Star Odyssey

Chapter 2108: That Child

Hen Xin took a deep breath. He was the gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, and there was no need for anyone to give him what he had already acquired through his own strength. Lu Yin’s words were deliberately forcing Hen Xin to state that he agreed to hold his current position, which was nothing less than agreeing to Lu Yin’s authority to represent the heavens. With this, Hen Xin would no longer have any right to gainsay Lu Yin within the Heavens Sect.

However, if Hen Xin did not agree, he would no longer be a gatemaster of one of the Heavens Sect’s Twelve Heavenly Gates.

He was no longer living in the Heavens Sect era, and while it was only natural that the more powerful the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were, the better. Still, given that there were no external enemies and a very limited number of Semi-Progenitors in the Fifth Mainland, it did not particularly matter who the gatemasters actually were.

"Very well," Hen Xin ultimately agreed. His greatest strength was that he always had a very clear understanding of any situation.

In the past, the entire reason why he had purposely stolen control of Aurora Enterprises had been because he could clearly see the future potential of microarray technology. At this moment, Hen Xin could clearly see the influence that Lu Yin wielded in the Human Domain. Going against Lu Yin at this juncture would mean anonymity throughout the era.

Lu Yin was satisfied. He did not harbor any particular grudge towards Hen Xin, as the man was not even an enemy, but merely someone with a different perspective. This meant that they would undoubtedly butt heads again in the future.

Lu Yin then looked back at Jue Yi. "What about you?"

Jue Yi frowned. He was in a different position than Hen Xin. If Jue Yi acknowledged Lu Yin, it not only meant acknowledging the youth’s authority within the Heavens Sect, but also acknowledging Lu Yin’s status as the true heir to the God of Death. Doing so would cause Jue Yi to also lose that position of authority. The Semi-Progenitor readily understood why he had been targeted by Lu Yin earlier, as it had all been preparation for this exact moment.

The fact that Lu Yin had just proven that he had inherited Progenitor Chen’s power made Jue Yi want to go against Lu Yin, but ultimately, he had no choice in the matter.

Lu Yin glanced over to Jiu Yao.

The man reluctantly bowed, as at this moment, even Semi-Progenitors had to show a bit of deference to Lu Yin. Strength was the final arbiter of authority.

"It seems that none of you have any objection to this junior representing the heavens. In that case, starting right now, I will officially assume the duties of the Heavens Sect’s Dao Chosen." Lu Yin glanced around at the gathered Semi-Progenitors and hefted the sword in his hand. "Also, I will represent the Origin Progenitor to act as the heavens."

A breath escaped Hen Xin as soon as he heard Lu Yin’s last words. This was a direct challenge, as Lu Yin was claiming the authority to decide all matters regarding the Heavens Sect for the future.

"Arrest Ni Huang, Xia De, Bai Laogui, Wang Si, and Xia Ji," Lu Yin suddenly ordered the moment after he confirmed his status.

Everyone was startled. Arrest five Semi-Progenitors at once?

Ni Huang's expression changed drastically, as he had not expected Lu Yin to take such insane actions. Just how many Semi-Progenitors did the Human Domain even have?

"Lu Yin, do you intend to abuse your position to get revenge?" Wang Si shrieked.

Lu Yin looked at the five people through ice-cold eyes. "Let’s at least be honest about things—I have absolutely no idea when you might attack me."

"Dao Chosen Lu, these five Semi-Progenitors have done nothing to betray humanity, so it's really not appropriate to simply arrest them," Hen Xin protested. All five of the targeted people were from his Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, so Hen Xin was fully aware that Ni Huang and others were Lu Yin’s enemies. Still, it was a surprise to see Lu Yin simply ordering their arrest. It seemed Lu Yin was not at all afraid of creating a schism within the Heavens Sect.

"So are you saying that it’s fine for them to threaten the safety of the Dao Chosen?" Lu Yin retorted. He had never truly expected Hen Xin to simply follow orders, even if the man had acknowledged Lu Yin’s authority. Such a reversal was purely unrealistic.

"If they’re a threat to the safety of the Dao Chosen, then we naturally can’t allow them to go free." Destina’s eyes locked onto Ni Huang and the other four.

Ni Huang and his group glanced at each other, all making preparations to attack. They would not do nothing and allow the gathered people to eliminate them.

But before anyone could do a thing, the Progenitor of Bloodlines subdued all five. The man might have fallen from the Progenitor realm, but he was still an existence who surpassed a Semi-Progenitor. Ni Huang and the others were helpless to escape.

"Lu Yin, Progenitor Chen is from my Xia family! You’ve taken Progenitor Chen's power, yet you turn against my Xia family? You will be damned for this!" Xia Ji roared.

Lu Yin ignored the captives and instead addressed the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "Thank you, Senior."

Earlier, right before the Progenitor of Bloodlines had left, Lu Yin sent the man a voice transmission. He had requested the Progenitor’s assistance in dealing with the Perennial World’s forces. This was why there had been a sudden sneak attack from the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Ni Huang and the others were completely unable to react in time.

If Lu Yin had tried to capture the five Semi-Progenitors by any other means, even with Progenitor Chen's power, then even if they were successfully captured, Earth would have been completely destroyed.

The old man smiled at Lu Yin. "This is just a trifling matter, but now, I really will be leaving since I’ve helped you capture them."

"Thank you, Senior." Lu Yin was grateful again.

"Try to treat them as kindly as possible, as they have truly done their best to protect and defend humanity for these last twenty years," the Progenitor of Bloodlines asked before leaving. His request was sent through a voice transmission, as he understood that this matter was better kept private.

Lu Yin also understood this.

Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. This young man thought things through carefully, and he was also bold enough to plot and trick the top powerhouses in the current universe. Even Hen Xin had not expected the Progenitor of Bloodlines to stay around and launch a surprise attack. "Dao Chosen, the loss of five Semi-Progenitors all at once will be a heavy blow to our Human Domain."

Lu Yin was unbothered by such concerns. "They don't belong to this place to begin with, and they only came here to kill me. Did you not know that?"

Hen Xin did not say much. Lu Yin had only just come into power, and the details of the situation remained foggy. The gatemaster would just wait and see, as he did not believe that Lu Yin would actually execute Ni Huang or the other captives.

This Heavenly Gates conference did not last much longer, but it was agreed that the next meeting would take place in a single year, rather than the standard five.

Additionally, that next meeting would be considered a continuation of the current Heavenly Gates conference, so it would remain as the fourth conference.

Lu Yin had taken care of the Aeternals, and he had also imprisoned the five Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World. Both of these matters would have tremendous repercussions on the Human Domain, and many of the issues that had been addressed during the Heavenly Gates conference had already been invalidated. This year was agreed upon to act as a transition period to allow the various changes to settle, and the next meeting would be regarded as the true fourth Heavenly Gates conference. This year would also give Lu Yin the opportunity to settle certain personal matters.

…

Lu Yin gazed at the massive construction of the Heavens Sect from the back of Ancestor Tortoise, lost in his own thoughts.

Arch-Elder Zen approached. "The threat of the Aeternals has been dealt with, so it’s no longer necessary to build the Heavens Sect here. Also, while I never saw the real Heavens Sect, I assume that the main gate was far more splendid than what we’ve been working on."

Lu Yin replied, "You’re right. I have seen it."

Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard. "You’ve seen the true Heavens Sect? Was that when you were traveling through time and space with the others?"

Lu Yin nodded and turned to look towards the Innerverse. "Without the Sky Pillar, this can’t truly be the Heavens Sect. One day, when we take back the Sky Pillar from the passage to the Starfall Sea, the real Heavens Sect will finally return."

"I can only trust you, but I believe that you can do it." The prospect made Arch-Elder Zen grow emotional.

Lu Yin looked at his companion. "Senior, how much do you know about the Lu family?"

Arch-Elder Zen grew curious. "Why do you ask?"

"Since you received the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique from my Lu family, why were you suspicious of me when you found that I was from the Lu family? Was it really because the Lu family abandoned the Fifth Mainland and moved the Mother Tree?"

Arch-Elder Zen stared out at the Heavens Sect gate that was under construction. "How much do you know?"

"While traveling through time, I saw quite a few things, and while I didn’t pay much attention to some of those things at the time, I realized some things when I returned to this era," Lu Yin explained.

"What things?" Arch-Elder Zen felt curious about this.

Lu Yin fell silent for a moment. "I saw what happened when the Lu family abandoned the Fifth Mainland."

Arch-Elder Zen's eyes grew wide. "You even saw that?"

Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen looked at each other. "There was a boy watching."

Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard, but then he started to laugh. "That's right! It was me! You should have also seen two other people at that time, or rather one person and one..."

"Ancient God."

Complicated emotions swirled through Arch-Elder Zen's eyes. "That’s right, it was Ancient God and a direct descendant of the Lu family. Since you were able to figure out that the young man was me, you should understand why I was suspicious of you when your identity was first exposed. I was willing to shoulder the responsibility of thwarting the Aeternals, and even if it meant earning the hatred of the entire Fifth Mainland, I would never hesitate. However, even the Lu family has members who are traitors to humanity.”

The old man stared intently at Lu Yin as he finished speaking.

"There is no large family or clan that is completely united, and the Lu family is no different. I did not know if you were with us or them at first, especially after you took over the entire Outerverse and showed that you wanted to conquer the Innerverse as well. Such ambition felt very different from the normal behavior of the Lu family. While they ruled the Fifth Mainland, they always did so by relying on pure strength, rather than plots or schemes."

"Is that why you thought that I might be a traitor hidden within the Lu family, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

Arch-Elder Zen did not deny the accusation. "The four ruling powers exiled your Lu family, and yet you alone arrived here in the Fifth Mainland. Why? How could the four ruling powers ever have been willing to let you go? Your mere existence is enough to incite chaos in the Perennial World, which could only serve Aeternus’s interests. Your existence alone suggested that you were likely another traitor within the Lu family."

Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Fair enough. I really don’t fit the standard mold of the Lu family. I’m pretty good at scheming, and just being alive might be enough to start a civil war between humans. Still, I’m no traitor."

Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Of course, I realized that all of my suspicions were nothing more than my own doubts. After you took over the defense of the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain, my doubts almost entirely disappeared. If you really were a traitor, there would have been absolutely no need for you to take such risks. I started to support you not only because of how you proved that you care for humanity as a whole, but also because no traitor would ever take such actions."

Lu Yin understood. "Didn’t you consider the possibility that this junior did all of that with the Astral Beast Domain just to gain your trust?"

"I considered it, but I always had everything under control. Even if you did unite both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, it would not have mattered even if you had annexed the Neoverse. I was fully confident in being able to overpower everything if it became absolutely necessary," Arch-Elder Zen replied.

Lu Yin nodded. "With the Tri-Yang Technique, you have the strength to fight against even the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect Era, so you would have never struggled to deal with me."

"That might have been true in the past, but no longer." Arch-Elder Zen smiled wryly. "If you really are a descendant of that traitor from the Lu family and have managed to come this far, then all I can say is that mankind is destined to fall, and such a future is inevitable."

Lu Yin smiled. "But this junior is not a traitor."

Arch-Elder Zen laughed again. "Which means that you’re humanity’s good luck charm, hahahaha."

"What are you chuckling about?" Kui Luo approached, quite curious to hear Arch-Elder Zen’s laughter.

Lu Yin replied, "Arch-Elder Zen was telling me a few jokes."

"Him?" Kui Luo could not believe such a thing, and a look of disgust appeared on his face. "This old man is so old that he better not laugh, as his teeth might fall out."

Arch-Elder Zen shot a glare at Kui Luo. "Watch your words a bit, or else you’re doomed to get a beating one of these days."

Kui Luo sneered. "The person who can beat me hasn’t been born."

"It looks like you want to test yourself against this old man's Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi!"

"Old fart, I think you’re starting to lose it."

Lu Yin smiled as he watched the two men bicker. With the threat of the Aeternals finally gone, Arch-Elder Zen’s mood had completely transformed, and he seemed much more energetic than in the past. "Senior, if the New Corridor reconnects, maybe you can try to finally become a Progenitor."

Arch-Elder Zen was caught completely off guard, but then his eyes lit up. "That's true! I’ll do that. I’ve always been so worried about so many things, but now I can leave those matters to you and focus on myself."

Kui Luo’s head snapped up. "What’s all this? Old man, I need to become a Progenitor before you get the chance."