Lu Yin assumed that Qiong Shanhai wanted to discuss the matters of the last few days, as Lu Yin had indeed been the one who had triggered this unhealthy trend.
However, when Lu Yin saw the corpse inside the City Master’s residence, his face fell, and his expression turned cold.
Phantom Sting was dead.
When they had first arrived in Millions City, Yan Yan had been the one following Lu Yin around while Phantom Sting had moved about in the dark, searching for information. This mean that he had almost never revealed himself.
As a Hunter realm assassin with a peculiar innate gift, even Lu Yin would be forced to rely on observing rune lines if he wanted to search for Phantom Sting. However, the man’s corpse was now lying in front of him.
“Who did it?” Lu Yin’s voice was low, and he looked directly at Qiong Shanhai.
Qiong Shanhai shook his head. “We’re not sure. When we found him, he was already like this.”
“Where?’
“In an alley outside the Qiong Forest.”
Lu Yin’s first thought was Sall Phoenix. If someone had easily killed Phantom Sting without creating a huge commotion, then it could only be an Enlighter.
But he quickly refuted this assumption. Sall Phoenix had never seen Phantom Sting, and so he had no reason to take action against the assassin. Even if he had made a move, it would not have been this inconspicuous. The Dark Phoenix family’s abilities were too distinctive, and on top of that, Phantom Sting was a seasoned assassin. For him to die so soundlessly, he had to have been ambushed.
Unless Sall Phoenix had both the strength to instantly kill a Hunter realm assassin and the knowledge that Phantom Sting was working for Lu Yin, the probability of the Dark Phoenix elder being the killer was too low.
“How did City Master find out that he worked for me?” Lu Yin felt that this detail was strange.
Qiong Shanhai took out a token that had the Second Imperial Squadron Captain’s symbol on it. “His cosmic ring was left intact, and nothing was taken from it.”
Lu Yin crouched down and examined Phantom Sting’s wounds.
“There’s no need to check—only his internal organs were shattered. There are no superficial injuries either, and the assailant only used a single strike,” Qiong Shanhai explained.
Lu Yin frowned, as the murder victim in question was Phantom Sting. While he couldn’t compare to Aden or Yan Yan in terms of combat strength, his ability to stay alive was not inferior to Aden’s in any way. But despite that, he had been killed in one strike.
Lu Yin pressed one hand against Phantom Sting’s body, and strangely enough, he felt a familiar energy that made his scalp turn numb. It was death energy.
Phantom Sting’s organs had almost definitely been shattered by the death energy that had pervaded his body, and only the Specter Clan possessed death energy. The Neohuman Alliance had made a move.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, and he lowered his head so as to not prevent Qiong Shanhai from noticing anything peculiar.
He slowly stood up and said to Qiong Shanhai, “City Master, please investigate and discover the culprit. This man was the Great Yu Empire’s Second Imperial Squadron Captain, and he was also this Junior’s subordinate. He cannot be allowed to die without good cause.”
Qiong Shanhai nodded. “Rest assured, Millions City will not allow anyone to get away with murder. This person dared to kill someone here, so they had better be prepared for my Millions City’s punishment.”
Lu Yin cremated Phantom Sting’s corpse before departing from the residence with a heavy heart. The Neohuman Alliance had shown up. For Lu Yin, it would have been better if a Corpse King had come, but it was actually someone from the Specter Clan.
Lu Yin’s previous experience of Possessing someone from the Specter Clan had given him a deep understanding of the status that the Specter Clan held within the Neohuman Alliance. Whenever a Specter Clan member appeared, it was a sign that the Neohuman Alliance was planning something big. It should be known that a Specter Clan member did not appear even on Sourcepeak Planet, but one had actually come to Millions City at this time.
There was definitely something that the Neohuman Alliance wanted dearly in Millions City.
Whenever the Neohuman Alliance took action, it would definitely result in nothing good. Millions City might possibly be in huge trouble.
After thinking about it, Lu Yin wrote a letter and immediately hired someone to deliver it to Qiong Xi’er in the Fragrance Pavilion. He was planning on leaving with Yan Yan for a nearby planet, where he could analyze the situation calmly. He had a nagging feeling that he was constantly under the Neohuman Alliance’s surveillance, and he felt that staying in Millions City was too dangerous.
“Brother Lu, Brother Lu, you must help me!” Zhu San found Lu Yin and tightly latched onto him as he cried out, “Brother Lu, Xi’er doesn’t want me again. You have to think of another way!”
Lu Yin hurriedly pushed the young man aside. “My apologies, Brother Zhu, but I have something else that I have to attend to, and I have to leave Millions City for now. We’ll talk again once I return.”
“No! Nothing is more important than Xi’er! Brother Lu, you must help me. 100,000! 100,000 star essence if you help me come up with another idea.” Zhu San tried to entice Lu Yin with money, but Lu Yin remained unmoved. Despite the number of powerful Enlighters currently in Millions City, the Neohuman Alliance still dared to make a move. Lu Yin had no confidence in his ability to face them, and although Mister Mu had said that his jade talisman could even defend against an attack from Blackless God, it only contained one strand of spiritual force. How would Lu Yin deal with a Neohuman Alliance expert whose power level was over 300,000?
These people dared to plot against Millions City, which was in and of itself proof that they had a way to contest Millions City’s formidable strength. In other words, the power of Millions City would be soon rendered useless. Lu Yin did not want to stay in such a dangerous place any longer than he had to.
As for getting revenge for Phantom Sting, he would collect the debt some day, as he could not coexist with the Neohuman Alliance.
“Brother Zhu, let’s talk another time.” Lu Yin started to get impatient.
“Brother Lu, you truly don’t want True Insight?”
“Nope. You can keep it.”
“It’s my family’s to begin with.”
…
Lu Yin was entangled by Zhu San for half a day before he was forcibly dragged to a teahouse and delayed even further.
Suddenly, Millions City shuddered, and a huge explosion detonated in the distance as a powerful shockwave shot into the sky and through the clouds, where it exploded. Countless people felt an immense pressure descend, and quite a few buildings shattered.
Everyone in Millions City looked up towards where the explosion had occurred.
Lu Yin’s expression changed, as a boundless amount of rune lines had risen in the sky and were dashing towards the edge of Millions City. These rune lines were no less than those of an ordinary Enlighter.
“Who dares to attack my Zhu family?” A roar reverberated throughout Millions City, and multiple figures dashed towards the outskirts of Millions City, including even a few Hunters. The Zhu family was second only to the Qiong family within Millions City, and they had quite a few Hunters as well as hidden Enlighter realm ancestors.
“That’s my family! My family home has been attacked!” Zhu San cried out in fear.
Lu Yin looked at the rune lines that had attacked the Zhu family estate and were currently fleeing into the distance. There was a golden radiance that glinted in the wake of the fleeing rune lines while star essence sprinkled down from the sky, which shocked many people.
“True Insight is not something that your Zhu family can keep. I’m taking it away,” a sinister voice sounded throughout the sky.
“Thief! How bold!” bellowed the Zhu family patriarch, Zhu Jie, as he gave chase, quickly vanishing into outer space, above Millions City.
Closely following behind the patriarch was Hoffman, the Blaze Engineer, Saul, Yuehua Mavis, and the other Enlighters. They all appeared in outer space together, looking as if they were trying to investigate something. It didn’t take long before they all gave chase as well, but they were stopped by Qiong Xi’er, and a protective barrier that enveloped Millions City had appeared.
“Qiong Xi’er, what’s the meaning of this?” Hoffman’s temper was bad, and he immediately questioned the girl.
Saul snorted coldly and tried to dash into space, only to be stopped by the protective barrier. He then placed a hand on it, as if about to attempt to break it down.
“There’s no need to waste your efforts. This is my Millions City’s barrier that can even defend against powerhouses whose power levels are above 300,000. Unless a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker makes a move, there’s no way this barrier can be overcome in a short period of time,” Qiong Xi’er explained.
Sall Phoenix coldly asked, “What does Millions City mean by this? Are we not allowed to leave?”
Qiong Xi’er’s eyes scanned across the various Enlighters, and she apologetically replied, “I’m sorry, Seniors. My father has just been attacked and is gravely injured, and at the same time, the Zhu family’s estate was invaded. In all of Millions City, only you few seniors are able to do something like this. Please wait in Millions City until this matter is fully investigated. The Qiong family will naturally provide an accounting to the Seniors who are here.”
Yuehua Mavis looked up. “The person who attacked the Zhu family seized hold of True Insight and fled from Millions City. We all know that, but we did not notice any other expert attacking the City Master.”
Qiong Xi’er spoke in a seething voice, saying, “That’s the most terrifying detail. The attacker must have at least been an Enlighter to carry out such an attack. Senior Yuehua is wise and farsighted, so I trust that you all can understand our stance in this matter.”
Hoffman frowned. “We were not the ones who did such a thing, so let us out and we can help the Zhu family recover True Insight.”
“I’m sorry, Seniors. My father has been attacked, and this matter has to be investigated first. Seniors, please wait here patiently,” Qiong Xi’er said in an apologetic manner.
No matter who questioned her, she would not allow anyone to leave the area. Within Millions City, there was nobody who dared to rashly do anything to this girl. With the status that Millions City held at present, these Enlighters knew that there were some hidden details, and that made all of them remain cautious.
Lu Yin, Starfox, Wei Rong, and the others all also arrived on the scene, and they exchanged glances.
“Something’s not right. Brother Lu left the City Master’s residence not long ago, so the Qiong family patriarch was injured within that small time window, and there wasn’t even a sign of an attack. Even the Enlighters who are here would find it hard to do such a thing, as the Millions City Master is also an Enlighter. The hidden power of the Qiong family is not something that just one or two Enlighters can deal with. In addition to that, Qiong Xi’er is even intentionally forcing us to stay behind,” Wei Rong said as he looked deeply at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin’s expression remained calm, but internally, he was very anxious.
It was obvious that the people who had attacked the Zhu family wanted to intentionally lure these Enlighters away from Millions City. Otherwise, the person would not have revealed that they had True Insight. It was highly likely that this person was from the Neohuman Alliance. They had moved against Millions City, but they were clearly unafraid of the few Enlighters present cooperating, and thus, they had made an attempt to lure these powerhouses away. Qiong Xi’er had realized this detail, and so she had thought of a way to force these Enlighters to stay behind. That way, they would have to face the impending crisis alongside Millions City.
The fact that Qiong Xi’er had been able to figure this all out so quickly had to be related to Lu Yin’s note.
In that note, he had mentioned that Phantom Sting might have died at the hands of a Neohuman Alliance’s Corpse King. Given Qiong Xi’er’s shrewdness and intelligence, combined with the fact that the Zhu family had just been raided, she could only focus on making the best short term decisions for Millions City.
Lu Yin secretly regretted his actions, as he should not have shared that information with Qiong Xi’er so soon. At least, he should have waited until after he left the city. He was flustered now, as the Neohuman Alliance was the Human Domain’s greatest enemy, and he did not understand much of this deep darkness.
Things had happened too coincidentally, and he had been left with no choice.
The Neohuman Alliance’s scheme had been close to succeeding, as they would have easily lured the various Enlighters away, but their plans had ultimately failed because of him. The unlucky part was he had also ended up trapping himself.
Fortunately, the fact that the Neohuman Alliance had wanted to lead so many Enlighters away showed that they were not confident in their ability to deal with them all. Thus, he still had an opportunity.
“Brother Lu, what do you think of this?” Wei Rong looked at him.
Lu Yin nodded. “I think that you’re right.”
Wei Rong’s brow quirked up. “I’m right?”
Lu Yin was taken aback, and then he asked in a confused manner, “What did you just say?”
Wei Rong smiled, “I said, the Qiong family is considering having Brother Lu marry into their family.”
Lu Yin was about to deny such a thing, but then Millions City shuddered once again, and this time, the rumbling had come from the City Master’s estate. Everyone looked over. Initially, they were only able to hear a stifled roar, but then, a cold and gloomy cry echoed out that made their scalps turn numb.
Lu Yin’s expression changed, as this was the roar of a Corpse King.
Everyone else’s expression changed as well. They were all very experienced people, seeing as they had cultivated to the Enlighter realm, and it was too easy to recognize the aura of someone from the Neohuman Alliance. They did not have to hide their knowledge, as they could all recognize this aura.
In the distance, above the City Master’s estate, Qiong Shanhai spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was sent flying by a powerful force. The resulting shockwave formed a sharp blade that swept out and split the estate in two.
“It’s a Neohuman Alliance Corpse King! Time to move,” Yuehua Mavis barked as her figure vanished.
