Star Odyssey

Chapter 3140: The Infinity Empire’s Capital

Bu Qing and the other two exchanged glances, as they felt both excited and nervous. They were finally going to return home, but delivering such a powerful force into the heart of the Infinity Empire would undoubtedly spell disaster for their homeland.

However, they had no choice. Refusing to comply would mean certain death.

Hong Yi had no reservations about proceeding. She could see things the clearest out of the three, and she had been the first to pledge her allegiance to Lu Yin. In the Infinity Empire, her father stood at the pinnacle of power. He could either retire peacefully, or be crushed by his rivals. There was no other option.

At least, they had no other options before the appearance of the Heavens Sect had offered another path.

Allying with the Heavens Sect and leveraging their power could secure a brighter future for Hong Yi’s family.

Father, I’m coming home.

Master Shan led the three people away while Lu Yin paid a visit to the Arboreal Realm and the Voidforce Universe before finally making his way to the Perennial World. In each place, he gathered peak powerhouses.

Going to the Infinity Empire was no trivial matter, and a fierce battle was inevitable. Unless the Infinity Empire was utterly overwhelmed, future cooperation would be completely out of the question.

Lu Yin had no intention of negotiating with the empire. Unlike the universes that Mister Mu had led Lu Yin to, they had no existing ties to the Infinity Empire that could be leveraged.

Five days later, Master Shan returned with Bu Qing and the other two. Their cultivation had advanced significantly due to faster time flow of the parallel universe that they had gone to. They had lived through far more than five days, and they had successfully mastered the use of their energy converters.

“Let’s go to the Infinity Empire,” Lu Yin declared. His hands were clasped behind his back, and the peak powerhouses who stood behind him watched expectantly. Seeing this group of people, Bu Qing felt like she was leading wolves into her own home. The Infinity Empire had always acted as the predator, but they had finally become the prey.

Using her energy converter, Bu Qing tore through the void and quickly found her home universe. She then glanced back at Lu Yin, who smiled at her.

The woman took a deep breath and then stepped into the void, vanishing.

Following her, Xia Shenji stepped out from behind Lu Yin and went second. Following him was Fei Su, then Hong Yi, and the two were quickly followed by Xu Wuwei, Big Sis, Mu Ke, and finally by Lu Yin himself. They were on their way to the Infinity Empire’s universe.

Tearing through the void frequently sent people to parallel universes, and that was exactly what happened this time as well. All of these people appeared in an unknown universe.

Lu Yin emerged from the spatial tear and scanned his surroundings. This universe lacked any energy that could be used for cultivation, which proved that no peak powerhouse with the ability to alter a universe had ever appeared in this universe. This was actually typical of most parallel universes.

Not every universe could produce strong cultivators, and not every universe was suitable for cultivation.

Bu Qing and her companions quickly oriented themselves, and then they led Lu Yin and the others into the distance. Soon, the woman warned them, "Up ahead is the Imperial City. It looks like it’s an empty region, but the entire area is actually under surveillance. It won’t be easy for us to get in."

Lu Yin summoned the Seven-Star Mantis, and everyone got on it. It unfurled its six pairs of wings and then moved at the speed of time. Forget a surveillance system—not even a peak powerhouse would notice if the group passed by right in front of them.

Bu Qing, Fei Su, and Hong Yi were stunned by the speed at which they were moving. Everything around them seemed frozen.

Even for peak powerhouses like Mu Ke, Xu Wuwei, Big Sis, and Xia Shenji, such speed was impressive, if not astonishing. Xia Shenji was capable of wielding a bit of the power of time, while the others possessed enough strength where not even the speed of time was shocking.

Lu Yin and the others soon saw a massive city in front of them. It was grand and imposing, and it spread across the starry sky like the Heavens Sect, though it was not quite as large. From a distance, the city resembled a giant, horizontal mirror.

The closer they drew, the clearer they could make out the city. There was no denying that it had been constructed in outer space by a pure technological civilization.

The Seven-Star Mantis easily bypassed the city's defenses by traveling at the speed of time. The Imperial City's barriers were completely useless to it.

However, Lu Yin would not underestimate the capital of the Infinity Empire. The city was not able to stop them, but that was because of its size. Once they drew closer to the emperor's location, it would be different. That place held mechas that were capable of fighting against sequence powerhouses, as well as the emperor's mecha, which was known as the Supreme Mecha. Supposedly, the mechas was indestructible, and it was also protected by five twelve-ring mechas which were piloted by the empire’s Pillars of Heaven, which made things even more challenging. There was no doubt that the Infinity Empire was incredibly powerful and that they were qualified to fight against Aeternus.

There was no need to start fighting right away, as it was better to first gather information.

Lu Yin’s target was the empire's Minister of the Armory, Hong Nian.

After entering the capital, Hong Yi easily found her way home.

There was a rustic courtyard near the emperor’s palace in the capital city. It was completely at odds with the futuristic design of the rest of the city. However, the courtyard was not alone, as the surrounding area was filled with similar residences.

These residences looked out of place compared to the rest of the city, but this was the most prestigious neighborhood as it was the closest to the emperor's own palace, separated by nothing more than a wall. This neighborhood was where the empire’s most important individuals all lived.

Hong Yi's home was one of the courtyards. As the Minister of the Armory, he was responsible for the military’s logistics. While the man did not possess much personal strength, he was incredibly influential, as he could directly impact the Infinity Empire's armed forces. There was no doubt that he was one of the highest-ranking officials in the empire.

Within the courtyard, Hong Nian was staring blankly at a star chart. It showed the Sixth Mainland.

Hong Yi was the man’s only daughter, and she had been captured. Every day, Hong Nian stared at the star chart, hoping that the day would come when the Infinity Empire invaded that universe and rescued his daughter.

Unlike Fei Yan, who was too obvious in his actions, Hong Nian was a subtle man. Because of his position, if he was too transparent about his intentions, Hong Nian could easily lose his position.

However, how could he convince the Infinity Empire to invade that universe?

The only possibility was the temptation of a ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings. The Sixth Mainland held the potential for the Infinity Empire to develop a utilization rate of thirteen rings. If that potential could be transformed into reality, the emperor would not be able to ignore it.

For that reason, in addition to his daily meetings with the emperor, Hong Nian also visited the Energy Research Institute, where they conducted experiments on the energy that had been collected from the Sixth Mainland. As long as a ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings could be achieved, it would be worthwhile to brave the dangers of that universe.

"Father," Hong Yi called out.

Hong Nian froze. For a moment, he thought that he had heard his daughter's voice. No, he had to be hearing things. A bitter smile touched the man’s face, as he realized that his longing for Hong Yi had caused him to start hallucinating.

He thought back to the day she had been born, and her cute and innocent appearance. The memory caused tears to well up, but he buried those emotions deep down. He had to be careful to not let the emperor notice a thing. The ring energy research had to succeed.

With newfound determination, the man turned to make his way to the Energy Research Institute.

Suddenly, his expression changed dramatically. There were several people standing behind him, arriving at some unknown moment in time, and Hong Nian’s gaze instantly landed on his daughter, who was standing among the others.

"Little Yi?"

Hong Yi was overwhelmed with emotion, and she called out, "Father!"

Hong Nian took a step forward to embrace her, but then he stopped out of instinct. He turned to look at the people standing around his daughter: Bu Qing and Fei Su were present, but the man’s eyes lingered on Mu Ke and Big Sis. "Who are you?"

"Is that a star chart of the Sixth Mainland?" someone asked from behind. Hong Nian spun around to see a young man carefully studying the star chart.

Hong Nian quickly suppressed his excitement at seeing his daughter again, and he regained his composure. "Are you from the Fifth Mainland?"

Lu Yin looked over and gave the man a small smile. "My name is Lu Yin. I am the Dao Monarch of the Fifth Mainland's Heavens Sect. You may call me Lord Lu."

Everyone needed a guiding light, and the Infinite Capital was no exception. However, with light came darkness.

As evening fell, Big Sis and the others left the courtyard, guided by Bu Qing and the other natives of the Infinity Empire.

Lu Yin alone stayed behind to speak with Hong Nian.

Hong Nian had learned about what had happened, though he struggled to accept it.

The Infinity Empire had always been the aggressor, invading other parallel universes, conquering and occupying more territory. However, they had suddenly become the target.

This had happened in the past, but their previous enemies had always attacked directly, instantly launching a war. The man standing in front of Hong Nian did not seek revenge, and he also had not suffered any losses from the Infinity Empire’s attempt to invade his universe. No, Lu Yin wanted to take over the Infinity Empire.

"Is the emperor’s mecha really that formidable?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

Hong Nian respectfully answered, "It is extremely powerful. In the past, when a formidable enemy once invaded us, while they succeeded in destroying the Pillars of Heaven, they failed to destroy the emperor's Supreme Mecha. That generation’s emperor was the one who finally defeated that enemy."

Lu Yin expressed a bit of interest, "While the mecha might be strong, isn't your people’s greatest weakness the pilots themselves? Do you think that, if I suddenly attacked the emperor, he’ll have time to get inside his mecha?"

Hong Nian replied bitterly, "No, he won’t. If you can get inside the palace without being detected, you would gain control of the emperor. The Supreme Mecha is kept within the palace, and the emperor only needs a second to enter his mecha. However, you’ll only have that one second to take control of him."

A smile spread across Lu Yin's lips. "That's plenty."

Hong Nian sighed. He knew that the Infinity Empire was already doomed. It was quite likely that they were not a match for this other universe. Already, the empire’s capital had been silently infiltrated. Even if they did not take control of the Emperor, what would happen to everyone else?

Hong Nian did not believe that the cultivators who had arrived with Lu Yin had simply gone sightseeing. They had spread out, and they would quickly gain an understanding of the capital’s layout.

The Infinity Empire might very well soon have a new ruler.

However, it would not be easy to seize control of the Pillars of Heaven, and Hong Nian felt nervous. He had joined Lu Yin's side. If the Infinity Empire fell to Lu Yin’s control, Hong Nian would be able to maintain some level of power, but if Lu Yin failed, Hong Nian would be in deep trouble.

"Lord Lu, are your people planning to take control of the Pillars of Heaven?" Hong Nian asked.

Lu Yin did not bother trying to hide anything. "Of course. The Pillars of Heaven are supposed to protect the emperor, aren’t they? If we don't deal with them, how will we be able to handle the emperor?"

Hong Nian’s worries grew stronger. "It won’t be easy to take control of the Pillars of Heaven."

Lu Yin turned to look outside. "We'll see. If that doesn't work, then we'll just use brute force."

Hong Nian felt nervous, as he had no idea what the future held.

He did not blame Hong Yi. When the Infinity Empire’s people were captured, they were expected to pledge allegiance to their captors as a means of surviving. Even the Emperor implicitly permitted this sort of betrayal. The actions that Lu Yin had taken had gotten Hong Nian involved, and no matter if it was for his daughter or for himself, there was only one path available for him.

The Imperial City was centered on the imperial palace, which was surrounded by five rings. The imperial palace itself was not counted, so the first ring included Hong Nian's neighborhood, and the rest of the rings spread out from there.

The Pillars of Heaven guarded the palace, and they were stationed in five different locations.