Star Odyssey

Chapter 1381: Time Needed For Retirement

Not long after Lu Yin left the Yinshan District’s Humility’s Gate, the fatty went and found Unseen Light. The fatty’s motivation was very simple, as he did not want Unseen Light to get involved in Lu Yin’s problems. The fatty hoped that Unseen Light would sit tight and wait for an answer from the Wang family and then make a visit to the Wang family to meet with Junior Progenitor Wang Su.

Unseen Light refused to agree. This was not because he wanted to help Lu Yin, nor because of any sense of comradery among those from the same home, but because Unseen Light would not be able to accomplish his own goals without help. If anything happened to Lu Yin, it would be unfortunate for everyone.

Unseen Light greatly regretted not changing his appearance or his name when he had first arrived, but how could he have known that he would run into Lu Yin in such a place?

The Perennial World was massive, and the ten youths had been scattered across the Middle Realm. This alone meant that the first time that any of them met would be in the Dominion Realm or when they prepared to leave for home. As for changing their names or appearance, Arch-Elder Zen had mentioned before they had left that he would not force any decision onto them, but they were the top youths of the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands, and all of them had built up some degree of arrogance. Changing their names or appearances in the Perennial World could actually affect their future chances of breaking through to the Progenitor realm.

Given the size of the Perennial World, it was nothing but pure luck that Unseen Light had run into an acquaintance so soon after his arrival.

There was nothing that Unseen Light could do, but he felt he needed to help even if it was beyond his abilities.

The fatty gave Unseen Light a thumbs up and praised him, “It’s rare to find someone willing to go so far for their brother! Starting today, you’re also the brother of the Great Captain Wang! Don’t worry, as soon as this matter gets settled, I’ll definitely get you to see the Wang family’s Junior Progenitor and put in a few good words for you. Even if you don’t make the cut, you can still join my family.”

Unseen Light felt curious. “Don’t make the cut for what?”

The fatty deflected, “Nothing you need to worry about for now. I’ll tell you if things work out, and you’ll definitely die from excitement! It’s a place that everyone in the Perennial World dreams of.”

Unseen Light lifted his head as though staring off into the distance. The horizon was cut off by the massive trunk of the Mother Tree, and above was a canopy and the Higher Realm. Beyond that was the most important place in this entire universe. No matter what it cost, Unseen Light would absolutely find a way to get to that place.

After Long Xi ended her call with Lu Yin, she immediately reached out to Long Tian. Long Tian also felt that something was not right with the situation. Clearly there was someone interfering in the matter between the White Dragon Clan and the Celestial Frost Sect. At the moment, things were looking to favor Long Qi. He had earned merit points. However, what was the motivation of the hidden hand? Long Tian could not begin to guess, and he did not have even the slightest clue as to who the third party even was.

Given his doubts, Long Tian called the supervisor of Humility’s Gate’s nine Middle Realm Gates. He wanted to beg for Long Qi to be allowed to retire early.

Long Tian had initially planned to have Long Qi retire after gaining some merit points, and he had come up with a plan to make it happen. However, Long Qi had gained some achievements before Long Tian had even had a chance to start his plan. Now, the kid just had to retire from Humility’s Gate.

You needed to stay with Humility’s Gate for a certain amount of time before you would be allowed to retire. For example, Uncle Kuai was an interrogator and had no background. Someone like him needed to wait until his full time ran out before he would be able to retire. As for Lu Yin, even with Long Tian’s help, he still needed to endure for at least two months before being allowed to retire. He had only been in Humility’s Gate for a bit more than a month, so he still had more than half a month left.

However, Long Tian could not afford to wait any longer. He was quite familiar with Yu Chen, and there was no way that the woman would give up. Also, there was the mystery person who had been providing Long Qi with the names of traitors. Long Tian could not afford to wait any longer.

The supervisor of the Middle Realm’s nine Humility’s Gate Gates was named Qing Chen. He looked to only be in his early 40s, and he had an aloof demeanor that made him seem above the mundane things. His appearance was nothing that anyone would attribute to a person famous for being a butcher. Still, all those he had killed had been traitors and Redbacks.

“Junior Long Tian greets Senior Qing Chen.” Long Tian was a Junior Progenitor, and he could afford to be arrogant when speaking to almost anyone, but he could not do so to Qing Chen. This was not only because of the man’s position, but also his strength. Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor.

Qing Chen calmly looked back at Long Tian. It was perfectly normal to refer to a powerhouse like Qing Chen as ‘senior,’ but it had an extra meaning coming from Long Tian. All of the Junior Progenitors were also captains of Humility’s Gate, and so Long Tian’s reference to himself as a junior instead of Qing Chen’s subordinate, which indicated which position he wanted to take when speaking with Qing Chen at this moment. “So it’s Junior Progenitor Long. What happens to be the problem?”

Long Tian explained in a respectful voice. “My sister recently got married, and my father wishes to invite Senior Qing Chen to go to Dragon Mountain for a gathering. The two of you haven’t seen each other for many years, and my father misses Senior a great deal.”

Qing Chen smiled gently. “Since it’s an invitation from Brother Long, I’ll naturally intend. It’s true we haven’t seen each other for a long time; it’s already been a thousand years.”

Long Tian smiled. “My father often mentions Senior and claims that Senior will definitely be the next person to become a Progenitor and raise the honor of the human race.”

“Haha, like your father would say that about me? I’d be lucky if he didn’t curse me to fail at the next breakthrough.”

“This junior would never lie.”

Qing Chen laughed. “You must have something else that you need from me. Speak.”

Long Tian continued in the same respectful tone. “There are three steps that must be taken when someone marries into the White Dragon Clan’s main family. The first is to worship the ancestors. The second is to worship the Ancestor Python, and the third is to add the person’s name to the main family’s registry. My brother-in-law has already completed the first two steps, but not the third. My father hopes to bring my brother-in-law to Dragon Mountain to finish the third step.”

Qing Chen’s eyes flashed. “Your brother-in-law? Long Qi? Yes, he’s in the Yinshan District.”

Long Tian bowed. “This junior begs Senior to allow my brother-in-law to retire early so that he can visit Dragon Mountain to finalize their marriage.”

Qing Chen stared at Long Tian. The Junior Progenitor remained bowed and did not move.

After a while, Qing Chen finally spoke, “Do you know who holds the record for retiring from Humility’s Gate the fastest?”

Long Tian’s fingers twitched as he replied, “Senior Shu Yuan.”

“Why did he retire?”

“After he was with Humility’s Gate for one month and twenty-two days, he happened to find a Redback. He fought desperately, and all of his limbs were broken. Still, he managed to hold out until reinforcements arrived, and he then retired due to his serious injuries.”

“So you do know the story. Despite this, you are still asking me to let Long Qi retire early? Do his achievements surpass those of Senior Shu Yuan?”

Long Tian stayed silent, as this was an impossible hurdle to surpass. No one could retire from Humility’s Gate faster than Shu Yuan, no matter their background. To do otherwise would be disrespectful of the predecessors and the sacrifices that had been made.

This was also the reason why Long Tian had initially intended to have Long Qi retire from Humility’s Gate after giving six months of service. As long as six months passed, it would be easy to have Long Qi retire. However, doing so in less than two months was nearly impossible. This was why Long Tian had sought out Qiong Chen.

“Senior, there is no way that Long Qi’s achievements will ever be able to surpass those of Senior Shu Yuan, and my White Dragon Clan also has no intention of disrespecting Senior Shu Yuan,” Long Tian hurriedly spoke up.

Qing Chen interrupted, “Since that’s the case, don’t bring it up again.”

Long Tian felt helpless. “Senior, please listen to what this junior has to say.”

He then proceeded to tell Qing Chen about the list that Long Qi had been given, as well as the deductions Long Tian had made. Someone was interfering in a matter between the four ruling powers, and in the Middle Realm, only a Semi-Progenitor would dare do such a thing.

Furthermore, Qing Chen had a feud of his own with the Celestial Frost Sect, so Long Tian had no concerns that Qing Chen might help the Celestial Frost Sect deal with the White Dragon Clan.

After hearing Long Tian’s explanation, Qing Chen felt quite surprised. “His accomplishments weren’t arranged by your White Dragon Clan?”

Everyone had assumed that Lu Yin’s exploits had been given to him by the White Dragon Clan, and that included even Zhuo Si and the others in Humility’s Gate. Long Tian felt completely helpless. “My White Dragon Clan has provided him with no information, and Long Qi himself does not know who gave him the list of names, which is what concerns us the most. This is also why I hope to allow him to retire as soon as possible with his current achievements and come to the Higher Realm. As long as he is in Dragon Mountain, there is no need to fear any accidents.”

Qing Chen was taken aback. “There’s actually someone willing to get involved in the matter between your White Dragon Clan and the Celestial Frost Sect?”

His first thought was of the Wang family, as there was a child from the Wang family also in the Yinshan Mountains.

“Senior, I wonder if there is any possibility of my brother-in-law retiring early?” Long Tian asked again.

Qing Chen shook his head. “There’s no way to allow him to retire early, no matter what the situation. Unless he is able to surpass Senior Shu Yuan’s achievements and has a valid reason to retire, he will have to stay with us for at least two months.”

Long Tian’s face turned ugly; Qing Chen was not giving the Junior Progenitor any face at all. This person was old friends with Long Tian’s father, and Long Tian had been wondering why his father had been reluctant to approach his old friend. “Senior has his own priorities, and this junior does not dare press this issue. Given the situation, might I ask Senior to properly look into this matter? My brother-in-law is only a Hunter, so he is not powerful. He can easily be used by others, and could die without even knowing what happened.”

Qing Chen agreed. “I will do my best.”

“Thank you, Senior. This junior will go now.” Long Tian reluctantly ended the call.

Qing Chen looked away. He had actually already known of the circumstances in the Yinshan Mountains, and was also aware of Lu Yin’s accomplishments, but had simply assumed that the White Dragon Clan was behind everything that Lu Yin had achieved. He had not considered any other possibility. Someone else was actually getting involved?

Qing Chen’s eyes flickered, and he re-read the report from the Yinshan District regarding the recent events. Once again, Qing Chen felt that something was being overlooked.

***

Elsewhere, Long Tian let out a long breath. Qing Chen refused to give him any face at all. Though Long Tian had already guessed that this would be the result of his call, the old man had still promised to keep an eye on things. As long as Long Qi remained safe, there should be no issue.

Just as Long Tian was thinking about this, an old servant approached and whispered something to the Junior Progenitor.

Long Tian grew furious at what he heard. “Bastard! You can’t even take care of yourself, and yet you have the balls to make a bet with the three Guan brothers? You’re just trying to die, aren’t you?”

The old servant bowed his head, but said nothing.

Long Tian’s anger raged. He truly wanted nothing more than to rush to the Yinshan District and flay Lu Yin’s hide. Long Tian was humiliated by Long Qi’s behavior. The Junior Progenitor had bowed his head and begged for help. Everything had been done in order to convince Long Xi to accompany him to the Dominion Realm. Not only did Long Tian not care if Long Qi lived or died, he actually was eager to kill the bastard himself.

Long Tian was one of the Perennial Realm’s four Junior Progenitors; when had he last undergone such a humiliating ordeal? That bastard kept creating more and more trouble, and the stress was even causing Long Tian’s cultivation to slightly destabilize.

The more Long Tian considered the current situation, the more out of control he felt. Finally, he angrily ordered, “Go to Red Orchard City and drag that Long Qi back here! If anyone dares to try to stop you, tell them that he has broken the rules of my White Dragon Clan and is to be punished. After he has been disciplined, we will send him back to the Yinshan District.”

This was the worst option Long Tian had previously considered, as dragging Long Qi away from Humility’s Gate without permission would not only offend Humility’s Gate, it would also humiliate the White Dragon Clan. Still, Long Tian could not just sit back and allow Long Qi to die. That would be even more humiliating for the clan, and it would also mean that Long Xi would not accompany Long Tian to the Dominion Realm, and his sister might even be forced to marry Bai Shaohong, which would spell disaster for the entire White Dragon Clan.

The Celestial Frost Sect could not be allowed to influence the power of the White Dragon Rolls Over, especially not that woman.

That could not be allowed, no matter what the price may be.

Actually, did that old fart Qing Chen already know about this bet? Long Tian’s eyes flickered. The supervisor had to know, and yet the old bastard had not said a thing.

***

Elsewhere, Yu Chen lowered her communication crystals after speaking with Guan Tong. She could not help admiring the brothers’ ruthlessness, as they wanted to directly eliminate Long Qi.

No one could blame the brothers if Long Qi died to a monster, and besides, Long Qi had already agreed to the wager on his own.