battle force and a forcefield would astonish most people, they were nothing amazing to Mister Mu.
Lu Yin immediately displayed his usage of the Yu Secret Art. He waved a hand, and a stone vanished from the ground, only to reappear in another location.
Mister Mu marveled, “A secret technique. The Court of Seven Names’ Yu Secret Art. Not bad, not bad.”
Lu Yin was taken aback. “Master knows of the Yu Secret Art as well?”
“This universe has extremely few secret techniques, and Master has seen almost all of them. Thus, knowing about this is nothing much. Continue,” Mister Mu calmly ordered.
Lu Yin’s heart sank; even a secret technique was not enough to satisfy this man? That was a secret technique! Lu Yin’s eyes flickered as he fell deep into thought.
Mister Mu spoke up, “If you think that just a secret technique is enough for you to become my disciple, then your thoughts are too simple. Remember that war spirit that you battled against in that space? The one with closed eyes? That person also possesses a secret technique, yet I didn’t accept him as my disciple.”
Lu Yin clenched his fists and looked at Mister Mu expectantly. “Master, this disciple knows about the secret of this universe.”
Mister Mu was surprised at this. “Go on.”
“In ancient times, the universe held six mainlands, namely the First Mainland, Second Mainland, Third Mainland, Fourth Mainland, Fifth Mainland, and Sixth Mainland. The first four mainlands mysteriously collapsed, and the Fifth Mainland was defeated during its battle against the Sixth Mainland before merging with the previous four Mainlands to form the present universe that we know today. And now…” Lu Yin repeated the information that he had learned from the elegant-looking man he had interrogated in the Daosource Sect, all the while carefully observing Mister Mu.
He knew that Mister Mu must already be aware of all of this, but Lu Yin was well aware that his current strength and status were not enough to grant him the privilege of knowing such secrets. This information was also a form of destiny, as destiny was not only about one’s strength, but also their information.
Mister Mu looked up at the sky with a complex expression. “You’re right. This is the universe that was formed from five mainlands integrating together, and the scope of this place greatly surpasses that of a single mainland. To have knowledge of such things, you can be considered to have some degree of destiny, but it’s still not enough.” He looked at Lu Yin. “With your age, ability, and background, it’s indeed rather astounding that you were able to learn of such matters. Even Master didn’t expect you to know all this, and Master won’t ask you how you came across this knowledge. However, you’re still lacking just a small bit, as your current destiny is still insufficient to become a formal disciple of mine.”
Lu Yin’s eyes trembled. He then slowly raised his index finger towards the void and tapped out. In that instant, his eyes went slack and his consciousness vanished as an endless rage ran rampant through his mind. This was the Dream Finger, the strongest attack that he could demonstrate with his current abilities. This strike had instantly killed a Yin Guai and also severely injured Phantom Thorn.
The moment the Dream Finger appeared, the void fluctuated with a ripple, and Mister Mu’s eyes went wide, as if he was seeing something completely inconceivable.
Lu Yin’s finger tapped against the void while disregarding concepts such as distance. It had evidently landed in an empty space, but it caused a tremor that forced ripples to appear. The whole thing was rather visually pleasing, and only those at the other end of this attack would know how powerful this finger truly was.
Mister Mu frowned. This is…? So this is the case. No wonder, no wonder.
An acute pain engulfed his nerves, and Lu Yin grabbed his index finger as he expectantly looked at Mister Mu. This was one of his final options, and if this didn’t work, then he could only reveal the Stonewall Scriptures and those numbers that he had memorized.
