Knowing that anything he said was useless, Lu Yin didn’t speak from start to end. The weak would always be preyed on across the universe, and any unwillingness on his part would only make him a subject of ridicule. The only thing he felt was a pity at this point was being unable to kill Liu Shaoge; that man was a hidden threat.
“LIU. SHAO. GE,” Bai Xue trembled as she shouted each syllable, her eyes now red. The man in question smiled at her faintly, but he didn’t reply.
Qingyu glanced at her, “Forget her for now, bring her along the next time. Her gift and face make her fit to serve me, but we can’t take her along now.”
A cold glint flashed past Liu Shaoge’s eyes, but they quickly returned to normal as he bowed, “Yes, Master.”
Soon, the duo’s figures had vanished, and a silver spaceship shot out from the larger one and took off into the unknown. Back within the larger spaceship, Mira squinted, “The birth of another Nightking; truly a troublesome clan.”
As they watched Qingyu vanish, Lu Yin suddenly reached out and grabbed both Huo Xiaoling and Jenny Auna, stunning everyone including Sigmund.
“The audacity! Let them go immediately, native!” Torry shouted out, cursing his carelessness to let such a scenario play out before his very eyes. Standing nearby, Shalosh was astonished; he’d never imagined a puny Sentinel would dare to grab these two ladies of high society in front of Explorers. The sheer courage that required was something that he could appreciate.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Sigmund stared coldly at Lu Yin.
Holding both girls with his elbows, Lu Yin pointed a dagger at them with each hand. He could pierce their necks with even the slightest force. “I’m sorry to have to use these girls to threaten people, but it just so happens that they’re the most important ones here. I hope to talk things over with you, General Mathers.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Sigmund grew irate at the fact that a native was blackmailing him. He wouldn’t have cared to sacrifice these lives in most scenarios, but the two hostages were simply too important in this scenario. If Xiaoling and Jenny died, he wouldn’t end up well either.
“Once the trial ends, the cultivators of Earth will be sent to the battlefields of the Empire. I don’t wish for that to happen.”
“Those are the rules of the Empire, I have no authority to overturn them.”
Lu Yin smiled, “Qingyu just said that he would personally return to destroy Earth. You can use that as an excuse; if I’m not wrong, the Great Yu Empire wouldn’t dare to defy a Nightking’s orders.”
Sigmund was enraged, “Brat, don’t insult the Great Yu Empire. We simply do not wish for hostilities with the Nightkings. I’ll report your suggestion if you wish, but release them first.”
“Do I look stupid?” Lu Yin declined.
This time, it was Torry who replied, “Don’t misunderstand, kid. Your performance in this trial qualifies you to join Yu Academy; you won’t be burdened by this planet. Not just you; the earthlings around you can all join Yu Academy as well; this is the reward from the Empire. Threaten us again and that reward will be void; you’ll experience true desolation.”
“Looks like these two aren’t all that important if you’re spouting so much nonsense,” Lu Yin remarked.
“YOU!”
Huo Xiaoling glared at Lu Yin, ”Let me go, I’ll help plead your case.”
“Me too, don’t touch me!” Jenny added.
“More crap and I’ll stuff a smelly sock into your mouths,” Lu Yin threatened, forcing them quiet as they ground their teeth. Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue silently walked beside Lu Yin; to them, this was the only chance for Earth’s countless cultivators. Gerlaine stuck a tongue out and distanced herself from the lunatics, and despite the struggle on her face, Jeraldine did the same. This trial was permanently etched into her mind.
Everything stopped for a moment. Lu Yin’s breathing became shallow as he stretched his body past its limits, but he refused to show any weakness even as his face paled. However, a sudden terrifying pressure crashed down on him and caused his hands to tremble, an invisible force locking his body in place. The rocks all around were turned to dust as Torry Auna appeared in front of him and kicked out, sending him flying a hundred meters back before crashing to the ground. A simple wave of the man’s hand sent Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue flying away as well.
Lu Yin immediately coughed up blood, a searing pain spreading through his body as all his organs were shattered. There was a deep footprint now marked on his chest; the kick had almost broken through his entire body. It was at this moment that he felt the terror of an Explorer’s strength; it had been impossible for him to resist or even move a single muscle.
Torry’s icy gaze swept across him, “Some vagabond dares to negotiate with us? We wanted to save you for Qingyu’s return, but you’re just looking to die. How arrogant!”
Jenny matched Torry’s glare as she looked at Lu Yin, while Huo Xiaoling just sighed at the sight. She had come to admire Lu Yin for attaining such strength with the meager resources of the natives, it was not an easy task at all. Unfortunately, the gap was just too great in their backgrounds. Geniuses were a dime a dozen in the universe, and while Lu Yin was clearly a genius, how did that matter? The universe was too vast and there were too many prodigies to choose from.
Lu Yin’s head dropped down, his vision blurring as he truly reached the end of the road. Torry turned to Sigmund, “General Mathers, I think we should eliminate this person. He’s uncontrollable and his background is unknown; sending him to the battlefield will only cause problems for the Empire.”
The General showed no signs of hearing the man, focused on a call he’d just started with some unknown person. Torry noticed the man’s unreadable expression and slowly raised his hand and pointed it at Lu Yin, “Don’t think you’ll actually be able to wait for Qingyu to come back and kill you. It will be difficult for him to return, and we won’t wait that long. Go to hell!”
The Explorer moved to attack. Zhang Dingtian howled, but couldn’t even get up, and a pathetic-looking Raas sneered to the side. Mira stood up in the spaceship above and prepared to intervene, but Sigmund suddenly shouted, “TORRY AUNA! STOP!”
Torry was stunned and looked at him in astonishment, “What?”
Sigmund’s expression grew solemn and he looked at Lu Yin with a mix of apprehension and anticipation, “Get a blood sample.”
One soldier immediately stepped forward and approached Lu Yin, bending down and collecting some blood from Lu Yin’s lips. When a dizzy Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw the soldier, his pupils shrank, “You?”
The soldier shushed Lu Yin and blinked, “Home tasked me with sending you regards. You have performed well, now pass me the blood sample.”
Lu Yin didn’t hesitate and immediately retrieved a vial of blood from his cosmic ring, handing it over to the soldier. The man smiled at Lu Yin, but by the time he’d turned around, he was solemn once more. He walked over to Sigmund, “General.”
Sigmund opened his hand and sent the vial flying towards the spaceship, leaving everyone silent in anticipation. Lu Yin watched the soldier returning to formation and released his breath with a smile; finally, he’d taken the first step. The blood sample he’d left back when he first arrived at Jinlin had finally proved its use.
The Great Yu Empire’s examinations for cultivators were extremely strict, and due to Lu Yin’s eye-catching performance during the trial, the Empire naturally wanted to gather his blood samples and conduct some tests. The blood Lu Yin had left behind at Jinlin had actually been intended for just this moment. His stellar performance had been a show to entice the Great Yu Empire to examine the blood sample he had left behind, and now everything was proceeding according to the plan.
After a bit of time passed, Sigmund listened to a report from his gadget. Getting visibly excited, he turned to Lu Yin and blinked right in front of the youth to prop him up, “Tell me, why are you here? What’s your name? Who else is in your family? How old are they?”
The others grew curious. Shalosh and Torry quickly received the same news as Sigmund from their own sources, and they also turned to look at Lu Yin in shock. The Great Yu Empire was about to get shaken up.
Up in the spacecraft, Mira was dumbfounded. She looked at the people in her display, “Are you certain? This is too convenient.”
The person on the screen nervously checked the instruments, “There’s no doubt. Absolutely none. This is the Zishan clan’s bloodline. That child is definitely a descendant of the Zishan Family.”
Mira was speechless. She had learned about this empire before arriving and was well aware that it had its fair share of legends. It had started as a weak nation, but had abruptly risen in power thanks to two people who had groomed it into a top-ranked empire within the Frostwave Weave. One of those people was Undying Yushan, while the other was Undying Zishan. The duo had been famous throughout the Outerverse.