Chapter 2640 – Understand
If not for the You family’s incredibly robust foundation, as well as their mastery of the Bestowal Art, then the family would have entirely disappeared after You Fang"s grandfather squandered most of their wealth.
“You Xian was You Fang"s grandfather, and while You Fang appears indifferent towards the Bureau, in truth, he has always wanted to see his grandfather"s wishes fulfilled. His goal is to make all those who ridiculed their family eat their words and restore the You family"s honor," Uncle Mo stared at Lu Yin while explaining, "You Fang has been carefully watching everything that you’ve done in the Voidforce Universe. He’s targeting you, and he wants to use your influence to unite the Voidforce Universe and Transcendent Universe Bureau branches. Next, he will undoubtedly try to exploit your ability to uncover spies, combining that with the You family"s influence to fully integrate the two Bureau branches. After that, the You family will seize control of the behemoth."
Lu Yin felt as though a light bulb had just lit up in his mind, and he stood there, stunned by what he had just been told. How had he not thought of this possibility before?
All along, he had only been thinking about how he could exploit the Bureau to stir up troubled waters so that he could fish and acquire the resources that he needed. He had even considered the possibility of getting some revenge by making things difficult for the Sixverse a.s.sociation. However, compared to You Fang"s grandfather"s goal, Lu Yin had set his sights far too low.
If the various Bureau branches could be fully integrated, it would create a mammoth organization within the Sixverse a.s.sociation with the authority to hunt down spies on behalf of the Sixverse a.s.sociation itself. If such an integration succeeded, the Bureau would become absolutely terrifying.
On top of that, the Bureau already had several Progenitor-level powerhouses supporting it, which meant that unifying all the Bureau branches would instantly make it more powerful than even the current Heavens Sect.
Lu Yin felt his breath quickening; this goal was a real possibility.
"You understand now, don’t you? Madam He Ran did not want you to be cluelessly exploited by You Fang, which is why she told me to warn you," Uncle Mo stated.
Lu Yin bowed low to Uncle Mo. "I understand how things stand now. Thank you for your warning, Uncle Mo. I understand, I truly understand."
Uncle Mo felt quite satisfied. This youth had a good att.i.tude. "It’s good that you get it."
"You Fang is too smart, and You Lele is also acknowledged as the smartest person in her generation. Little Brother, I"m worried that something bad might happen as a result of you spending time with the You family,” He Ran said in a concerned tone.
Lu Yin replied, “Don"t worry, Sister Ran. Thanks to the warning that you and Uncle Mo have given me, I know what to do. I won"t let you down.”
He Ran pursed her lips. "Are you sure? I can always speak with You Fang to have you return to the Voidforce Universe. No matter what happens, You Fang won"t openly act against me.”
“Madam, doing so will lower your position!" Uncle Mo immediately spoke up.
Lu Yin quickly tried to rea.s.sure the woman. "Don’t worry, Sister Ran. You Fang won"t find it easy to take advantage of me now, and on top of that, we are in the Transcendent Universe. I don’t believe that the You family can do anything to me while you are keeping an eye out for me. It will be fine."
Uncle Mo cautioned, "Never underestimate You Fang."
Lu Yin nodded gravely. "I won"t."
He Ran still looked quite concerned, but she still conceded. "Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll let this go. However, if you run into any trouble at all, immediately contact Uncle Mo or myself, and we will help you right away."
Lu Yin agreed to the suggestion, and he was then escorted back by Uncle Mo.
Once Xuan Qi left, He Ran"s face regained its normal expression: arrogant and completely inscrutable.
When Uncle Mo returned, he greeted the woman. "Madam."
"Did Xuan Qi say anything else?" He Ran asked.
Uncle Mo replied, "Not really. He repeatedly expressed his grat.i.tude. It seems that he really was ignorant to the true reason for You Fang"s invitation."
He Ran scoffed dismissively. "What a simpleton! If he didn"t possess at least some value, speaking to him would be a complete waste of my time. He didn"t even understand why he was brought here."
"What shall we do now?" Uncle Mo asked.
He Ran replied, "We’ll let things run their course. We should only need to keep an eye on Bai Qian for the moment, as I’m concerned that the You family might try to ally themselves with her. That would put me at a disadvantage. While the You family has never interfered in these contests before, we need to be prepared for the worst."
At this moment, Ke Jian arrived. "Madam, the You family has captured the Ruling Council’s Tu Ying."
He Ran was startled by the news. "Tu Ying? From the Ruling Council? What does the You family want with him?"
"Apparently, he had some connection with a spy."
…
Lu Yin arrived in the Ziyou Realm and found that You Lele was completely accurate: Tu Ying from the Ruling Council was already waiting for Lu Yin.
"Huh? Is someone back after seeing his sister?" You Lele mocked the moment she laid eyes on Xuan Qi, but Lu Yin just ignored her.
"Now that you have a sister with such a lofty status, you must think that you’re also above everyone else. Do you think that you’ve ascended to the heavens?" You Lele continued to taunt him.
Lu Yin disappointedly said, "My initial impression of you has been shattered."
You Lele blinked. "What was your initial impression of me?"
Lu Yin answered, "That you were a naive and kind-hearted woman who was completely engrossed in her own n.o.ble cause."
"Huh?" You Lele was left confused.
Xu Yue shouted, "How did you ever get that impression of her? Lele is despicable, and not only is she scheming and conniving, she’s also completely caught up in gossip!"
You Lele"s face flushed with anger. "Stupid Yue Yue! What nonsense are you spouting now? You"re the one that"s always gossiping!"
Xu Yue retorted, "The most important thing is that she"s cunning, and she even feeds people her dandruff."
"Don"t be ridiculous. I’ve never done that to anyone but you."
"Stupid Lele! I"m going to kill you!"
"Stop making trouble. There’s something serious that we’re working on now." You Lele rolled her eyes while letting Xu Yue pull her hair. Lele resumed mocking Lu Yin, "What did you think you"d get from trying to flatter me? You came to our You family because of He Ran, didn’t you? Something"s definitely fishy."
Lu Yin replied in a casual tone, "Maybe. Take me to Tu Ying."
"Hey! This is serious! I"m trying to figure out what you’re scheming!"
"There is no scheme."
"I know that there is one."
"Believe whatever you want."
"It involves He Ran, doesn"t it?"
"That’s right."
"You admit it?"
"I do."
"What are you plotting?"
"Figure it out for yourself."
…
Lele remained glued to Lu Yin as they walked, interrogating him nonstop. No matter what she said or asked, Lu Yin simply agreed, which only further irritated the girl. She felt truly tempted to feed him some dandruff.
"Xu Yue, this guy is infuriating! Do you think that he"s actually telling the truth?" You Lele vented while constantly scratching her head.
Xu Yue rolled her eyes. "Your family asked him to come help you, so what kind of scheme could he have come up with?"
You Lele gritted her teeth, desperately holding back from exposing the truth of the matter.
Soon, Lu Yin found Tu Ying.
More accurately, Lu Yin heard the man.
Even from a great distance, it was impossible to not hear Tu Ying"s thunderous roars, "How dare the You family capture me? I am Tu Ying, a member of the Ruling Council! What are you trying to do? Release me right now! You are far too arrogant…"
Following the endless shouts, Lu Yin quickly moved closer and arrived at an open expanse that had absolutely no lighting of any kind. He found a group of people from the You family standing guard around a transparent barrier. Within the enclosure, a middle-aged man paced back and forth, seething. He continued to shout, using so much force that he was panting after each line he spat out.
Lu Yin observed the man from a distance.
You Lele was confused by the lack of action. "Aren"t you going to interrogate him?"
"An interrogation won’t give us any information. Rather, it will only make him shout louder than before. Where is your father?" Lu Yin inquired.
You Lele rolled her eyes. "First tell me what you said to He Ran, and then I’ll have my father interrogate this man."
Lu Yin said nothing. You Fang would definitely arrive. While they had determined that Tu Ying was a spy through logical deductions, that did not mean that the man was actually a spy. Who could say if the man had just spoken poorly because he was an idiot?
After his meeting with He Ran, Lu Yin immediately noticed that You Lele"s att.i.tude towards him had changed. Before, Lele had watched him out of curiosity. Even though she had been completely convinced that he had some mysterious agenda, You Lele had not been hostile towards Xuan Qi. But after his meeting with He Ran, Lele seemed to regard him as an enemy, and there was open hostility every time she looked at him.
"Do you You family people even understand what you are doing? The Ruling Council will not let you get away with this! We have been personally appointed by the Lord, and we have been given our own tasks to complete. You’ve gone too far this time! Or does the You family actually believe that you can replace the Lord? Your Bestowal Art will never replace energy converters…" Tu Ying continued his rant.
You Fang finally arrived. He moved past Lu Yin and entered the open area.
As soon as Tu Ying noticed You Fang"s arrival, he fell silent and gritted his teeth. He glared at the patriarch and addressed him in a deep voice. "Patriarch You, I thought that you wouldn’t be coming."
"Why wouldn’t I?" You Fang retorted.
Tu Ying’s eyes narrowed. "Wouldn"t it be better for you to pretend to be ignorant of this matter?"
You Fang answered in a casual tone, "You are suspected of being a spy."
"What a joke! I am suspected of being a spy? The Lord controls the entire Transcendent Universe! If I were a spy, how could the Lord ever allow me to enter the Ruling Council?" Tu Ying challenged.
You Fang clasped his hands behind his back as he replied, "That is his concern. I’ve come to my own conclusions."
"What conclusions?" Tu Ying demanded.
You Fang calmly explained, "During a meeting of the Ruling Council, you suggested that the natives of the Cloudflow Universe might be responsible for the destruction of the research data. However, as a member of the Ruling Council, you are clearly aware that Cloudflow is our captive and that the Transcendent Universe has long since thoroughly a.n.a.lyzed every aspect of the Cloudflow Universe. Those people might seem to be able to hide themselves in our universe, but in truth, they are nothing more than our test subjects. If not for that, they would all have been captured long ago.
"Why did you suggest that those people could be responsible for sabotaging the research data when you know full well that that"s impossible? Don"t tell me that you weren"t thinking straight at the time. I fully know how you people rack your brains and put forth your best effort to show off when you think that he’s watching. You would never say something so careless."
Tu Ying retorted angrily, "Innate gifts are something that have always been shrouded in mystery! Can you confidently claim that not a single person from the Cloudflow Universe could have developed an unusual innate gift? It’s even possible that someone who awakened such an innate gift is a genius. Not even my Transcendent Universe can fully unravel the mysteries of the human body. Who knows? Maybe even another peak powerhouse like Cloudflow has arisen from the Cloudflow Universe. No one can say, so don’t you slander me!"
"Whether or not this is slander, we"ll know after finishing our investigation," You Fang replied.
"And if you don"t find anything?" Tu Ying glared at You Fang through bloodshot eyes that were filled with hatred.
No matter how things turned out, the fact that he had been arrested by the You family would inevitably affect his position in the Lord"s mind, and the other members of the Ruling Council would also grow suspicious of him.
The You family had completely ruined Tu Ying’s future by arresting him. If at all possible, he would hold nothing back to see them destroyed.
You Fang was unaffected by Tu Ying"s hateful gaze, and he simply replied, "If I find nothing, then I find nothing. What else would happen?"
Tu Ying was livid.
In the distance, Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. It appeared that the Ruling Council was truly beneath the You family"s concern.
The “Lord” Tu Ying had mentioned was most likely the true ruler of the Transcendent Universe. From this conversation, it seemed that You Fang similarly did not fear the ruler. Could it be that the You family, who had created the Bestowal Art, regarded themselves as equal to the ruler of the universe who had developed energy converters? If that was true, then You Fang likely saw the Ruling Council as nothing more than a group of servants, and his current att.i.tude would be perfectly appropriate, given the current situation.
However, what was the basis for that belief? What gave the You family the arrogance to regard themselves as equals to the ruler of their own universe?