Lu Yin bade Seruzen farewell, heading back to the Capital Star with Xu San and Bronsen. Everyone from Earth had their own fate to follow, and it wasn’t his place to interfere. That being said, it wasn’t like he could do anything anyway; whether they would meet again depended on themselves.
The trio traveled through the night to return to the Zenyu Star, and it was when he saw the Zishan Residence in the distance that he realized why all the courtiers had been against him living in it back at the palace. The Capital Star’s most grandiose structure was certainly the royal palace, having the tallest spires on the planet, but the Zishan Residence was a close second.
Bronsen explained, “When His Imperial Majesty became god-brother of King Zishan, he built the Zishan Residence taller and turned it into a landmark second only to the palace. The Zishan Family has disappeared for centuries, but the residence still remains and nobody is allowed inside.”
Lu Yin drew a deep breath, “Let’s go in.”
……
The Capital Star was bustling with activity even deep in the night, the lights shining as bright as day. For many, their nights were just beginning. Dozens of planes flew around leisurely on some hills not too far from the royal palace, to the tune of incessant cheering from a crowd of thousands.
“Raas, Raas, Raas…” the shouts filled the hills.
Raas arrogantly glanced at a man nearby, “This is the last round, Wukai. If you lose, you’ll have to prostrate yourself every time you see me.”
Wukai gritted his teeth, “I won’t lose. Don’t forget what you promised me.”
Raas said disdainfully, “When have you ever won? But I’ll keep my word. If you win, I’ll get my father to plead on General Sigmund’s behalf. But that won’t be happening, haha!”
The cheers grew louder below.
Elsewhere in a huge manor, Huo Xiaoling was helplessly being dragged around by a little girl, “You promised me that you’d take me out to play! You can’t go back on your word.”
She could only smile wryly, “Yes, yes, Xiaoxiao. I wasn’t lying to you, so let go of me first.”
The little girl pouted, “No, that’s how you cheated me the last time! I can’t run as fast as you.”
Huo Xiaoling sighed.
The little girl laughed slyly, “I’m actually helping you!”
“Helping me?” Huo Xiaoling was confused.
The little girl smiled cheekily, “Those idiots from the Fireforge Planet keep pestering Father to push the marriage forward. Let’s run away!”
Huo Xiaoling rolled her eyes, “Don’t even dream about it, you cheeky little thing. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
“You’re stupid!” the little girl huffed and continued pouting.
Elsewhere in a clamorous bar, a bunch of people were dancing passionately. A girl in revealing clothes and black boots was yelling in excitement, drinking and shouting on occasion.
A depressed youth entered the bar and plopped down in front of the bar, “I want something strong!”
A bright green spirit came out soon enough, and the man took one huge gulp before choking on it and coughing hard. To the man’s embarrassment, many started mocking him. The girl in skimpy clothing, in particular, and kept pointing at his nose while laughing.
The man was furious, “Shut up, you worms!”
In that one moment, the bar went completely quiet. Everyone froze and stared at the man, but not with anger. In their gazes was pity, and a hint of respect. The man felt something off about the situation, but quickly ignored it. He was the strongest student in the Imperial Military Academy, Ian; in terms of status, he was far above the kind of trash that lingered around in nightclubs.
The girl in skimpy clothing slowly walked over to Ian with narrowed eyes. He only saw her pretty shoulder as she put an arm around him and got closer, “Were you talking about me just now, kiddo?”
Ian frowned. He felt certain urges as he sniffed that enticing fragrance, but at the thought of the kind of person that would visit these types of places, he instantly felt repulsed, “Get lost!”
The girl burst into laughter, quickly followed by the rest of the bar. Everyone was guffawing, including security, leaving Ian confused. What was going on?
“Someone’s scolding you, Miss Dana. The fact that there’s someone with the courage to scold you is something to celebrate about. Let’s drink to being called worms!”
“Cheers!” Everyone yelled.
The bar suddenly got all excited, leaving Ian even more confounded. These people were crazy. Why were they happy to be cursed at?
The girl called Dana was happy as well and kept slapping the bar, “This is fun! How many years has it been since someone had the nerve to scold me? Great, I’ll pay everyone’s tab today!”
“Thanks, Miss Dana!” Everyone raised their glasses in celebration.
“Enough of that!” Ian fumed, but it was at that moment that a suffocating force descended on the place. The counter cracked as his gadget blew up, the pressure leaving him unable to even breathe. He stared at Dana in disbelief. That forced… it had come from her?
Nobody else reacted; he was the only one who felt that surge of strength. He couldn’t even begin to fathom the level of strength she possessed. Was she a Melder? A Limiteer? Or… an Explorer?
Dana drew even closer, “Know who I am, kiddo?”
It was only with blood dripping down the corner of his mouth that Ian realized he’d provoked someone powerful, “I- I don’t.”
Dana licked her lips as she burst into a seductive smile, “I’m the daughter of the captain of the Ordnance Mercenaries.”
Ian was first confused at first, but his expression quickly changed. Everyone knew about the Ordnance Mercenaries amongst the higher echelons of the Great Yu Empire. It wasn’t impressive at first glance, but the vice-captain of the group was Shalosh, the captain of the Eighth Imperial Squadron.
He was in trouble.
……
A lot happened that night, but a lot could only happen at night. Zenyu Star’s night life was quite luxurious. Those with money and power, the strong, those seeking thrills, criminals and so on… Numerous people went out and participated in the capital’s glamorous nightlife. However, it was amidst this glamor that there was a darkness never to be illuminated—that of the Zishan Residence.
The Residence was extremely vast and second only to the royal palace in height, casting a shadow of eternal darkness over the Zenyu Star. This was how things had been for the past few centuries, but that darkness suddenly… lit up.
The dark residence seemed to burst into daytime as Lu Yin stepped in, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. All attention was diverted from the plane contest in the hills as everyone glanced over, with the sole exception of Wukai Mathers. All he wanted to do was win this competition and get Sicar to plead on his father’s behalf, and not even a fire in the royal palace would distract him from that goal. On the other hand, Raas cursed. Distracted by the residence, Wukai had been gone before he knew it. He’d lost the round.
Within the Huo Family, Huo Xiaoling was right about to take little Xiaoxiao out when she saw the Zishan Residence light up. She was shocked as the image of a man appeared in her mind, as well as a dagger that had been placed at her throat. Lu Yin…
The bar had been shrouded in the Zishan shadow, so the residence lighting up drew everyone’s attention. Most of the patrons headed out and gazed up at the lofty building that wasn’t far away.
“Isn’t that the Zishan Residence? It actually lit up. Does that mean someone from the Zishan Family came back?”
“I heard it’s true. There’s a young man whom His Imperial Majesty granted the title of King Zishan.”
Ian stared on frozen, Lu Yin’s image appearing in his mind. That man had been able to rob him so easily, leaving him ridiculed by everyone in his academy. He’d been mocked as the weakest leader in the school’s existence, all because of that bastard! If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t be in such a difficult position as to come to a bar to get drunk. If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t have offended the Ordnance Mercenaries. It was all that despicable bastard!
“So how shall we deal with you scolding me, kiddo?” Dana ignored the residence and focused her attention on Ian, who hung his head silently. She snickered, “You’re entering the Ordnance Mercenaries from today, and you’ll be my personal servant. You’ll cook and clean for me to make up for this.”
Ian opened his mouth with the intention to reject her, but in the face of danger, he could do nothing but agree. It wasn’t like he could go back to school anyway. There was nothing left for him in that place than ridicule.
Within the royal palace, The Undying Yushan glanced at the distant Zishan Residence with longing in his eyes, “If you were still alive, Brother, I’d charge into the Innerverse with you once more, and take my empire with me.”
The Zishan Residence’s re-opening resulted in happiness, sorrow, longing and anger. None of these had nothing to do with Lu Yin for now, and he focused on his gadget. A stranger was contacting him.