Star Odyssey

Chapter 1385: The Fourteenth Gate

Yuhua Mavis felt curious. “What’s this all about?”

The fatty did not know how to explain the matter. The Dominion Realm was not common knowledge, and not many people were allowed to know about it. If things did not work out, then Unseen Light and Yuhua Mavis might not qualify to know about the Dominion Realm, either.

“Regardless, the Wang family is one of the four ruling powers, and they would never treat you badly,” Lu Yin spoke up.

Yuhua Mavis nodded.

The fatty shot a grateful look towards Lu Yin. “Bro, I’m going to take them to the Wang family home, and it’ll be a while before they come back. Bro, you need to work hard while we’re gone! Also, make sure you visit Inner Scent; I’ll cover your tab!”

Lu Yin smiled. “Thanks.”

“Haha, who are we?” The fatty was very happy. His Junior Progenitor Wang Su had ordered the entire Wang family to find powerful youths who might qualify to travel with Wang Su to the Dominion Realm, and the fatty had found two at the same time! This would get him a great deal of credit with the Wang Su, so the fatty was thrilled.

The fatty quickly left the Yinshan Mountains with Unseen Light and Yuhua Mavis, and the three made their way towards the Higher Realm.

Lu Yin returned to his quarters, and waited there quietly.

Less than half an hour passed when his communication crystals vibrated. He felt helpless; he had been dreading this unavoidable moment.

Long Xi’s beautiful image appeared in front of Lu Yin, but her expression was cold and fury filled her eyes. “Anything you want to say?”

Lu Yin pursed his lips. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t have any choice.”

Long Xi chided, “Do you have any idea what you just did? That was playing with fire! You actually had the guts to go up against Humility’s Gate’s gate master for Huaiyuan while still being nothing but a puny Hunter? You had no idea where that information came from, or if it was valid, and yet you still went ahead and accepted their bet! Where did you get that confidence from! Don’t you know, if you had failed, it wouldn’t only have been you, but also me, Long Tian, and the entire White Dragon Clan would have been treated as the biggest joke in the Perennial World!

“The four ruling powers have never been at peace with each other, and we constantly fight and plot against each other. You almost became my White Dragon Clan’s greatest weakness…”

Lu Yin rubbed his temples as he listened to Long Xi’s lecture. He had known that the woman would be upset, but he had not expected her to be completely furious.

“How dare you not answer when I call! You think you can act however you want just because you picked up a few achievements? Do you expect everyone to just help you? If it weren’t for your status as the son-in-law of the White Dragon Clan’s main family, I can’t even count how many times you would have already died!” Long Xi raged.

Lu Yin frowned. “If I didn’t have this status, no one would even bother trying to go after me.”

“You promised to accept this identity, and you now have to suffer the consequences! You and I are now one for this life, and will face life and death together. If you want to survive, then listen to me!” Long Xi shouted.

Lu Yin retorted, “Can you stop Yu Chen woman from moving against me? Could you have stopped the Guan brothers from working against me?”

“I can keep you alive!” Long Xi shouted sharply. Suddenly, her voice grew much softer, “Enough. I never asked you to earn glory for my White Dragon Clan, and I don’t ask you to reach any specific level of power. It’s enough as long as you stay alive.”

Lu Yin’s heart trembled. Long Xi’s words made him feel a bit of warmth. How many people were there who simply wanted Lu Yin to survive, no matter what he did or accomplished? Lu Yin could feel Long Xi’s honesty that she merely wanted him alive, not to rise to power.

“I’m sorry,” Lu Yin apologized.

Long Xi stared at Lu Yin for a moment, then let out a long breath. “The three Guan brothers had to have known about that monster that was under Red Orchard City, and they tried to lure you there not because they wanted to win any bet, but because they wanted to use that monster to eliminate you. They were willing to sacrifice the lives of millions of people living in Red Orchard City to do so. Do you understand what that means?”

Lu Yin shook his head.

Long Xi frowned and solemnly stated, “Humanity.”

Lu Yin’s expression changed.

Long Xi continued, “Anyone who turns to those monsters has no humanity left, especially Redbacks. Did you think that you could seize the initiative from those Redback brothers? That’s just wrong. They have forsaken their humanity, and thus will do anything to reach their goals. One wrong step on your part would have led to your death, even if your information was true. This is ignoring the fact that you had no way to know whether or not the intel you had received was accurate.

“If you had received the information from Yu Chen, then everything you could possibly come up with would have been for nothing, and not only would you have had your reputation ruined, you would also be dead.

“I just hope you don’t act so recklessly in the future. Everything you do and say doesn’t only represent you, but also me. You need to remember that I am your wife. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This will always be the case.”

Lu Yin nodded. “I understand.”

Long Xi had finally finished venting. She chose to believe in Long Qi’s sincerity when she saw his nod, though she was not sure why. Still, the more honest Long Qi was about his mistake, the more uncomfortable it left Long Xi. He had to retire from Humility’s Gate right away. Long Xi was most worried about where Long Qi had received his information, but it was disturbing to know that there was an unknown player with unseen motives. Could they simply want to help Long Qi?

How could that be possible? Long Qi was just a descendant of a branch family of the White Dragon Clan, so who would be willing to help him so much? If they wanted to help the White Dragon Clan itself, then why did they not simply reach out to Long Xi or even Long Tian instead?

An unknown provider of information left Long Xi terribly uncomfortable.

“Long Qi, I’m going to say this for the last time: stay at Humility’s Gate’s Yinshan District Gate and don’t leave, not even if Zhuo Si gives you an order! You’ve already done enough to earn the right to retire, and my big brother has already reached out to the supervisor. Just stay there and wait for Elder Long Kui to pick you up and bring you back,” Long Xi was solemn as she delivered instructions.

Lu Yin was taken aback. “Elder Long Kui’s coming to get me?”

Long Xi’s eyes narrowed. “He’s on his way and will be there soon. You are not allowed to leave that Gate no matter what until Elder Long Kui arrives!”

Lu Yin was left speechless. It looked like Long Xi was scared for Lu Yin, and so she had sent Elder Long Kui to protect him. Even if Lu Yin did not retire from Humility’s Gate, it seemed likely that Elder Long Kui would remain nearby to keep an eye on Lu Yin from outside in order to prevent him from even leaving the Gate!

Did Long Xi really have so little trust in Lu Yin?

Wait, what had she just said? Long Tian had already called Supervisor Qing Chen? Lu Yin suddenly felt a pang of guilt. “Cough, um, I’ve got a bit of a stomach ache, so if that’s everything, I’m going to go rest and wait for Elder Long Kui to show up. I’m feeling tired, so don’t bother calling for a bit. I’ll call you soon.”

Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. She clearly felt that something was wrong, and Lu Yin’s innocent expression only aggravated that suspicion, but Long Xi could not pick anything specific out. “If you’re pretending to be honest and sneak out again, then I’ll make sure that you suffer the worst torment and pain imaginable when you get back to White Mountain.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Lu Yin just wanted to get away from this conversation as quickly as possible.

Long Xi gave a cold snort before ending the call.

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief before purposely tossing his communication crystals away from him. For some reason, he was scared to see Long Xi again. Her nagging had terrified him.

At the same time that Lu Yin was talking to Long Xi, Long Tian had gotten in touch with Humility’s Gate’s Middle Realm Supervisor, Qing Chen.

Long Tian felt confused when he saw Qing Chen’s helpless expression. “What is that supposed to mean? He only wishes to serve Humility’s Gate, and doesn’t need any credit. He simply wishes to do what he can for Humility’s Gate and resist the foreign enemies?”

Qing Chen nodded and said in an admiring tone, “The White Dragon Clan deserves its place as one of the four ruling powers, and yet one of your clan members from a branch family is willing to sacrifice himself to protect and serve humanity! This old man really admires such commitment.”

Long Tian was stunned. “Senior, Long Qi is only a Hunter; how could he be able to do anything? Is there some sort of a misunderstanding?”

Qing Chen grew solemn. “You underestimate Long Qi too much. He exposed the three Guan brothers as Redbacks and demonstrated his insight and courage. Even more commendable, he’s willing to dedicate his life to serving humanity. He deserves respect and admiration. He’s only been with Humility’s Gate for two months, and yet his accomplishments have already surpassed the previous record holder, Shu Yuan.”

Long Tian suddenly interrupted, “With that, this junior believes-“

“Needless to say, this old man is well aware that such services deserve a comparable reward, and I have already reported this matter to the Commander, and he is quite impressed. He has ordered that Long Qi will join the Fourteenth Gate. He said that such talent should not be confined to just one Domain. What do you think?” Qing Chen said.

Long Tian was shocked. “The Fourteenth Gate?”

Qing Chen nodded. “That is what the governor intends. Long Qi is a child who has an innate gift of being able to see through people, and so he is perfectly suited to working in the Fourteenth Gate and patrol the Perennial world on behalf of the Commander. What a blessing this is.”

Blessing my ass! That kid has half a damn of talent! Despite Long Tian’s impressive self-restraint, he still nearly swore aloud. Long Qi had received his information from an outside source, which was why Long Tian wanted his brother-in-law out of Humility’s Gate. He had not expected such a turn of events to occur.

The Fourteenth Gate was not like the Yinshan District, Huaiyuan, or any of the other Gates belonging to Humility’s Gate. It was difficult to retire from the Fourteenth Gate, unless, of course, one failed to accomplish their assignment and was expelled, and that would be a humiliation.

Even with Long Tian’s identity as a Junior Progenitor, it was impossible for him to be able to get Long Qi out of the Fourteenth Gate. That kid was nothing but trouble, and far too many problems. It was already too late to do anything.

“Senior, has Long Qi already joined the Fourteenth Gate? It wouldn’t happen so fast, right?” Long Tian could not believe what he was being told.

Qing Chen replied, “It’s already been done. Would I lie to you?”

Long Tian knew that Qing Chen would not lie about such a thing, but that was even more upsetting. “Senior, since this is how things are, I will hang up first.”

Qing Chen nodded. After Long Tian ended the call, a smile slowly appeared on Qing Chen’s face. He did not care how Long Qi had managed to expose the Guan brothers as Redbacks, or where he had gotten his information. Eliminating Redbacks was something that only benefited humanity, no matter where the Redback might be. As for the matter between the Celestial Frost Sect and the White Dragon Clan, none of that had anything to do with Humility’s Gate.

Long Qi had already demonstrated that he was qualified to enter the Fourteenth Gate, and since he was also a suitable candidate, it was enough.

Also, Qing Chen favored Long Qi. The child had been dealing with the Celestial Frost Sect’s schemes, and yet had possessed the courage to fight back. This was a sign of a person who was both bold and cautious, and Qing Chen appreciated such people. Also, having Long Qi enter the Fourteenth Gate could be seen as another form of protection for the youth.

The Commander himself cared for the people in the Fourteenth Gate, and thus anyone who moved against those members of Humility’s Gate would die. As long as Long Qi was able to stay in the Fourteenth Gate, he would have the protection of the Commander, and that would mean that not even the Celestial Frost Sect would be able to touch the child.

This was also a somewhat selfish move on Qing Chen’s part, but he felt that it could be considered part of Long Qi’s reward.

Retire and live a relaxed life while forever remaining ordinary? It would be better to just die!

“Child, I hope you don’t let this old man down,” Qing Chen muttered to himself.

***

Back in the Yinshan District Gate, Lu Yin’s communication crystals vibrated, and he glanced at it. Huh? Not a call from Long Xi?

He connected to the call, and a line of text appeared: ‘Long Qi, Humility’s Gate captain in the Yinshan District, has been assigned to the Fourteenth Gate. He is to arrest at least ten traitors each year, and is to protect the Perennial World and the Mother Tree for the sake of the human race. He is ordered to report to the sword monument, and will be assigned further tasks after his arrival.

‘Fourteenth Gate Master, Xiao’