Star Odyssey

Chapter 3666: Gaining Trust

Old Yu ducked his head. He could not help but suspect that Lu Yin was testing him. “My apologies, Seraph Lu. It’s not that I wish to refuse, but rather that I simply cannot do this.”

“Why not?”

“As I’ve already explained,” Old Yu continued, “Only the Ru family was able to truly control Heavenspire. Lesser Sancte Yue Ya destroyed the Ru family, which is already a terrible crime against the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. He will not be able to answer for that easily. If he goes further and accepts my Wisdom Domain, then he would be adding to his existing crimes. His punishment from the Greater Sancti might end up being more than he can endure. He knows that I am aware of this, so if I still choose to join him, he will never trust me.”

“Is it really so serious?”

“It’s extremely serious,” Old Yu answered solemnly. The truth was that the Wisdom Domain did not hold any kind of significance to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and it did not really matter who the domain submitted to; the Greater Sancti simply did not care. However, Old Yu could never say this aloud, as doing so would reveal that it was far more reasonable to ally with Yue Ya than join Boundless. In fact, Old Yu had already joined Yue Ya.

Lu Yin waved the old man’s concerns away. “I don’t care about any of that. Find a way on your own to join Yue Ya and gain his trust. I want you to coax out exactly what he wants from me. This is your test.”

Old Yu had no idea what to say. Suddenly, he was in a position where he was supposed to curry favor from both sides.

For Yue Ya, Old Yu was putting on a show of submitting to Lu Yin. For Lu Yin, Old Yu needed to find a way to ally himself with Yue Ya. Regardless of who was ultimately chosen, the other also needed to believe that Old Yu was in their pocket.

Old Yu had lived for countless years, but he had never experienced anything like this situation. He was actually in a position to please both sides, as no one could accuse him of being a traitor.

The key was that nothing about the situation had been accomplished by Old Yu’s hand; it had simply happened to him. Happenstance could be truly bizarre.

Could this be considered having two backers? The collapse of the Ru family had led Old Yu to be supported by both Yue Ya and Lu Yin.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want to?” Lu Yin arched a brow.

Old Yu quickly bowed. “I am willing. I will do anything you need, Seraph Lu.”

Lu Yin smiled. “Good. Then, once you’ve gained his trust, report back to me. You can go now.”

"Old Yu will take his leave."

Lu Yin’s gaze grew distant as he watched Old Yu leave. Did he trust Old Yu? Of course not. Lu Yin had not believed a word that the old man had said.

Both when Old Yu had submitted to Boundless and claimed to be at his wit’s end, Lu Yin had not believed him.

Since the old man wants to have some fun, I’ll send him to Yue Ya to see what kind of mischief he can stir up there.

Lu Yin could not forget what had happened during the Everstone Discourse. That entire affair had been Old Yu’s attempt to scheme against Boundless. Lu Yin had been deceived by the old man so many times that he had grown numb to it.

If not for the fact that Lu Yin was strong enough to protect himself, he would have died countless times over.

It’s even possible that the old man’s submitting to me because someone’s pushing him from behind.

As soon as Old Yu left, Lu Yin had another visitor. He was surprised to see the Wisdom Domain’s public heir arrive.

Lu Yin found it interesting that Young Master Yu had arrived as soon as Old Yu left.

"Greetings, Lord Seraph Lu," Young Master Yu said respectfully. His tone was far more polite than when he had last met Lu Yin.

"What is it?"

Young Master Yu replied, "I have come here only to inform you that my master has already submitted to Heavenspire, Lord Seraph Lu."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "He’s submitted to Heavenspire?"

"That’s correct. I saw with my own eyes as my master contacted Heavenspire. While I don’t know what he said, he must have submitted to them," Young Master Yu explained.

Lu Yin automatically glanced up at the sky, catching a brief glimpse of Old Yu as he left. Lu Yin’s suspicions about the old man had been proven correct; he had not willingly submitted to Lu Yin, but had rather been forced to by someone else. Young Master Yu did not know of Yue Ya’s existence, and he might not even be qualified to know of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. However, he did know that the Wisdom Domain was backed by Heavenspire’s Ru family. For Old Yu to contact Heavenspire at this time, what could he possibly be doing other than submitting to them?

There was no need to even guess, as Lu Yin was certain that the old man had earned Yue Ya’s trust after revealing that Lu Yin had been cooperating with Yong Heng.

Because Yue Ya was not in the Spirit Nidus, he struggled to get a clear picture of the situation. On the other hand, things were abundantly clear to Old Yu.

Even Jiu Xian had managed to infer that Lu Yin had been cooperating with Yong Heng, so naturally, Old Yu had realized the same thing.

What did I just say? I told the old man to go submit to Yue Ya. No wonder he didn’t know what to say. Looking back at Old Yu’s reaction, Lu Yin was also speechless at how things had developed.

Essentially, Old Yu had submitted to Lu Yin by Yue Ya’s command, which had been Lu Yin’s exact same idea.

Young Master Yu kept his head bowed as he silently waited for Lu Yin’s response.

Lu Yin looked back down and asked, “Why betray Old Yu?”

Young Master Yu replied, “Since ancient times, only the Wisdom Domain’s hidden heir has ever succeeded in becoming the ruler of the domain, while the public heir is nothing more than a sacrificial pawn. I want to change my destiny.”

Lu Yin nodded in admiration. “Good, I’ve always wanted to help you. Do you know why I deliberately left Qianmen Feidu alive?”

Young Master Yu sounded quite grateful. “Seraph Lu purposely left Qianmen Feidu alive so that I would be able to see just how formidable the hidden heir’s power is. You wished to give me a sense of urgency. I thank you for that.”

Lu Yin chuckled. “I can eliminate Qianmen Feidu at any time. As far as I’m concerned, the hidden heir’s advantage over you means nothing. Do you understand?”

“I do,” Young Master Yu replied as he bowed low. Leaving Qianmen Feidu alive also served another purpose: making Young Master Yu feel pressured by the hidden heir, and thus forcing him to join Lu Yin’s side. Young Master Yu understood this detail, but he did not mention it. Lu Yin’s comment had been enough.

Qianmen Feidu held no value.

As long as Lu Yin so desired, Young Master Yu would become the ruler of the Wisdom Domain. That was the reason why he had approached Lu Yin.

“Go back. You don’t need to do anything. In fact, act as if you never came here. I understand your intentions,” Lu Yin calmly stated.

Young Master Yu bowed and left.

Once the man was gone, Lu Yin pulled out his spirit cloudstone and called Yong Heng. “I want to speak with Qianmen Feidu.”

“Qianmen Feidu?”

"Don't try to tell me that he isn't with you."

"So, you saw that he was the one who took Old Salamander away."

"I never expected Qianmen Feidu to actually be one of your people, even while appearing to support the Wisdom Domain. Actually, I just remembered something," Lu Yin said. His expression grew solemn as his eyes started to flicker. "Aeternus had the Three Pillars and Six Skies—could Qianmen Feidu be one of your Three Pillars?"

Throughout the war between humanity and Aeternus in the Tianyuan Megaverse, only one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies had never appeared. Lu Yin had nearly forgotten about that matter, but he had suddenly remembered it. The fact that Feng Bo had worked for Yong Heng indicated that Yong Heng might have visited the Spirit Nidus in the past, or even the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. It would not be surprising to learn that he had left one of his Three Pillars in the Spirit Nidus.

"Qianmen Feidu is a sequence powerhouse, roughly matching the power level of the other Three Pillars and Six Skies."

Yong Heng was impressed. "I thought that you had forgotten about that."

Lu Yin frowned. "You really are too good at keeping things hidden."

"I lost to you all the same. I'll have Qianmen Feidu contact you." With that, the conversation ended.

Lu Yin lowered his spirit cloudstone, feeling inexplicably heavy-hearted. Was Qianmen Feidu really one of the Three Pillars? Yong Heng had neither confirmed nor denied anything. Lu Yin hoped that he was correct, as having an unknown enemy lurking around was decidedly unpleasant.

It did not matter if that enemy was much weaker than Lu Yin.

It did not take long for his spirit cloudstone to tremble; Qianmen Feidu was calling.

"Were you looking for me, Seraph Lu?"

"The Wisdom Domain or Aeternus, which is your current master?"

Qianmen Feidu hesitated briefly. "I serve Lord Yong Heng."

Lu Yin laughed. "It appears that your life no longer belongs to me."

Qianmen Feidu had a headache. Lu Yin had once spared him in the Roaming South Realm. At that time, Lu Yin had claimed that Qianmen Feidu’s life belonged to him. The man no longer knew what to say to that.

After that incident, he had never had any real intention of helping Lu Yin find Meng Sang. Later, when Qianmen Feidu accidentally stumbled upon the Seraph, he had also encountered someone terrifying enough to haunt him for the rest of his life.

Qianmen Feidu feared Yong Heng far more than Lu Yin or the Wisdom Domain.

“No answer? Then forget it. Let me ask you something else: what happened to the Wisdom Domain?”

Qianmen Feidu had already been prepared for this question, and he answered in a low voice, “The secret heir is dead.”

Lu Yin was startled. “The secret heir is dead?”

“Yes. For some unknown reason, Old Yu suddenly killed the secret heir. Aside from me, the public heir, and their guardian, no one knows of this. Currently, the guardian is protecting the public heir, and Old Yu also ordered me to obey his commands.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “When did this happen?”

“A few days ago, I believe.”

A few days ago? That must have been after Old Yu contacted Heavenspire. Which means the public heir has already been chosen as the future ruler of the Wisdom Domain. And yet, he told me he wanted to change his destiny... So he was the one meant to win my trust. Old Yu was just a smokescreen.

Old Yu knew perfectly well that I’d never trust him. So he deliberately created a scenario where the public heir would earn my trust instead. But to get that done, he had to pay a price—and that price was the future of the Wisdom Domain.

Cunning bastard. He knew I was interested in the conflict between the public and hidden heirs, and he used that to push the public heir into my arms, knowing I’d instinctively trust him.

If not for Qianmen Feidu, I never would’ve seen through this.

Still, no matter how scheming Old Yu is, I can’t forget that Yong Heng is lurking in the background.

But wasn’t the cost too high? Letting the public heir expose the fact that Old Yu had reached out to Heavenspire... That’s practically telling me it was all a setup. That he approached me with the intention of selling Old Yu out.

Gaining my trust like that? I don’t believe for a second that’s a price Old Yu would willingly pay. That old bastard really does want to survive—and not just pretend to. So... isn’t he worried I’ll kill him in a rage once I find out?

Unless... Old Yu allowed the public heir to get close to me, but never told him to betray him. What if that part was the heir’s own decision? What if there’s someone else backing him?

The Wisdom Domain always thought of themselves as a generation ahead of the Spirit Nidus. Each generation pits public and hidden heirs against one another to choose the brightest, most cunning successor. Those successors really are smart—too smart. But they’re also incredibly selfish.

Regardless, the Wisdom Domain believes that they have already gotten close to me, so let’s see what they plan to do next.

***

In the Wisdom Domain, Old Yu was sitting on a small boat, staring across the reed-filled lake with a complex expression.

Young Master Yu approached. “Master.”

“Come here.”

Excitement lit up Young Master Yu eyes. “Yes.”

The two sat across from each other.

“Do you know what it means for you to be able to sit here?” Old Yu asked.

Young Master Yu was visibly moved. “I do. Those who sit here are either important guests or the next generation’s ruler.”

Old Yu nodded. “Outsiders have no idea of what this boat signifies. The Wisdom Domain boasts a long history, and this little boat is just as ancient. While outsiders may board it, only the heir who has been confirmed as the next ruler of the domain is allowed to do so. In all our history, you are the first public heir to have ever stepped aboard this little boat.”

Young Master Yu stood and offered a respectful bow. “This disciple thanks Master for this opportunity.”

Old Yu waved a hand. “Sit.”

Young Master Yu suppressed his excitement as he sat down.

“How did it go over with Seraph Lu?”

“I have already earned his trust.”

“Oh? What did you say?”