Star Odyssey

Chapter 2229: Deductions And Alliances

Lei Wu’s eyes flickered as he watched the two strangers leave his room. These two men had not been sent to him by the Hidden Earth Society, which meant that someone else was after his Lei family. What would happen when the people from the Hidden Earth Society arrived? Could he afford to wait around and see?

No, waiting was not an option. Terror filled Lei Wu's eyes. While the Hidden Earth Society was a secret society that remained well hidden, they wielded influence in many organizations throughout the entire Perennial World and were actually quite powerful. The Hidden Earth Society remained hidden simply because being discovered would cause all of them to be eradicated and destroyed.

Lei Wu did not believe that the people whom the Hidden Earth Society were sending his way could deal with the two strangers who had just arrived, especially since they were clearly waiting for the people to arrive. It also seemed like these two strangers were not on good terms with the Wang family. If they were willing to work against a monster like the Wang family, then they were part of something that the Hidden Earth Society could not afford to provoke.

All of these thoughts ran through Lei Wu’s head, leaving him increasingly anxious. He quickly decided that he needed to find a way to get in touch with the Hidden Earth Society and report what had just happened.

However, despite his wishes, Lei Wu could not send a message to the Hidden Earth Society. The two strangers were always watching him, and even though they were not physically present, there was always some pressure lingering around Lei Wu like a subtle threat, and he did not dare to act rashly.

Even after two days, Lei Wu still hadn’t found any way to avoid the strangers’ notice long enough to send a report to the Hidden Earth Society. Unfortunately, Lu Yin arrived that day, and he arrived unaccompanied.

As Lu Yin stared at the Lei family’s home, he remembered being chased from Dragon Mountain. He really did have a fated connection with these people. In the past, he had Possessed an assassin sent to kill Lei Wu. It was then that Lu Yin had learned that the Hidden Earth Society also existed in the Perennial World. If not for Lu Yin, Lei Wu and his grandson would have died to that assassin. At present, Lu Yin wanted to sneak into the Wang family’s headquarters, and the best way for him to do so was to use the Hidden Earth Society, who had a member who was a relatively influential member of the Wang family.

While the Hidden Earth Society’s member in the Wang family had a high position, he was not responsible for determining who was allowed access to the Wang family’s headquarters. That responsibility was controlled by another division of the family, which meant that the Hidden Earth Society’s member in the Wang family was not actually as conveniently placed as Lei Wu. In fact, using Lei Wu was the most inconspicuous way for Lu Yin to get to where he wanted.

"Please inform the patriarch that an acquaintance has come to visit him," Lu Yin stated to one of the mansion’s guards.

The man hurried inside to make a report.

Lei Yan soon arrived at the gates, and he saw Lu Yin. Lu Yin had already changed his appearance, so he looked very average. There was nothing special about his features at all.

"Who are you? You know my Lei family?" Lei Yan asked as he looked at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin smiled. "Please tell Patriarch Lei Wu that an old acquaintance has come to see him."

Lei Yan frowned. "My Lei family doesn't have any acquaintances from this place. You can leave."

With that, the young man turned around and went back inside.

Lu Yin was stunned. What did this mean? Elder Qing Xing had clearly made contact with Lei Wu through the Hidden Earth Society.

The door closed, and Lu Yin frowned before turning around and leaving.

Once the door closed, Lei Yan heaved a sigh of relief. He was also aware that this person had been sent by the Hidden Earth Society to the Lei family to infiltrate the Wang family’s headquarters. Lei Yan had reached the same conclusions as his grandfather, and he was also aware that if things went south, their Lei family could be exposed, along with the entire Hidden Earth Society.

Lei Wu heaved a sigh of relief, as the two strangers in his home had not cared about the sudden visitor, and the patriarch secretly praised his grandson for doing such a good job. The young man had spent years traveling with Lei Wu, and he had developed a wary and cautious demeanor.

"Patriarch Lei Wu." A voice suddenly spoke from right behind Lei Wu. The sound startled the man, and he spun around, only to see Lu Yin smiling at him.

"You- who are you?"

When Lei Yan also saw Lu Yin, the young man grew pale. "Didn't I send you off? My Lei family doesn’t know you, so please leave."

Lei Wu's heart dropped. This was the man sent by the Hidden Earth Society? Things were about to grow complicated, and his family was about to be exposed.

Lu Yin was surprised at this reaction. "Why are you going back on your word? Have you forgotten your identity?"

An ugly expression covered Lei Wu's face, and he kept winking at Lu Yin. "Of course I’m happy to do what was agreed upon, but I first need to be paid by your organization. This isn’t the right time, but I’ll make it up to you next time. You need to hurry up and leave now."

Lu Yin just sat down, completely ignoring the man.

At this moment, one of the two strangers suddenly appeared, and he gave Lu Yin a cold stare before turning towards Lei Wu. "Is this the person sent by that society that you mentioned? Does he want to get into the Wang family’s headquarters as well?"

Lei Wu nodded. "It isn’t easy to get people in, and I can’t take more than two at a time. Even if the people I’m bringing are already known to the Wang family, they won’t let more than three people in at a time. If this person goes, then only one of you can go, which is why I wanted to drive him away. I was going to have the society tell him to wait for the next opportunity."

The stranger coldly replied, "There’s no need to wait. This time will be fine."

Lei Wu was surprised by this response, and Lu Yin looked over at the stranger.

"It's hard to find any opportunity to get into the Wang family’s headquarters, even if one risks their life. In order to avoid any mishaps, this person should just disappear." After he finished speaking, the stranger pressed a hand down towards Lu Yin.

Lei Wu sighed. Unsurprisingly, this was how things turned out. This person really wanted to die.

The hand struck Lu Yin's shoulder, and a terrifying burst of stellular energy surged in an attempt to destroy Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin did not move or even react. The stranger was startled, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. This was the first time that the man had actually taken a look at Lu Yin. He tried to attack again, but Lu Yin still did not move. His only reaction was to smile at his attacker.

The stranger's expression changed, and he quickly tried to retreat, but Lu Yin grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it, forcing the man to the floor in an instant.

Lu Yin placed a foot on the man’s back. "What were you trying to do just now?"

Lei Wu and Lei Yan blankly stared at the sight, unable to understand what had just happened. This stranger who had taken up residence in their home was an Envoy, but he had just been flung to the floor and stomped on. Had he been faking his cultivation realm of an Envoy?

The stranger stared up at Lu Yin in disbelief. "Who are you?"

Lu Yin bent over, his foot still on the man’s back. A smile shone down on the incapacitated man. "Sure enough, you’re from Shenwu's Sky, aren’t you?"

The stranger's expression changed drastically. "Are you from the Celestial Frost Sect?"

Lei Wu and Lei Yan were both taken aback. Shenwu's Sky? The Celestial Frost Sect?

Lu Yin also felt quite confused. He had assumed that this stranger was from Shenwu’s Sky because he was about as strong as Xia Shenfei and the other Junior Progenitors. What’s more, this man also had an impressive mastery of the Divine Martial Armor. However, why was this man assuming that Lu Yin was someone from the Celestial Frost Sect?

Eh? Lu Yin’s head whipped around to look in a specific direction. The void warped, and a massive amount of stellular energy surged some distance away, only to be instantly suppressed. The second stranger in the Lei family’s home stared at Lu Yin in complete shock.

A smile appeared on Lu Yin's face, and his own energy flickered. The second stranger’s brain was rattled, and he swayed before crumpling to the floor.

The stranger beneath Lu Yin’s foot felt his scalp go numb. This person had easily suppressed both of them. "Yo- you’re a six-tribulation powerhouse!"

Lei Wu was stunned. How could the Hidden Earth Society have sent such a strong person to him?

Lu Yin stomped down on the man's left leg, and the stranger’s fierce expression disappeared, his aggression replaced with fear. Lu Yin’s right foot had smashed down on the exact location of the man’s stellular energy vortex.

"Release even a bit of your strength, and you’ll be crippled," Lu Yin casually commented.

The stranger stared up at Lu Yin in horror. "So, the Celestial Frost Sect was already prepared. Even if we went to this tiny Lei family, we still ended up being targeted by you."

Lu Yin was growing increasingly curious about the situation. Just why was this person so sure that Lu Yin was part of the Celestial Frost Sect?

"Let's discuss who you are and what you’re doing here," Lu Yin replied calmly. He then looked up and waved a hand at Lei Wu and Lei Yan.

The two men glanced at each other before quickly leaving. They were both quite confused about what was happening. Was this person from the Celestial Frost Sect or the Hidden Earth Society?

Lu Yin had already captured the two men who had tried to intimidate the Lei family, and one of the two men was not a stranger to Lu Yin. He was Xia Yuan.

Running into Xia Yuan in this place was a surprise, but his presence confirmed that the two men were from Shenwu’s Sky.

Xia Yuan had been knocked out, and Lu Yin made no attempt to rouse the man. Instead, Lu Yin focused on the man underfoot. "What? You don’t want to talk to me? That’s fine. I'll just destroy your stellular energy vortex."

"Wait! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" the man shouted in frustration. "You already know everything, so what do you even want me to say?"

The man suddenly remembered something, and he looked up at Lu Yin in surprise.

Lu Yin understood that the man had just realized that Lu Yin might not be a part of the Celestial Frost Sect, and that had roused the man’s interest greatly.

The man swallowed. "Are you actually from the Celestial Frost Sect?"

"Last chance," Lu Yin answered coldly.

The man started talking quickly, "Senior, let me speak! I’ll talk!"

The man’s expression turned ugly as he took some time to think. "We’re from Shenwu's Sky, and we came here to deliver a letter to Wang Zheng, the Wang family patriarch. There’s no need to hide anything anymore. Since the Celestial Frost Sect sent you here, Senior, then they clearly know about everything. However, if they didn’t send you, then my Shenwu’s Sky would like to invite you to join the three of us in our alliance to stand against the Celestial Frost Sect."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "A three-way alliance?"

"Yes. My Shenwu's Sky, the White Dragon Clan, and the Wang family want to form an alliance to stand up to the Celestial Frost Sect," the man stated solemnly.

Lu Yin blinked. "Tell me more."

The man replied, "I honestly don’t know much myself. I’m just a messenger. Xia Yuan should know more. You can ask him, Senior."

Lu Yin said, "Tell me what you do know."

The man thought for a bit before answering. "To my understanding, the disappearance of Xia Xing, my Shenwu's Sky’s sect master, might have been done by the Celestial Frost Sect. As for Long Ke, they most likely captured him in order to get his clan’s portion of the restrictions that control Star Alliance. I heard about this from Xia Yuan, who learned of these matters from Semi-Progenitor Ziheng. Like I said, Xia Yuan knows more as I learned everything that I know from him."

Lu Yin was getting more and more curious about this matter. Bai Teng had gone missing, but why did Shenwu’s Sky believe that the Celestial Frost Sect were the ones behind Xia Xing’s disappearance? Why were they so confident in this information?

As for Long Ke, Lu Yin had planned on spreading that misinformation from the very beginning. Long Ke was supposed to be suspected of attacking Bai Teng, so it was only to be expected that the Celestial Frost Sect would capture the man. Still, what did this have to do with Xia Xing?

Lu Yin quickly roused Xia Yuan to question him.

The man was initially reluctant to say anything, but Lu Yin had countless means of getting someone to speak. In the end, Xia Yuan revealed the theory that Shenwu’s Sky had reached, leaving Lu Yin utterly dumbfounded. "The Celestial Frost Sect is trying to use Bai Teng's disappearance to cover up the fact that our sect master was captured by them. Who would ever consider such a thing? How could Bai Teng, a sect master, vanish without creating the slightest bit of disturbance? The God of Cookery was close to where the sect master disappeared, and Long Ke had no motive to attack Bai Teng. Still, Long Ke’s been arrested, and it was even Wang Zheng who testified against him.

"Our evidence is that nothing is mere coincidence: the Celestial Frost Sect used Wang Zheng to testify against Long Ke, and then they locked up Long Ke in the Celestial Frost Sect. It’s all a part of their plan to get the full method to control Star Alliance, but they’ve also created a great deal of hatred between the Wang family and the White Dragon Clan. More importantly, while the Celestial Frost Sect has also lost their sect master, Bai Teng was never anything more than a figurehead. In fact, rumors have been rampant for years that Bai Xian'er will become the Celestial Frost Sect’s next sect master.

"By sacrificing Bai Teng, they will potentially undermine the White Dragon Clan, take control of Star Alliance, and even force the White Dragon Clan and the Wang family to practically go to war. Everything benefits the Celestial Frost Sect, but since we were able to deduce their motives and actions, we intend to cooperate with the Wang Family and the White Dragon Clan to deal with the Celestial Frost Sect."

Lu Yin finally understood. "You thought that the Celestial Frost Sect would deliberately prevent you from working together with the Wang family, which is why you hid your identities and came here to try to use Lei Wu to sneak into the Wang family’s headquarters. So you’re deceiving the Celestial Frost Sect rather than the Wang family?"

Xia Yuan nodded. "Exactly! That woman in the Celestial Frost Sect is too cunning. If we had approached the Wang family openly, then she’d definitely notice, and there’s no way she doesn’t have something already set up to stop us from uniting. This decision wasn’t just made by Shenwu's Sky, but also with the White Dragon Clan."