Chapter 2627 – Request An Audience
Confronted by the overwhelming power of Xiu Ci"s rain of palm strikes, Xu Heng and Xu Leng simultaneously used their own battle techniques. Their Scorching Sun and Heart Frost converged, and they channeled the fused power through the Yin Yang Sword. The sword catalyzed the transformation of Yin into Yang and Yang into Yin to deflect the palm strikes.
Xiu Ci"s eyes went wide. "Good!"
As he shouted, countless more attacks shot through his Formless Barrier, but Xu Heng and Xu Leng’s merged power of Yin and Yang cooperated to deflect all of the incoming attacks.
Venerable Xuyi had never considered facing the immensely powerful Formless Barrier directly, and he had instead thought of ways to weaken or deflect those attacks.
A strange scene unfolded in outer s.p.a.ce. Countless attacks collided, alternating between blazing heat and freezing cold. A storm of voidforce energy roiled and swept westwards, though some aftershocks also spread out in every other direction. The watching crowd started to pull back until all of them were out of sight of the battle.
Lu Yin felt that he was witnessing the wisdom of the ancestors of the Voidforce Universe. Venerable Xuyi had not only been incredibly talented in cultivating the universe’s traditional manner with voidforce puppets, but also incredibly gifted at developing battle techniques.
The Fifth Mainland had given birth to powerhouses like Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, the Rune Progenitor, and more, but equally extraordinary individuals had similarly risen in various parallel universes. If Venerable Xuyi were still alive, he might not be any weaker than Xu Wuwei.
Just the shockwaves from the duel were able to force the audience to retreat. Aside from Xu Wuji, no one was able to clearly make out what was happening.
Half a day later, the battle ended.
Lu Yin was not able to get a clear look at the final stages of the battle. He could not reveal any Progenitor-level strength next to Xu Wuji. "Senior, how did things end up?”
Xu Wuji remained silent for a moment. "A tie.”
Lu Yin was surprised. "A tie.”
Xu Wuji proceeded to elaborate, clearly impressed. "Venerable Xuyi tried to compensate for his shortcomings by developing battle techniques, while Senior Xiu Ci worked to remove his weakness when it came to the amount of voidforce energy that he could use. The results of their efforts led to a draw, which should not be a surprise. Maybe this is even the best outcome, as it shows that there is no particularly superior path of cultivation in the Voidforce Universe.”
Lu Yin looked ahead. It was true, there was no single path that was objectively better than all the others, and that did not change between the Voidforce Universe and the Origin Universe.
In the Origin Universe, stellular energy filled the universe, but in addition to stellular energy and star energy, there were as many dazzling and impressive energies as the stars themselves. There were runes, death energy, the Cosmic Art, Lockbreaking, and so many more. There was no need for a person to focus solely on cultivating stellular energy.
Xiu Ci"s laughter echoed throughout outer s.p.a.ce, which led many spectators to believe that he had won.
"Heirs of that old ghost Xuyi, you have won! Hahaha!" Xiu Ci roared in laughter.
Xu Heng quickly replied, "It is clear that victory is yours, Senior. We are ashamed that we were forced to cooperate against you."
"Hahaha, this is exhilarating! Completely exciting!" Xiu Ci continued to laugh as he left, and his laughter echoed off in the distance.
Before long, Lu Yin reunited with Xu Heng and Xu Leng.
"Junior Brother, we will be returning home to treat our wounds, so if you need anything, come find us with our clans," Xu Heng said.
Lu Yin nodded. "Absolutely."
A duel that had remained unfinished for countless years had finally reached a conclusion. Even though the results had further justified what each party held to be true and was far from a death match, the duel still stirred up quite a commotion in the Voidforce Universe.
Some claimed that Xiu Ci had won, while others insisted that Xu Heng and Xu Leng had won. However, most believed that the fight had ended in a draw.
Regardless of who had won or lost, Xu Heng and Xu Leng had certainly made a name for themselves.
The Voidforce Universe only had a few Void Supremas, and Xiu Ci was regarded as one of the universe’s most powerful experts. He was considered second to only ultimate powerhouses like Xu Wuwei. The fact that Xu Heng and Xu Leng had managed to fight Xiu Ci to a standstill, despite only recently becoming Void Supremas themselves, had made the Void Yang and Void Yin clans famous throughout the entire universe. This fight would shift the balance of power in the Voidforce Universe.
The most important detail was that the clans had retrieved their Yin Yang Sword. Barring any unforeseen developments, it was almost certain that their clans would continue to produce more Void Supremas for generations to come, and that was a truly terrifying thought.
As the person who had helped the clans find the Yin Yang Sword, Xuan Qi was naturally mentioned whenever the matter was discussed. Many people believed that Xuan Qi was a rising star in the Voidforce Universe.
Soon after the duel concluded, Lu Yin started to move, and he began arresting spies throughout the entire Voidforce Universe. No one dared to resist or obstruct either him or the Bureau. It was known that Xuan Qi was supported by both the Void Yin and Void Yang clans, as well as Xu Wuji and Xu Wuwei; in total, four Void Supremas stood behind Xuan Qi. No one in the Voidforce Universe would dare to provoke such a power.
Lu Yin acted with extreme precision, and people took his actions to mean that he had obtained information from Yi Jun and Cheng Feng’s confessions.
It did not take long for the overall atmosphere in the Voidforce Universe to take on a nervous energy. No one dared to ignore the Bureau, and wherever their officials appeared, the situation would quickly turn chaotic.
Over the course of just half a year, the Bureau arrested hundreds of spies, which sent shockwaves rippling through the Voidforce Universe. The Sixverse a.s.sociation was stunned by these developments.
People were not only shocked by Xuan Qi’s ruthlessness, but also by the sheer number of spies that had been found hiding in the Voidforce Universe.
This number was nothing more than the spies that had been found from the confessions of either Yi Jun or Cheng Feng. Who knew how many more spies remained hidden in the shadows?
Lu Yin continued to raise his reputation as Xuan Qi within the Voidforce Universe. To the members of the Bureau, his word was law. Even Xu Wuji did not contest Lu Yin’s decisions.
…
In the Voidforce Universe, s.p.a.cecraft were constantly landing and taking off of a rather busy planet.
Suddenly, alarms started to blare.
"Young Master, we must leave now! People from the Bureau are on their way!" An old man"s nervousness was nearly palpable. A golden dagger floated over his shoulder. It was his voidforce puppet.
In front of the old man, a young man"s expression fell. "So what if they come? I am not a spy, so what do I have to fear?"
"Young Master, you may not be a spy, but your father is," the old man stated anxiously.
The young man instantly whirled around to face the old man, fury filling his eyes. "Why didn"t you stop my father? He betrayed humanity by becoming a spy. What on earth is he trying to do? Get us all killed?"
"If he had not done so, our family would have been ruined long ago. How else do you think we obtained this planet? Your father paid for this place by becoming a spy. We need to leave now, Young Master." The old man again tried to take the young man away, but was resisted.
"Where is my father?"
"Master- Master…" the old man sputtered and failed to reply.
The young man"s eyes flickered. He stared at the old man who was struggling to find words, and the young man’s voice became strained. "He ran away, didn"t he?"
The old man sighed.
"He left me behind and escaped… Ha, and here I thought that he actually cared about me," the young man said with a bitter smile.
After a moment, he waved his hand. "You can go too. There’s no need for you to concern yourself with me."
Yet again, the old man pulled at the young man. "If I’m leaving, Young Master, you"re coming with me. Let"s go."
The young man continued to resist. Suddenly, an entire row of ships exploded as a huge wave of voidforce energy fell down from above.
The old man trembled."We’re too late."
Lu Yin appeared in outer s.p.a.ce above the planet, followed by Boss Guan, Xu Yue, and a host of other Bureau officials.
Beams of light shot at them from the planet.
Boss Guan frowned. "How arrogant."
With that, a surge of voidforce energy swept out, causing all of the ships to explode and the planet itself to tremble.
Lu Yin raised his hand to stop the man. "The planet is not guilty."
He then looked in a specific direction, took a step, and instantly appeared in front of the young man.
The young man swayed and nearly fell to the ground. The pressure from the voidforce energy emanating from Lu Yin caused the young man’s vision to blur.
The old man quickly moved to protect the young man, fell to his knees, and started begging. "Bureau Director Xuan Qi, it"s not the young master’s fault! The traitor is the old master, and his actions have nothing to do with the young master. Please spare him! I am also guilty! I am a traitor as well."
Xu Yue showed no hint of surprise. They had arrested many spies in recent months, and some had even confessed the moment they were caught.
Boss Guan snorted contemptuously. "None of you will escape. Bureau Director, I"ll go catch them."
Lu Yin nodded, and Boss Guan left.
The young man defiantly stared at Lu Yin. "I am no traitor!"
"I know," Lu Yin responded indifferently as he turned his attention to the old man on his knees. "You are willing to sacrifice a great deal for the sake of your son."
The old man’s pupils shrank sharply, and he instantly grew pale.
The young man’s brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Lu Yin answered calmly, "The man on his knees here is your true father. The person who fled is nothing more than a puppet. As for you, you are nothing more than a p.a.w.n in their grand schemes, someone who was left out in the open and exposed. It was an interesting plan, but unfortunately for them, ultimately useless."
The young man turned to stare at the old man in disbelief. "Impossible! That’s ridiculous."
Lu Yin smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt. "Are you saying that you hope that the one who escaped is your real father?"
This question sent the young man"s mind into chaos. He could not process what he had just learned.
The old man closed his eyes as he felt all of his strength drain away. Had he truly failed to keep even this secret?
Lu Yin turned to watch as things played out. s.p.a.ceships exploded and flames raged, and casualties mounted, but he felt no sympathy for what he saw. These people were not innocent. Rather, all of them were p.a.w.ns of spies.
Behind him, the young man"s screams and the old man’s shouts of desperation filled the air.
The old man had hoped that his son would gain access to the best resources, so he had agreed to let a spy act as the young man’s father. The spy had achieved his goal, and so had the old man, though everything had only caused the young man to suffer. Still, the young man had reaped many benefits of his own over the years.
Despite being arrested along with everyone else, if the young man truly had not betrayed humanity, then he would stand a chance at regaining his freedom. He could cultivate from the beginning once more, which was far better than being an independent cultivator as he had been.
Where there were gains, there would also be losses.
…
The ongoing stream of arrests caused Xuan Qi"s name to echo throughout the Sixverse a.s.sociation.
Lu Yin was well aware that it was only a matter of time before Aeternus attempted to eliminate him, and he was eagerly antic.i.p.ating being targeted by whatever power Aeternus might have hidden in the Voidforce Universe.
"Bureau Director, there is someone seeking an audience with you," the Bureau Manager respectfully reported.
"Who is it?" Lu Yin asked while staring at a list in his hand. He had already captured all of the spies that he had learned about through his various Possessions. To continue arresting the Voidforce Universe’s spies, he had to either roll more Possessions or a.n.a.lyze information that he had already acquired.
"The Transcendent Universe’s Ke Jian."
Lu Yin set the list down. "Please show him in."
Ke Jian soon entered the Red Zone and arrived at the base of the bell tower. Lu Yin did not go out to meet the man, instead standing atop the bell tower and looking down.
This was the Red Zone, the Bureau’s headquarters in the Voidforce Universe. While Ke Jian possessed a level of strength equal to a Semi-Progenitor, he still needed to request an audience to enter the Red Zone. He could not travel by simply tearing through the void, and this rule applied to all Void Morphora, let alone experts from foreign universes.
While Ke Jian appeared calm as he looked up at Xuan Qi, turbulent emotions were actually churning within the depths of the man’s eyes. He had realized that, every time he met Xuan Qi, he had to completely change his view of the young man. First, Ke Jian had stood far above the young man. Later, they had cooperated with a somewhat equal status. At this moment, Xuan Qi was the acting Bureau Director for the Voidforce Universe, not to mention his connections with Xu Wuwei, Xu Wuji, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng. Even He Ran would have to change her att.i.tude if she met the young man in person again.
In such a short time, Xuan Qi had transformed the way that the Transcendent Universe saw him, and he had done so through his own abilities.
Taking a deep breath, Ke Jian entered the bell tower and soon arrived in front of Lu Yin, escorted by the Bureau Manager.
"Looking at how much time has pa.s.sed, it really is already time for you to pay me a visit, Senior," Lu Yin said with a smile as he gestured for Ke Jian to take a seat.
Ke Jian smiled politely. "I have disturbed you, Bureau Director."
Lu Yin laughed. "There’s no need to be so polite, Senior. Please, sit."