Lu Yin’s eyes flickered as he stepped forward, and reached out a hand to touch the purple plant. It was very soft indeed, and touching it even made him feel like his stamina was recovering a little with every whiff.
The Emperor looked at the plant and was moved, “The laws of nature can be very cruel. This plant knows how to restrain its power in the face of powerhouses. No matter how it is touched, it will not attack, and even remains motionless while all the other beings around it may resist. That’s why this was the only plant that survived from that planet and was brought into my presence. When I’m around, it’s just a pretty thing to look at. It might have an Explorer’s strength, but that is of no use.”
Lu Yin squinted at the clear warning, but the Emperor continued to ask, “Do you have anything to discuss?”
“I accidentally unearthed some news during Earth’s trial and decoded some coordinates from it. There might be corpse kings hidden there.”
The Undying Yushan was shocked, “What? You know the location of corpse kings?”
“I’m not certain that that’s what they are, the details were fuzzy.”
“What coordinates?” the Emperor’s voice boomed. It was only after passing those coordinates to the army that he smiled, “Sit for a while, there will be results soon.”
Lu Yin nodded and sat. It was at that point that Dorren and Duke arrived, looking at the scene with astonishment. Wasn’t King Zishan pleading for leniency on General Sigmund? How was Royal Father not furious?
“Why are the two of you here too?” The Undying Yushan was puzzled, but after the two made their salutations, he nodded, “Since you’re here, sit and wait with us.”
The two felt suspicious, but asked no questions as they calmly sat beside Lu Yin who simply nodded without further interaction. They ate some snacks from the maid as they waited, half an hour passing before the Emperor’s gadget rang out. He looked at it and smiled, turning to Lu Yin, “Good job, a total of three corpse kings. This is your first great merit.”
Lu Yin immediately got up, “Royal Uncle’s troops are invincible, that is why they got the corpse kings.”
Dorren was stumped, “Royal Father, what corpse kings are we talking about?”
The Emperor explained the matter to the two, who stared at Lu Yin in amazement. The Neohuman Alliance was quite capable, and exterminating even a single escaped corpse king was a deed of merit. This was why the escape of 27 had forced The Undying Yushan to shift the blame to Sigmund. Even if this didn’t cancel out the pressure entirely, it would recover some of the Empire’s lost reputation.
“Good job, Royal Brother,” the Crown Prince commended. Meanwhile, Duke measured Lu Yin up once more. He had assumed him to be a fool, but this newcomer actually had some brains. No wonder he played around with everyone and defeated a Nightking during Earth’s trial. This was interesting.
The Undying Yushan laughed, “You’ve served your country well, Little Yin. Feel free to ask for anything you want; I will do whatever is within my power.”
Lu Yin took a few steps back and bowed again, “Royal Uncle, General Mathers rescued me once on Earth. I beseech you to announce publicly that he was the one who provided these coordinates.”
Everyone fell silent. Dorren met glances with Duke, both astonished. It had come to Sigmund as expected, but this wasn’t a plea for mercy. It was a request to shift the credit!
The Emperor remained silent for a while, and Lu Yin maintained his bow with twinkling eyes. He’d learnt that three corpse kings was a big deal; capturing any single one was an amazing feat in itself. This was an adequate pretext to gain some power, but he had not sought to do so. Sigmund wasn’t just one person; he represented the former subordinates of the Zishan Family and his own reputation in returning favors. Public opinion of oneself was vastly important in this day and age, and a good reputation was worth more than a modicum of power. Lu Yin understood clearly that his current strength left him unable to take on any true status. He was just a tiny Sentinel that no one would notice; so what if he was given authority over military affairs? No one would listen to him. What he needed now was a good reputation and inside information.
The Undying Yushan finally spoke after a while, “You must think carefully, do you really wish to do this?”
Lu Yin was firm, “I hope you allow it, Royal Uncle.”
“I can, but this will not offset Sigmund’s crimes. At most, it can spare his life.”
Lu Yin was touched, “Thank you, Royal Uncle.”
The Emperor nodded and looked at Lu Yin deeply, then asked the two princes to leave. He walked over, “Are you really returning the favor by saving Sigmund? Give me an honest answer.”
Lu Yin looked at the man and replied sincerely, “Yes, Royal Uncle.”
The Undying Yushan stared into Lu Yin’s eyes, then smiled, “You really are Zishan’s descendant. He also knew how to show gratitude where it is due. Alright, I’m tired, you can leave.”
Lu Yin nodded and left, while the Emperor looked at his back and sighed towards the skies, “Your descendants are really like you.”
……
Lu Yin hadn’t even reached the Grand Astral Gate before the imperial edict had been sent out, “Owing to amendments for his crimes, Sigmund Mathers is pardoned from capital punishment. He will be detained temporarily due to insufficient evidence of his treason.”
Many high officials of the Empire were stunned by this order, unable to understand just why this had happened. Only those on the Capital Star knew that King Zishan had gone to the palace.
“How is this possible? Amendments for his crimes? What amendments? What did that brat do?” Sicar stared at his screen blankly, an emotion mimicked by many people across the Empire.
Even at the Grand Astral Gate, Bronsen was staring at his own screen in similar disbelief. He had never spoken out of turn towards Lu Yin because his job was to ensure King Zishan’s safety, but he hadn’t felt that pleading for mercy would have worked. Now, he had to reevaluate this King Zishan who’d brought about a miracle. It seemed like this guy wasn’t arrogant and oblivious; he had the brains to match his guts.
“Boss, you’re out!” Xu San was excited.
Lu Yin frowned at the wording that made him seem like he was being released from prison, “Bronsen, do you know where Vice-Treasurer Sicar lives?”
Bronsen was distracted, “Yes.”
“Bring me there.”
Bronsen nodded and set the route on the plane, which dashed off the runway only a few moments later. This was Lu Yin’s first time to the capital, and it was quite different from what he had imagined. There certainly was technology everywhere, but there were some ancient buildings as well. A large section of the place was covered in greenery, which was a stark contrast from the planes that constantly flew by and the stunned expressions of those within. His transport was far too eye-grabbing here.
Not far away, a giant screen was showing a lively young girl singing, and there were people crowding around it both on the ground and on the bridges. The three rings could be seen clearly in the sky, circling in the air like clouds.
“Boss, look. So many beauties!” Xu San exclaimed as he surveyed the city below, but Lu Yin was wholly uninterested. The Great Yu Empire was a far cry from the Innerverse.
A plane suddenly dashed across their front and turned sharply to move beside Lu Yin’s, and a pretty girl threw him a flirtatious glance through the glass, “Hey, handsome. Let’s have a race to see who’s faster.”
“Sure, let’s bet,” Lu Yin’s lips curved up.
Her eyes flashed, “How much?”
“Five cubes of star crystals.”
Her jaw dropped, “Five cubes? You must be crazy! Do you even have that many?”
“Don’t play if you can’t afford it,” he dismissed, and she snorted and left in another direction.
“She was such a pretty girl, Boss. You shouldn’t scare them.” Xu San felt it was a shame.
Lu Yin laughed it off. Everyone was beautiful when technology reached a certain point; unless there was someone as pretty as Bai Xue, he didn’t care. Still, his starting offer had been far too vicious; the school leaders on Earth’s trial had only averaged one cube and that was due to Raas and Jenny pushing up the numbers. This girl was just an average student with a few cubes on her at best. Five was too steep a figure for her to bet.