Chapter 2680 – Preparations
It was not long before Lu Yin left the Red Zone in the Voidforce Universe and publicly captured another spy. This once again reminded people of his existence. He could not constantly remain in seclusion, as the Bureau’s responsibilities were extremely important.
For some time, Lu Yin put on a show of being very busy searching for Aeternus’s spies, but in truth, he was waiting for news from You Fang.
It was not long before You Fang sent someone to contact Xuan Qi, and Lu Yin learned that He Ran had visited the Ziyou Realm and spoken to Patriarch You again. The results of the visit were no different from before, and no agreement was reached.
He Ran had reached out to You Fang in a submissive manner, telling the man that she would not go after his You family again. She had also apologized for failing to stop Monarch Luo from attacking the Ziyou Realm. Despite He Ran’s words and actions, You Fang had still refused to relent, and he continued firmly supporting Bai Qian. The man was not truly supporting Bai Qian, and He Ran was also aware of this, which was the true reason for her visit, but she had failed to learn anything.
Lu Yin returned to the Ziyou Realm to find out what You Fang planned to do next.
"It"s ridiculous that He Ran wants me to give up so easily." When Lu Yin arrived, You Fang entertained him with the best wine and food available, and the older man did not appear nearly as somber as during Lu Yin’s previous visit.
Lu Yin took the opportunity to ask some questions, "What are you going to do, Senior? I mean, regarding the sequence particle research."
You Fang replied, "You don"t need to worry about that. When it comes to anything related to sequence particle research, I need to be very cautious and consider things carefully."
Lu Yin nodded. "Then what about He Ran? She’s visited your Ziyou Realm twice now. Are you still supporting Bai Qian, Senior?"
You Fang smiled. "If she agrees to cooperate with me, then the value in that naturally supercedes my support for Bai QIan. Unfortunately, that is also impossible. He Ran is extremely smart, and not only will she never cooperate with me, but after visiting me, she’ll also report everything that I said to that person. If she doesn’t, she’ll end up in the exact same position as Bai Qian."
Lu Yin immediately felt that something was off. "Senior, what do you mean by that? What do you say that He Ran will never cooperate with you?"
You Fang gave Lu Yin a half-smile that was not really a smile. "Young man, your mind works very quickly, so there’s no reason to act stupid. Can"t you clearly see the situation in my Transcendent Universe?"
Lu Yin shook his head and said with complete seriousness, "This junior can’t see these things clearly, so please enlighten me, Senior."
You Fang laughed. "If you can’t see it, then just forget it. Basically, the most important thing for us right now is the sequence particle research. I need to find a way to get involved as soon as possible, and that will also let me help you take Zi Jing away in the future. Nothing else is important. Important people are upset with He Ran because of Cloudflow’s disappearance, so as long as Bai Qian stays calm and doesn"t come out for a while, she stands a very good chance of winning."
Lu Yin ignored what You Fang was saying and instead asked, "Senior, since you and I are partners, why hide things? Please tell me what is happening in the Transcendent Universe so that this junior can prepare and react accordingly."
You Fang and Lu Yin stared at each other for a long moment. "You really can"t see what’s happening?"
Lu Yin shook his head. "I haven’t had enough contact with this universe, and I have too little information to see things clearly."
You Fang nodded. "Very well, in that case, I"ll tell you."
The older man took a moment to think about things. "When it comes to the little compet.i.tion going on, I don’t care about He Ran, let alone Bai Qian. What I care about is that person, as well as the sequence particle research. Because of that research, something needs to be done. What can be done to remind that person of my You family’s existence? This is why my ancestor ordered us to partic.i.p.ate in the sequence particle research.
"In the past, I knew that some top-secret research was taking place, but I wasn’t able to find out what it was about, which was why I had no choice but to get involved in the little spat between He Ran and Bai Qian. Only by changing the outcome from the predetermined one was it possible to get one of that person’s representatives to visit my home.
“Can you understand this?"
Things made sense to Lu Yin. "This junior simply a.s.sumed that you hated He Ran for leading Senior Wen Shi away and leaving your Ziyou Realm isolated and helpless against Monarch Luo’s attack on your Ziyou Realm."
You Fang sneered. "What can Monarch Luo do to my Ziyou Realm by himself? He Ran was just playing some tricks. If that person had agreed to allow my You family to join the sequence particle research from the beginning, my You family would still be following him. We never cared about He Ran, Bai Qian, or their petty compet.i.tion, as that won’t affect us in the least. However, that person has underestimated my You family and me.
"He rose to power by relying on energy converters, while my You family relied on the Bestowal Art. The next generation to lead the Transcendent Universe will be whoever partic.i.p.ates in the success of the sequence particle research. If my You family is not a part of that, my family will fall into decline, which is not what we want to see. As for He Ran, she understands my You family’s intentions, and thus kept this research project a secret from us from the very beginning. It’s also why she will never be willing to cooperate with us. If not for that, she would have never needed to compete with Bai Qian, as He Ran would have automatically received the position that they are competing for."
Lu Yin"s heart skipped a beat. "Then what about Bai Qian? She’s already working with us."
You Fang just shrugged. "She’s just one woman. As long as I can get that person to add my You family to the sequence particle research that’s going on, it doesn"t matter which of those two women wins or loses.”
"Since He Ran already has a clear picture of what’s happening, why is she still worried about Bai Qian? She should understand that since Bai Qian is cooperating with us, it’s impossible to win." Lu Yin could not understand this.
You Fang said, "She is merely able to clearly see the situation, but that does not give her complete confidence, as she can’t see through that person"s heart. Because of that, she doesn’t dare to take any risks. While Bai Qian was destined to lose originally, she has now gained a chance of victory. Now that an opponent who was going to lose suddenly became a threat, everything has changed for He Ran. Tell me, if asked to wager 10,000 transcended crystals of her own against just one of Bai Qian’s, what do you think He Ran will choose?
"Even though she is 90% certain that Bai Qian cannot win, my You family and I are not people that He Ran can get a clear read on. Even with only 10% of uncertainty, He Ran will not dare to take the bet."
Lu Yin understood. The bottom line was that He Ran wanted complete a.s.surance of her victory, and for that reason, she had approached the You family and tried to settle their differences. In the end, that 10% uncertainty was why He Ran was unwilling to simply eliminate Bai Qian, but it was also why she was unwilling to take any risks at all.
This mentality had caused He Ran to place herself and Bai Qian on the same level, and this was also the reason for their compet.i.tion.
This was the clever part of You Fang"s plan. Even if He Ran was able to see through everything that was happening, she could only allow herself to be manipulated by You Fang’s machinations.
You Fang gave Xuan Qi an odd look. "You seem quite concerned about Bai Qian. Why is that? Do you have a crush on her?"
Lu Yin smiled. "How could that be? I’m just curious, what is my part in your plan, Senior?"
You Fang"s expression immediately turned serious. "You are different from Bai Qian. While she is nothing more than a p.a.w.n, you can be an actual player. Your outstanding talent means that you are certain to eventually become a true powerhouse, and you already run the Bureau in the Three Monarchs Universe and the Voidforce Universe, and you also have four peak powerhouses standing behind you. All of this makes you invaluable.
"Xuan Qi, as someone who has been around for a while, I can tell you that it’s important for people to alway remain valuable, whether to others or simply to yourself. The moment a person loses value, their lives become worthless. Value is all that a person can live for, as it’s a symbol of everything that they are."
Regardless of whether You Fang’s summary of the situation in the Transcendent Universe was accurate, his warning to Xuan Qi was entirely true. The man was revealing his heart in order to gain Xuan Qi’s trust, and this was his way of doing that.
While such words would leave many people uncomfortable, it was also a very effective way of convincing someone.
Lu Yin looked up at the other man and said, "Thank you, Senior, for cautioning me."
Lu Yin soon left the Ziyou Realm, and once he was gone, he used his wireless jincan to reach out to Bai Qian and share the entire conversation with You Fang with her.
Bai Qian did not reveal any surprise in her response. She was quite familiar with her status and position, and while it had been presented as a three-way partnership between herself, the You family, and Xuan Qi, Bai Qian had always known that she was nothing more than a puppet.
"You Fang lied to you," Bai Qian sent back through the wireless jincan. "I believe that, not only does he want to get involved in the sequence particle research, but his plans most likely also target the ruler of the Transcendent Universe."
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. Lord Wei was the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, but the man was very mysterious. Lu Yin had specifically looked into Lord Wei, but he had found almost nothing at all. In fact, what limited information there was seemed to conflict on whether Lord Wei was a man or a woman. It was almost as though the ruler of the universe had appeared as both genders throughout the years. This was quite scary, as the more mysterious a person was, the more terrifying they became.
"Why would the You family want to go after the ruler of the Transcendent Univese?" Lu Yin asked.
Unfortunately, Bai Qian did not have an answer to this question.
From what Lu Yin had seen, the You family’s actions to deal with He Ran had already exceeded what was publicly known about them, but even so, Lu Yin had not seen anything overly impressive from the family. They were the progenitors of the Bestowal Art cultivation technology, while He Ran was nothing more than a puppet of Lord Wei. Even if He Ran represented the ruler of the universe, she was not the ruler herself. Dealing with He Ran was not an indication of the You family’s ability to deal with Lord Wei.
If the You family really was trying to target Lord Wei, then their abilities must be much different from what Lu Yin had seen so far.
Did the You family really have that powerful a foundation? Or could they be backed by someone more powerful? The You family"s behavior simply did not make any sense, and they were acting completely unlike when Lu Yin had first made contact with them. The change was too drastic in too short a time, which meant that something had to be wrong.
Lu Yin suddenly thought of a possibility; was it possible that he was not the only one trying to conquer the Transcendent Universe? Could someone else have the same intentions?
Additionally, You Fang was aware that Xuan Qi was from the Origin Universe, and he had even mentioned that he would like to resolve the issues between Xuan Qi and Lu Yin. However, after that one time, the man had never mentioned the matter again, not even when they had been discussing their partnership. This made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Lu Yin had suspected that You Fang might have guessed a part of the truth, and he had even been so worried that he had considered abandoning his ident.i.ty as Xuan Qi. However, as time pa.s.sed, You Fang had never mentioned the matter again, which had given Lu Yin a bit of relief.
However, should Lu Yin really be feeling relieved that the matter had been ignored? He found it incredibly difficult to discern the thoughts of someone like You Fang. Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin"s contemplation grew deeper.
"For now, the You family is publicly supporting you. According to You Fang"s words, you’ve already been eliminated from the compet.i.tion by Lord Wei, and there’s no hope of you ever seizing victory." Lu Yin sent a more lengthy message to Bai Qian, finishing with, "Make preparations to deal with the You family."
…
Lu Yin continued to focus on capturing spies in the Voidforce Universe after visiting You Fang, and he also visited the Three Monarchs Universe. He wanted to make sure that people saw what he was doing. At the least, he wanted to demonstrate that he had nothing to do with the current events in the Transcendent Universe.
Chen Le sent a large amount of flourishing crystals, and Lu Yin once more went into seclusion. It was time to roll his die again. Possession was truly the best way to hunt for spies.
His seclusion lasted for three months, though eleven years pa.s.sed for Lu Yin. He rolled Timestop eleven times during his three months in seclusion, and he had also managed to roll Possession four times. Unfortunately, he had not managed to Possess any spies, but from the memories of the people who he Possessed, Lu Yin had found one potential spy, though it was someone who could not be investigated.
Lu Yin watched the person, and after confirming some things with Chen Le, Lu Yin identified the spy and arrested him, which reestablished Xuan Qi’s presence in the Three Monarchs Universe.
However, Lu Yin did not dare to be too successful in the Three Monarchs Universe out of fear of attracting Monarch Luo’s attention.
While Xu Wuwei had not recognized Lu Yin, there was no way that Monarch Luo would not recognize Xuan Qi’s true ident.i.ty of Lu Yin, and this was the greatest danger that he faced in the Three Monarchs Universe.
During Lu Yin’s three months of seclusion, nothing major happened in the Transcendent Universe. Both He Ran and You family were planning and preparing.
After leaving seclusion, Lu Yin also called the Transcendent Universe’s Xiao Hai.
Ever since the secret research facility had been attacked, Xiao Hai had been on edge. In fact, even his demeanor at work had been affected, as he had become rather dull and was not nearly as dedicated to his work as in the past.
He would glance down at his hand dozens of times each day. The words that had been left there kept him from sleeping at night, and he even wanted to flee from the Transcendent Universe.
The man endured the mental torture for more than three months before finally, one day, a message appeared on his communication crystal.