When Xu San saw Lu Yin’s behavior, his heart skipped a beat. “Boss, did you recognize someone?”
Lu Yin coughed. “Don’t talk to me.”
Xu San’s face went pale, and he glanced around the room.
A group of people had just entered the room. At the front was Di Luo, and he was followed by a group of young cultivators from the Bloodburn Realm. Noticeably, among them was Autumnfrost Qing.
Lu Yin had not expected people from the Bloodburn Realm to appear.
The Sixth Mainland was not internally united, and the Bloodburn and Blackblood Realms often waged war against each other. Thus, the grievances between the two sides were quite deep.
“Oh, aren’t these the stray dogs from the Bloodburn Realm? Why have they run to a territory that belongs to our Blackblood Realm?” someone mocked savagely.
“They wanted to use the strength of just their single realm to take control of the entire Outerverse. But after failing at that, they’ve come to the Innerverse and want to steal some contributions from us.”
“Actually, the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse doesn’t even have the strength to resist a single realm. However, they still managed to fail. It’s truly a feat worthy of the Bloodburn Realm.”
…
Di Luo and the others with him all maintained their calm expressions. They had come to the Innerverse from the Sixth Mainland, and along the way, they had suffered so much ridicule that they had stopped caring long ago.
At this time, the void distorted a bit, and Realmling Shang Rong suddenly appeared.
A Realmling was the strongest member of the younger generation within an entire realm, and Shang Rong’s appearance caused everyone to go silent.
“The war between the mainlands means that we should be united against a single enemy. There shall be no more such ridicule, and any who break this rule will immediately leave this place,” Shang Rong commanded as his gaze swept across the entire gathering.
Everyone who he glanced at felt their scalps go numb, and no one dared to talk back to him.
Di Luo had an appreciative look on his face, and he slowly bowed. “Thank you, Realmling Shang Rong.”
Shang Rong nodded. He was the Realmling of the Blackblood Realm, and he had fought against the Bloodburn Realm for many years. Thus, he also held a deep loathing for the people of that realm. However, he could not openly show such feelings, as he needed to demonstrate the open mind that a Realmling should possess. “We welcome everyone who has come to support Starlight Island.”
Di Luo and the others immediately expressed their gratitude.
The arrival of Di Luo and the others caused the entire gathering’s atmosphere to change. Although the mockery had been stopped by Shang Rong with no one else daring to mock the newcomers, the way people looked at the youths from the Bloodburn Realm still was not quite right.
Lu Yin tried his best to hide, as he did not want to be noticed by Autumnfrost Qing.
He randomly snatched up a plate of delicacies, but another hand also reached for it. It was a very fat hand, and it belonged to the fatty of the Greenmen Duo.
The fatty looked at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin also looked at the fat youth before reflexively letting go of the platter.
The fatty took the platter of food and looked at Lu Yin with appreciation. “You’re very polite. Fat Bro approves.”
Lu Yin felt a wave of disgust rise within him.
Behind the fatty, the skinny young man appeared. “Fat Bro, since this bro is so polite, we should give him the food. Look at how skinny he is.”
The fatty sized Lu Yin up and down and then offered the platter to Lu Yin. “Eat, you must have been hungry for a very long time.”
Lu Yin did not want to mess with these two, as they easily drew attention to themselves and everyone around them. He wordlessly accepted the platter and turned to leave.
But the fatty was not happy at his silence. “Skinny Bro, look at the quality of people these days! They can’t even offer a word of thanks.”
“That’s right, Fat Bro. Who knows where that ancient legend of virtue has gone? We must learn from this person’s mistakes, so as not to be as uncultured as him.”
“Skinny Bro, well spoken. Oh, you look even skinnier now.”
“Is that so, Fat Bro? Truth is, you’ve become fatter.”
“Hahaha, thanks for the compliment!”
“That’s just the truth! Thanks, Fat Bro, for your compliments as well!”
…
Their unrestrained laughter drew a great deal of attention, and the words “Stupid Green Duo” could be vaguely heard from murmurs.
Lu Yin quickly put some distance between himself and the two idiots.
Autumnfrost Qing looked over from the distance, and he glanced at Lu Yin. He then looked at the Greenmen Duo before staring back at Lu Yin again. Coincidentally, Lu Yin’s back was facing Autumnfrost Qing, so the youth could not get a clear look at Lu Yin, though Autumnfrost Qing did feel that this person seemed somewhat familiar. Still, he did not pay much mind to this.
Lu Yin quickly distanced himself from the Greenmen Duo and heaved a sigh of relief. It would have been too ridiculous if he had been exposed by those two weirdos.
Countless people moved to surround Shang Rong after he appeared, each of them with the intention of looking like an elite of their generation. Xu San also moved over, and Lu Yin watched the man approach, as he did indeed look incredibly wretched.
Lu Yin was not the only one with such thoughts, as Shang Rong and the others around him all revealed ugly expressions when they noticed Xu San approaching them. It was impressive for one person to lower the appeal of an entire group by such a degree.
However, even though he was disgusted by Xu San, Shang Rong still forced himself to be polite. Not only was Xu San the sole disciple of Ancestor , but he was also the poster child for talented Fifth Mainland cultivators that had been recruited by the Sixth Mainland after they surrendered.
From the Sixth Mainland’s perspective, if they could even accept someone like Xu San, then who would they not accept? This was what they wanted to demonstrate to the people of the Fifth Mainland.
The more luxurious a life Xu San led, the more willing the people of the Fifth Mainland would be to surrender to the Sixth Mainland.
Shang Rong reluctantly forced out a smile. “Xu San, come over here and get to know everyone.”
Xu San hurriedly plastered on a pandering smile, and he began to crazily flatter everyone in the group. Those who could stand near Shang Rong were not common cultivators, and even the worst of them were direct heirs of Imprinter families. In fact, some of them were even heirs to Cosmic Imprinter families. It was not embarrassing to kiss up to such people.
Everyone had their own method of surviving.
As Lu Yin watched Xu San do his best to ingratiate himself into Shang Rong’s little circle of elites, Lu Yin sighed. However, he could not hate Xu San for showing such behavior, as the man only wanted to have a better life, which was something that the Fifth Mainland could not offer him. That was why Xu San had joined the Sixth Mainland. Some people might see Xu San as a traitor, but which person was not selfish? As long as Xu San did not purposefully massacre the people of the Fifth Mainland, nobody had the right to blame him, as he was merely seeking out a better life.
Lu Yin avoided people from the Bloodburn Realm like Autumnfrost Qing, and he made his way around the gathering. He saw quite a few people, and he also learned of quite a few matters.
After a while, Shang Rong signaled everyone to quiet down, and it seemed as if he was waiting for something.
Soon, a solemn-looking man appeared at the entrance of the room, and he gave off a valiant aura from head to toe.
His appearance caused many people to cry out in surprise.
“It’s Crimson Servant! The servant of Daosource Three Skies Zhi Yi,” someone exclaimed in astonishment.
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up; had one of the Daosource Three Skies arrived?
Shang Rong immediately welcomed Crimson Servant into the room. As a Realmling, he should not have been the one to welcome a servant, but Crimson Servant was different. Although he was referred to as a servant, he was actually a disciple of the Daosource Sect, and he only followed Zhi Yi due to his admiration of her. If one did not include the Daosource Three Skies or the Realmlings, then this person would be a pinnacle expert among the Sixth Mainland’s younger generation, and he was one of the few members who had already reached the Hunter realm.
Although Shang Rong was a Realmling, if one compared their status within the Daosource Sect, Crimson Servant was on the same level as the Realmling.
“Brother Qiu, I thought that you would come, haha.” Shang Rong welcomed the young man with a big smile.
The name of this person called Crimson Servant was Qiu He, and he smiled slightly when he saw Shang Rong approach. “By the orders of the Daosource Three Skies, I am here to deliver a mission to everyone. Brother Shang, can you cooperate?”
“Of course. Under Elder Sister Zhi Yi’s command, the thunder region will definitely achieve victory.” Shang Rong smiled.
Qiu He was satisfied with this response, and he made a gesture as a show of his appreciation.
Shang Rong responded in kind with the same gesture.
Everyone was currently focused on the two young men.
Lu Yin also grew solemn. This Crimson Servant was not inferior to the Realmling at all, and it allowed Lu Yin to see how terrifying the Daosource Three Skies were; they could actually convince one of the few Hunters in the younger generation to act as their servant. No matter what the reasons behind such a decision were, it was still shocking.
In the Fifth Mainland’s entire younger generation, only the Ten Arbiters had reached the Hunter realm, and even the person at the very top of the Top 100 Rankings, Xia Tian, had not become a Hunter yet. This was the disparity between the two mainlands.
Shang Rong and Qiu He exchanged a few pleasantries and then turned to face everyone else in the room. “By the order of Sky Zhi of the Daosource Three Skies, all combatants in the thunder region who wish to fight against the Fifth Mainland will obey Sky Zhi’s commands. Does anyone have any objections?”
“We pledge our lives to work for Sky Zhi,” everyone shouted back.
There was a strange look on Ling Que’s face, and he meandered over towards Lu Yin. “Did all these people practice this? That was so coordinated! Sky Zhi seems to be better at putting on an act than even the Ten Arbiters.”
Qiu He was very pleased with everyone’s attitude. For him, the more respect these people showed to Zhu San, the better he felt. “Everyone is clear on the situation in this thunder region: the contest for the poles will soon begin. If everyone is allowed to fight however they wish, then the situation will quickly devolve into a mess. Thus, Sky Zhi has turned some of the Daosource Sect’s source materials into tokens. The team leaders for this contest will be given tokens made from semi-source material while only Sky Zhi will have a token made from true source material. She will use this token to send out commands, and her commands will be shown on all of the semi-Lifesource tokens. Anyone who receives an order must fulfill them—otherwise, they will be treated as traitors to the Sixth Mainland.”
Shang Rong continued his explanation, “Everyone should have already heard of Sky Zhi’s abilities, and whenever she demonstrates her military prowess through strategic games, very few are able to match her abilities. With her commanding us, even if we all die, we must still execute her orders and show the unity and loyalty of our Sixth Mainland. I hope that no one will embarrass…”
As he listened to Shang Rong’s words, Lu Yin started to frown a bit. Battles between cultivators rarely employed any sort of military strategy. If both sides were of roughly the same strength, then the side that used a militaristic deployment style would enjoy too much of an advantage. The Sixth Mainland’s forces already surpassed those of the Fifth Mainland, and if they were led by one of the Daosource Three Skies in a formal military order, then it would be too difficult for the Fifth Mainland to win the battle in the thunder region.
The only good news that Lu Yin heard during this meeting was that not all three of the Daosource Three Skies would participate in this contest. At the moment, Zhu San was the only one who had arrived, and Wu Taibai would likely not come. It was also not very likely that the final member of the Daosource Three Skies, the mysterious heir to the Progenitor of Secret Arts, would appear. This was quite different from what Xu San had told the three of them, as he had previously mentioned that it was possible for all of the Daosource Three Skies to appear.
However, Xu San had merely been postulating, and it was impossible to know if his conjectures had been accurate or not at that time.
The next part of the meeting was to distribute the tokens. At this moment, all of the people present at the meeting were true experts of the younger generation currently present in the thunder region. Qiu He had brought dozens of semi-Lifesource tokens with him, and he allowed Shang Rong to distribute the tokens to the gathered youths.
The Realmling had to have one, and those such as He Xiang, Di Luo, and Autumnfrost Qing were also given tokens. Even the Greenmen Duo received one, and Sixteen was given two. Almost all of the heirs of Imprinter families received tokens, as they were the top experts of the younger generation in the thunder region.
There were five areas that contained poles, but there were more than just five teams competing for them. Some of the teams would be open while others would be hidden. Under Xu San’s arrangements, Lu Yin joined Sixteen’s team, which was an open team. This meant that they would be openly fighting for a pole in a certain region. In truth, there was also another secret team with the same mission, and there were also hidden experts who would be participating in the contest.
Xu San would not participate in the fighting, and nobody even asked him to. With his level of strength, he would be of no help and would simply be running to his death. Many people assumed that the Fifth Mainland cultivators would be quite malicious during the battle.
Sixteen was given two tokens, and one of them was intended for his second in command so that the two would receive Zhi Yi’s commands at the same time. This was also to safeguard against losing a token.
Xu San asked for the second token, which he then passed on to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin took the token and was rather surprised by it. Semi-source material was supposed to be unique to the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect. No, that wasn’t right. The material was actually called source, and the immature bits were known as semi-source.
Wait a moment. Lu Yin’s eyes suddenly brightened. If this material was called semi-source because it had not fully matured yet, then could he upgrade it with his die’s three pips: Enhance to genuine source material? Would that mean that he would have the same level of authority as Zhi Yi and that he would be able to give out orders to everyone carrying tokens made from semi-source material?
This thought excited Lu Yin.
