Chapter 2683 – Xuan Qi’s Fame
Luo Lao"er immediately recognized the lens as the one that he had used and left in the Three Monarchs Universe.
It immediately became clear where the lens had come from; Monarch Luo and He Ran were cooperating and trying to target the You family together.
Monarch Luo was getting involved in the internal affairs of the Transcendent Universe. On one hand, he truly did suspect that Monarch Mu"s disappearance was connected to the You family, and on the other hand, the man likely enjoyed the idea of helping He Ran.
As long as He Ran defeated Bai Qian, Monarch Luo would have an ally at the top of the Transcendent Universe.
Realizing the man’s motivations left Lu Yin looking down on Monarch Luo. The Three Monarchs Universe was truly too weak, to the point where Monarch Luo wanted to help He Ran. Judging by the man’s actions, he had absolutely no intention of conquering the Transcendent Universe. Clearly, the man lacked both the strength and the foundation to make such an attempt.
On the other hand, despite not yet being a peak powerhouse himself, Lu Yin was already plotting to take over the Transcendent Universe.
At this time, someone from the You family arrived and asked Xuan Qi to visit the Ziyou Realm.
This request came on the same day when He Ran finished her own preparations to deal with the You family. Lu Yin suspected that both parties had people under surveillance.
You Fang wanted to speak with Xuan Qi for a very simple reason; the man wanted Xuan Qi to announce that He Ran was suspected of being a spy.
Lu Yin was stunned by the request. "You want me to say that I suspect He Ran of being a spy?"
You Fang nodded. "The woman is ruthless and has gained complete control of the Ruling Council. The longer she is my enemy, the more likely she is to gain the support of Lord Wei. There is no way to sway her position with normal methods, which means that this is the only way. I want to deal with her head-on and settle things in one go."
Lu Yin was quite surprised. Did You Fang know what He Ran had asked Xuan Qi to do? Or were the two sharing strategies?
He Ran had asked Xuan Qi to frame the You family, while You Fang had asked Xuan Qi to accuse He Ran of being a spy. Both sides were targeting the other’s reputation.
Could it be that He Ran"s att.i.tude towards Xuan Qi and You Fang"s willingness to cooperate with him were both founded on his reputation for catching spies? It was certainly possible.
"Xuan Qi, there’s no longer any need to hide things. While I don"t need you to openly support Bai Qian, you have a responsibility to hunt down and capture spies. There’s no need for you to stay close to He Ran now. I want to give her an ultimatum," You Fang solemnly stated.
Lu Yin remained hesitant. "Are you sure?"
"It’s the only way," You Fang replied, "Without this, it will be too late for us to do anything when the ruler of the universe lets the Ruling Council vote. The victor doesn’t really matter, but we need to be able to influence the ruler so that we can join the sequence particle research. Only then can we help you get Zi Jing out.
"Xuan Qi, once the sequence particle research is finished, the Transcendent Universe will have powerhouses equal to the Cyclic Universe’s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. This will be an amazing accomplishment, and throughout the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation, only my You family is qualified to partic.i.p.ate. You can also join by cooperating with us, which is something that others can only dream of. If you want to continue, then don"t hesitate. Neither He Ran nor Bai Qian actually matter, and their only value is when Lord Wei appears."
Lu Yin grew serious. "Let me return and think about this."
"What is there to hesitate about?" You Fang felt puzzled.
Lu Yin looked at the man. "Fame is something that can only be used once, as it’s gone the moment you fail."
You Fang laughed. "If you can succeed, then once is enough. How do you expect to ever reach the peak with this sort of att.i.tude?"
Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I understand that, you don"t need to worry. I will do this, but it’s important to consider all the details to avoid being exposed. What you are asking for is suspicions that He Ran is a spy. This is no joke."
You Fang nodded. "Of course, but time is very tight. The ruler may order the Ruling Council to vote at any moment, and if our plan is discovered, the vote could even happen today, to prevent us from influencing He Ran’s position. The moment she wins, no matter how certain you may be that she’s a spy, we will not be able to do anything to her."
Lu Yin nodded. "I know."
Lu Yin returned to the Red Zone.
In a single day, Lu Yin had made four trips between universes, and he had received the same task from two different people. There was no way to predict how things would turn out.
Between He Ran and You Fang, Lu Yin could only choose to help You Fang.
You Fang"s intelligence allowed him to draw conclusions based on results, rather than logic or reasoning. By looking at the beginning and the end, You Fang was able to fill in the details, and Lu Yin had no idea how close the man was to guessing Xuan Qi’s true ident.i.ty.
After their first meeting, You Fang had never mentioned the Origin Universe or Xuan Qi’s supposed enmity with Lu Yin again. The longer that matter was ignored, the more nervous Lu Yin grew.
On top of that, You Fang knew that Xuan Qi had killed Shao Qingfeng, which was more leverage that the man could use against Lu Yin.
Lu Yin simply could not choose to support He Ran; You Fang was his only viable option.
Lu Yin had killed Shao Qingfeng to convince You Fang to cooperate with Xuan Qi, as that had been necessary. However, given the recent changes in You Fang’s behavior, Lu Yin no longer wanted to cooperate with the You family.
The changes that Lu Yin had observed in the You family’s behavior indicated that either their foundation was deeper than anyone knew, comparable to Lord Wei himself, or the family had a hidden backer.
Regardless of which option was true, Lu Yin was not willing to join their efforts.
If Lu Yin had discovered the changes earlier, he would have never given You Fang any leverage against Xuan Qi. In fact, if things were not handled properly, it would be too dangerous to continue maintaining the persona of Xuan Qi, as that ident.i.ty would be targeted by Sovereign Shao Yin. If a Sovereign got close to Xuan Qi, they might be able to see through the Mask of Death and recognize Lu Yin’s face. While Lu Yin had no idea if Sovereign Shao Yin had ever seen any images of Lu Yin, he was not willing to take that risk.
Wait. A sudden idea flashed through Lu Yin"s mind; so what if You Fang had leverage against Xuan Qi? As long as there was no Xuan Qi, all such leverage would become useless.
That would be true, but that meant that Xuan Qi could not exist.
Lu Yin stared up at the starry sky in silence as he thought about things.
A few days later, he returned to speak with He Ran and discuss the details of framing the You family. He Ran was overjoyed to learn that Xuan Qi was more thorough than she had expected, and Lu Yin’s plan demonstrated just how carefully he had considered the matter.
Half a day later, Lu Yin left, taking a large number of transcendent crystals and another white energy converter with him.
It was his reward from He Ran.
With the help he was giving her, how could she allow him to go unrewarded?
This was also Lu Yin’s entire reason for returning to see He Ran.
He received hundreds of millions of transcendent crystals, which was a great deal of wealth. He Ran had been quite generous, as she wanted to reveal her wealth to Xuan Qi.
As soon as Lu Yin left He Ran, he returned to the You family so that he could discuss the various details about framing He Ran as a spy. In the middle of all this, Lu Yin also managed to get Bai Qian into the Ziyou Realm so that she could help him hide Luo Lao"er"s old lens.
This was a backup plan that he had made with Bai Qian.
He Ran was able to clearly see the overall situation of the Transcendent Universe, and while her personality meant that she was unwilling to take any risks, she believed that she had a firm grasp of the situation. Bai Qian’s cooperation with the You family meant that the woman was asking to die, and Lu Yin was certain that He Ran already had plans in place to eliminate Bai Qian.
As soon as He Ran had asked Xuan Qi to frame the You family, Lu Yin had already started considering how he could protect Bai Qian.
Only by framing the You family could Bai Qian win a chance for herself in the eyes of Lord Wei.
The Ziyou Realm was ma.s.sive, and there were even a few places that had the hyper-a.n.a.lysis modes active, though that was uncommon. With Lu Yin"s help, Bai Qian was able to easily hide Luo Lao"er"s lens in the Ziyou Realm.
As for how she would explain this matter to Lord Wei Zhu in the future, that was Bai Qian"s concern. Lu Yin had already done all that he could.
Just like when he visited He Ran, the You family also rewarded Xuan Qi with hundreds of millions of transcendent crystals, which You Fang similarly did not care about. At the height of the You family’s influence, their spendthrift You Xian had been regarded as the richest man in the entire Sixverse Society. Even though You Xian’s actions had led to a decline in the You family’s wealth and influence, after so many years, the You family had already managed to reverse some of the damage, and even a few billion transcendent crystals could not be regarded as much to them.
At this moment, Lu Yin had more than 300 million transcendent crystals, and he had gathered the funds incredibly quickly.
Additionally, he also had 500 million flourishing crystals and 550 million star essence from the Cyclic Universe.
All together, he had over a billion in the Sixverse a.s.sociation’s currencies.
Unfortunately, none of the resources could be directly converted into anything of actual value for Lu Yin.
…
It was a day that would be recorded in the annals of history for the Transcendent Universe.
Lu Yin led many of the Voidforce Universe’s Bureau to the Transcendent Universe and then headed straight to the Ziyou Realm, where they were blocked by members of You family. You Teng asked Xuan Qi to leave the Transcendent Universe, as the Bureau there no longer needed him.
However, Xuan Qi’s response shocked the entire universe. "He Ran is a spy of Aeternus. I, Xuan Qi, will carry out the responsibilities of the Bureau, and I ask the You family to a.s.sist me in arresting He Ran."
The declaration shocked You Teng just as much as the rest of the Ziyou Realm, and the matter instantly spread, stunning the entire Transcendent Universe.
Countless people stared blankly at displays throughout the universe, watching as Xuan Qi shared various speculations and suspicions that had led to the suspicions that He Ran was a spy of Aeternus, and everyone felt confused.
He Ran herself was naturally watching these events as well, and she was so taken aback that she even forgot to sit down. Her eyes glazed over, and she felt terribly confused. Why? Why is Xuan Qi accusing me of being a spy? Why?
Uncle Mo was beyond furious. "Madam, I"m going to kill him!"
You Fang arrived at the edge of the Ziyou Realm. The You patriarch appeared solemn as he addressed Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, are you certain that He Ran is a spy? This is no trivial matter, and you cannot make such claims on a frivolous basis."
Lu Yin raised his head up high. "I am absolutely certain. I ask Bureau Director You Fang to help me capture this spy."
"Very well, since you have confirmed this matter, my Transcendent Universe’s Bureau will naturally arrest He Ran. However, if it is later revealed that He Ran is not a spy, you will need to give both me and the Transcendent Universe an explanation." With that, the man charged forward with a surge of black energy, making his way straight towards He Ran. On this day, the You family officially moved against He Ran.
Lu Yin watched as You Fang eagerly raced towards He Ran, and Lu Yin also moved out. Suddenly, everyone in the area felt a terrible sense of danger that made their scalps go numb. You Fang spun around to look in a specific direction, as he had just sensed the arrival of a very powerful individual.
A scream tore from Lu Yin’s throat, and the s.p.a.ce around him shattered. You Fang whirled around, but by the time he managed to see where Xuan Qi had been standing, the youth had already disappeared. Not even You Fang had been quick enough to see how Xuan Qi had disappeared.
Nearby, Boss Guan was horrified, and he hastily retreated as he stared in disbelief.
"What just happened?" You Fang shouted. This was completely unexpected. Someone had clearly just attacked, but because it had happened too quickly, You Fang had not been able to react at all. It was almost as though whatever had happened had simply ignored time.
Boss Guan was still shocked. "The Acting Bureau Director disappeared!"
You Fang"s eyes flickered. "It must be He Ran! She sent people here to attack and kill Xuan Qi in an attempt to eliminate any witnesses! Bureau members, move out! Capture He Ran!"
With that order, the Transcendent Universe completely erupted, especially in and around the Ziyou Realm. The countless tiny bestowal art carriers gathered together and merged with each other to slowly form a ma.s.sive bestowal art carrier that followed behind You Fang.
There were bestowal art carriers in every corner of the Transcendent Universe, and at this moment, all of them started to move and combine any nearby carriers.
The You family had secretly built up their strength and resources for countless years, and at this moment, they revealed everything.
He Ran stood atop her stairs, staring at a display. "Have Wen Shi stop them."
Uncle Mo"s expression had grown dark. The You family was using the accusation that He Ran was a spy as an excuse to openly attack them. This was brazen, and in many ways, even more shocking than He Ran’s act of slaughtering half of the Ruling Council.
Had the You family gone insane? Why would they do this? They had been so upright for countless years and had never acted in such an improper manner before.
No one could understand what You Fang was trying to do.
He Ran was still wondering why Xuan Qi had accused her of being a spy when suddenly, news that someone had discovered Luo Ren"s lens in the Ziyou Realm broke out.
This information roused He Ran. "Uncle Mo!"
Uncle Mo barked an order, "Begin!"