Chapter 507: Patron
Nightqueen Qiuyu was the first to move, and she stared at Hai Dashao with a cold look. “Senior Sea King has never intervened in the struggles of the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Second Prince, do you want to break that agreement?”
Hai Dashao glanced at her before responding in a tone that was neither arrogant nor servile. “Senior, don’t be mistaken. The Sea King’s Dome has not intervened in any such conflicts, and the Sea King’s Dome will also not intervene in this contest on Planet Pyrolyte. However, Frostwave Weave has fallen under our protection, as this is the promise that Father has made to his future son-in-law.”
A trace of fury flashed across Nightqueen Qiuyu’s eyes. “Future son-in-law? Do you mean Lu Yin?”
“Yes,” Hai Dashao firmly replied.
Beside them, the Sword Sect’s Elder Viletree stepped out from the void and looked at Hai Dashao. He sighed emotionally. “So many years have pa.s.sed, and the Sea King has not made a single comment on the struggles of the Innerverse and Outerverse. But this tradition was broken on this day by a youth.”
Hai Dashao’s brows rose. “Senior, this junior has already said that the Sea King"s Dome does not intervene in the conflicts of the Innerverse and Outerverse. We’re simply protecting the Sea King’s future son-in-law. It’s just a fringe weave, so I believe that it shouldn’t be important enough to catch your attention.”
“That’s easy to say, but that kid has currently seized control of the largest pyrolyte mine on Planet Pyrolyte, and he has encroached on the revenue stream of numerous powers. If your Sea King"s Dome does not plan to intervene, then immediately back off—and take that kid away with you. No one will make things difficult for him.” The Dire Barbarian Clan’s Lei Long stepped out of the void from another direction and spoke up in an unkind tone.
Immediately following him, more Enlighters appeared consecutively, including the Blaze Realm’s Huo Houye, the Ross Empire’s Scholar Newmoon, as well as Karthika. They all stared at Hai Dashao with hostile expressions, and they somewhat encircled him, seemingly with the intent to coerce him.
The pyrolyte mines were too important for the various powers, and they would not move aside even against the Sea King"s Dome.
Legends had it that the Sea King"s Dome was transcendent, and that the Sea King had reached the level of an Envoy with a power level of over 500,000. It has been many years since those details had been confirmed, and gradually, the various great powers had stopped being as cautious of the Sea King"s Dome.
Only the powers that had some sensitive insider information did not make any moves against Hai Dashao, such as the Daynight Clan, Sword Sect, and Wen family. They had not forgotten the terror of the Sea King; otherwise, the Starfall Sea would not have remained as the backyard of the Sea King"s Dome.
Hai Dashao looked over the crowd as his lips curled up. “Seniors, are you showing your displeasure with the Sea King"s Dome?”
Nightqueen Qiuyu, Viletree, and Wen Qichen all exchanged glances, but they did not speak.
Lei Long stepped forward and glared at the youth. “Junior, you don’t have the qualifications to speak to us yet. Ask your senior to step out.”
Hai Dashao looked upwards towards the depths of outer s.p.a.ce. “The Sea King’s Dome has not intervened in the affairs of others for so many years… Have we been forgotten? It looks like Father should occasionally come out for a walk.”
This single sentence made Nightqueen Qiuyu and the rest tremble. Was the Sea King really about to come out? That would be no simple event, and if the situation soured, then those powerhouses who supervised the fate of their clans would appear as well. In the end, a storm might sweep across all of the Innerverse and Outerverse.
Suddenly, Nightqueen Qiuyu and the rest felt their hearts drop as they felt an indescribably enormous pressure sweep over them. It felt like an invisible storm had embraced them all. Every single one of them felt as if they were being grabbed by a large, invisible hand, and they found it difficult to breathe.
Viletree’s pupils shrank. They were all Enlighters, so only some secluded old monster could give them such a sensation. Upon realizing this, he quickly spoke up. “Would the unknown senior from the Sea King"s Dome please show themselves.”
The faces of Lei Long and the rest went pale. Was this pressure from someone of the Sea King"s Dome?
Hai Dashao smiled at Lei Long, Huo Houye, and the others as an aged, hunchbacked figure slowly emerged from the void beside him. The old man was only about a meter tall. His appearance was ordinary, and his clothing was casual. He looked just like an elderly neighbor, and his murky eyes didn’t even seem like they could see clearly.
When this old man appeared, Viletree and Nightqueen Qiuyu’s expressions changed greatly. When they had been younger, they had once roamed across the Starfall Sea. During their stay at the Sea King"s Dome, they had seen this old man, Elder Ren. He was one of the Sea King"s Dome’s four elders, and he was an old monster whose power level was in the several hundred thousand.
No one would have expected such a person to appear at Planet Pyrolyte, let alone someone from the Sea King’s Dome.
Lei Long was watched closely by Elder Ren, and he felt a certain terror from the bottom of his heart. He had a feeling that he could be wiped out at any moment.
Karthika was even more afraid to show his anger.
Huo Houye, the Scholar Newmoon, and the others didn’t dare to move. They merely stared at Elder Ren in shock.
Soon, Enlighters started appearing one after another. They were from the smaller organizations, and originally, they had not expected to receive much if any of the profits from the mountain range, which was why they had not tried to coerce Hai Dashao. However, now that Elder Ren had shown up, they had all come out to pay their respects to the old man, even Granny Chan.
If someone uploaded this scene onto the network, it would stun countless people. It was difficult for the various Outerverse weaves to produce even one Enlighter, but there were a dozen of them in this place. Just their presence alone was enough to cause the s.p.a.ce to shudder.
Elder Ren glanced around the room and then spoke slowly and emotionally. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out, and I’d forgotten what the Astral Wilderness is like. How nostalgic.”
The Sword Sect’s Viletree stepped forward and bowed politely. “This junior pays his respects to Elder Ren. I wonder if Elder Ren still remembers this junior?”
Elder Ren’s aged eyes looked at Viletree, and a faint smile appeared on his face. “So it’s you, little kid. You’ve aged as well.”
Viletree respectfully replied, “I never thought that elder would remember this junior.”
Elder Ren smiled. “A genius of the Sword Sect. Of course I would remember.”
He then looked at Nightqueen Qiuyu, and a trace of astonishment flashed through his eyes. “Young lady, so you’re here too.”
Nightqueen Qiuyu stepped forward and bowed. “I pay my respects to Elder Ren.”
Elder Ren nodded and then suddenly recalled something. “Where’s that other kid?”
Nightqueen Qiuyu’s body shuddered, and her eyes filled with agony. “He’s not around anymore.”
Elder Ren sighed and looked at her. “In the end, you two still separated. That was predestined, and bystanders should not be held accountable for such things.”
Nightqueen Qiuyu closed her eyes to conceal her torment.
When that old monster, Northgate Taisui, appeared in Northline Flowzone, it had not overly shocked the other organizations because Northline Flowzone was just too weak. Even if Northgate Taisui’s power surpa.s.sed that of Elder Ren, the status that he wielded in the universe was just too low. This showed the influence that the Sea King’s Dome wielded, as even powers such as the Daynight clan and the Sword Sect had to bow their heads.
Hai Dashao spoke up and pointed at Lei Long. “Elder, that person said that our Sea King"s Dome isn’t qualified to take care of Frostwave Weave.”
Lei Long’s face instantly changed. “Hai Dashao, don’t spout nonsense! I didn’t say anything like that.”
Elder Ren looked at Lei Long. Then, his murky eyes suddenly changed, and Lei Long felt as if the heavens had become an unknown place. He suddenly lost control over his strength before he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face turned deathly white.
Everyone was overwhelmed, as this was just too terrifying a scene. After all, Lei Long was an Enlighter with a power level of over 200,000, but he didn’t even have the strength to resist.
Elder Ren did not act a second time. “For the sake of giving your clan’s elders some face, I’ll let you off this time.”
Lei Long bowed his head. He didn’t dare to speak, though his eyes revealed his resentment.
Those who could cultivate to the Enlighter realm were geniuses among geniuses, and those whose power levels had reached 300,000-400,000 were even more exceptional. Moreover, this old man came from the Sea King"s Dome, which meant that it would be difficult for even someone of the same power level to defeat Elder Ren, let alone someone like Lei Long who was much weaker. He would basically be crossing realms if he challenged the old man. For a super powerhouse from the Sea King’s Dome, dealing with Lei Long was nothing difficult.
The surrounding Enlighters subconsciously distanced themselves from Hai Dashao, as they dared not stay too close to him.
Wen Qichen stepped forward and greeted Elder Ren. “This junior from the Wen family, Wen Qichen, pays his respects to Elder Ren.”
Elder Ren looked at Wen Qichen and nodded with a smile. “The Wen family is a reasonable family, and all of their members are scholars. I like to talk with scholarly people.”
Wen Qichen forced a smile onto his face as he saluted Elder Ren again. “May I ask senior if the Second Prince’s words are true? Does the Sea King"s Dome intend to protect Frostwave Weave and Lu Yin?”
Elder Ren shook his head. “No.”
The crowd’s eyes lit up.
Hai Dashao was stumped, and he cast a strange look towards Elder Ren.
Elder Ren slowly continued, saying, “The Sea King"s Dome is not protecting Frostwave Weave and Lu Yin. Rather, it is protecting the Sea King"s Dome’s future son-in-law, as well as his hometown.”
Bulls.h.i.t! That’s the same thing! The Enlighters all cursed silently, but they didn’t dare to express their displeasure.
Wen Qichen smiled bitterly. “This junior understands. The Wen family will not act against Lu Yin, his friends, or his family. During this contest on Planet Pyrolyte, the strong win, and the weak can only leave.”
Elder Ren nodded and looked appreciatively at Wen Qichen. “Little one, you have a knack for seeing things clearly. Not bad, not bad. You deserve to be called a scholar.”
Wen Qichen was speechless. The words he spoke sounded like a scolding, but the appreciative expression on the elder’s face did not quite fit. Wen Quichen didn’t know if the old man was praising or admonishing him.
The rest had also come to understand the present situation since the conversation had reached this point. The Sea King’s Dome would protect Lu Yin, which meant that they could no longer threaten the youth, and also that he would be able to act without restraint.
Things were now hopeless for the rest of the Limiteers on Planet Pyrolyte.
Lu Yin was basically a gigantic mountain that none of the other Limiteers could surmount. The only way the various powers could still move forward was to mobilize their Explorers.
As Wen Qichen, Nightqueen Qiuyu, Viletree, and the other Enlighters from the various great powers went their separate ways, the Enlighters from the smaller organizations all left as well.
Lei Long had a malicious expression, and when he returned to his s.p.a.cecraft, he immediately ordered for his underlings to speed up their research on developing a method for Explorers to descend onto Planet Pyrolyte, and possibly even Cruisers. If a method was found for Cruisers to descend onto the planet, then Planet Pyrolyte would suddenly belong to the Dire Barbarian Clan. After all, they had Avery.
It wasn’t just the Dire Barbarian Clan, as all of the various organizations started focusing on finding a method to send Explorers down to the planet.
On the surface of the planet, all of the Limiteers retreated from the mountain range until only one person remained: Zhanlong Daynight, who had been captured by Lu Yin.
When Karthika’s face disappeared, Lu Yin had realized that the threats surrounding him no longer existed. The Sea King’s Dome had stepped up to protect him.
However, Lu Yin was not happy at this turn of events since this meant that, from now on, Frostwave Weave would be forever subservient to the Sea King"s Dome. And as long as Lu Yin did not back out from the engagement, then he would also belong to the Sea King. Additionally, he was not naive enough to believe that the Sea King was protecting him out of his goodwill.
Still, those were all issues for the future. Right now, Lu Yin wanted to find out what had happened on Shenwu Continent, and how Zhanlong Daynight had left.
Zhanlong Daynight had been severely injured by one strike from Lu Yin, but his abnormal recovery abilities allowed him to awaken after merely half an hour, and the injuries on his body had also improved by a great deal. His recovery piqued Hai Qiqi’s interest, and she watched him heal in fascination.
When he awoke, Zhanlong Daynight arduously raised himself up and looked at Lu Yin before spitting out a mouthful of blood. “It’s been a while.”
Lu Yin looked at Zhanlong Daynight. “You know why I kept you behind.”
Zhanlong Daynight grinned. “Do you think I’ll tell you?”
A coldness flashed across Lu Yin’s eyes as he said, “You have the choice to remain silent, and I have the choice to kill you.”
?