Star Odyssey

Chapter 1387: Missions and Rewards

Long Kui answered in a light tone, “You’ll find out when you need to, but it’s nothing you’ll ever need to know about.”

Lu Yin was left speechless. That was such bullshit! This old man clearly hated Lu Yin.

“I told you before to keep some distance from Zhuo Si,” Long Kui continued.

Lu Yin then understood the situation. No wonder this old man had been in such a bad mood since they had met, it was because of this matter. “I didn’t get close to Gate Master Zhuo.”

“Then why was he willing to help you hide that you were never in Red Orchard City? Zhuo Si is lazy, and he does not involve himself in the affairs of others, and yet he helped you. Clearly, you two do not have a normal relationship,” Long Kui said.

Lu Yin felt helpless. “I really don’t know him well at all. I only spoke with him a few times even in the Gate. Maybe he wanted to get some contributions?”

Long Kui sneered. “He wouldn’t want any such thing.”

The elder then stopped talking.

Lu Yin did not try to speak with Long Kui again. It was clear that Long Kui had no wish to interact with Lu Yin, so Lu Yin intended to keep his distance. Regardless, Long Kui would certainly do his best to protect Lu Yin and prevent any accidents.

Several more days passed. One day, as night was turning to day, a huge stone tablet entered Lu Yin’s vision and drew his full attention.

While it seemed to be a perfectly ordinary piece of stone, for some reason, when Lu Yin looked at it, he felt as though time began to slow. It was as though he was able to observe the vicissitudes of the ancient past and heard whispers from ancestors long past. This stone tablet was like a monument to the passing of the years that led to the past, present and future.

“That is the Sword Monument. We’ve arrived,” Long Kui said. He was also staring off into the distance, and there were complicated emotions in his eyes, though he was also quite excited. Every cultivator in the entire Perennial World hoped to be able to observe the Sword Monument and have the opportunity to receive an ancient inheritance. The Sword Monument clearly was an opportunity, but the Liu family made it so that few people ever received the opportunity.

The moment Lu Yin saw the Sword Monument, his communication crystals vibrated. He connected to the call, only for a line of text to appear: “Mission target: Liu Ke. Suspected traitor. To be arrested.”

Lu Yin was terrified. He looked around. He had only just laid eyes on the Sword Monument, so how did the Fourteenth Gate know he had arrived to give him an assignment?

Liu Ke was a member of the Liu family. So, Lu Yin had not only been given a reward with this trip, but also a task. No wonder he had been given such a wonderful bit of compensation.

Lu Yin started to consider the situation. He had made a habit of trying to think things through more thoroughly, and it had allowed him to resolve many hidden dangers.

He intended to do the same at this time.

Everyone in the Perennial World wished to receive the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument, and Lu Yin did not believe that all of the members of the Fourteenth Gate received such an opportunity. Even if Humility’s Gate was supported by a Progenitor, each of the four ruling powers also had Progenitors behind them, and members of the four ruling powers only rarely received the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument.

However, Lu Yin had been given such an opportunity the moment he had joined the Fourteenth Gate, and this was after he had been tangled up in the conflict between the White Dragon Clan and the Celestial Frost Sect. This did not seem quite right. Even if it was framed as a reward for exposing the Guan brothers as Redbacks, Lu Yin still felt that something was off.

Either the Gate Master of the Fourteenth Gate favored the White Dragon Clan and was deliberately helping Lu Yin, or he had been given this particular task because no one in the Fourteenth Gate was willing to accept it. If the second possibility proved true, things were going to be troublesome.

If the second possibility was true, then Lu Yin would prefer to miss out on this opportunity than arrest Liu Ke, as it would not be an easy task and it would be easy for him to fail his assignment.

As Lu Yin was lost in thought, various flying mounts began to occasionally pass them by. There were also many people traveling across the ground in the same direction as those flying in the sky. There were even more people kneeling on the ground and murmuring something while facing the direction of the Sword Monument.

“The Liu family is a massive family that dominates an entire region. They stand second only to the four ruling powers. It is important that you be sincere when observing the Sword Monument. Do not be rude, and do not offend the Liu family,” Long Kui reminded Lu Yin.

Lu Yin felt a headache sprout; he was supposed to not offend the Liu family? How was that supposed to be possible? The Fourteenth Gate clearly had people in this place, and Lu Yin had no idea what to expect should he fail his first assignment. If he ended up being kicked out of the Fourteenth Gate, it would be a shame.

Wait a minute, could this be part of Yu Chen’s scheming? Could the Fourteenth Gate’s Gate Master be setting up Lu Yin? No, that should not be the case. After all, Supervisor Qing Chen had been the one to transfer Lu Yin to the Fourteenth Gate, and after thinking about the situation for a moment, how could Yu Chen be able to reach into the Fourteenth Gate?

Outsiders were not allowed within a certain distance of the Sword Monument without permission. Only those who received the Liu family’s permission were allowed to approach the shrine, but that did not mean that a person could observe the Sword Monument, as one needed to be within ten meters of the Sword Monument in order to possibly gain anything from it.

“No one is allowed to draw closer without the Liu family’s permission, and I’m no exception. You will have to proceed from here on your own,” Long Kui said. Gui’s massive size had drawn the attention of the Liu family long ago, and time to time powerful auras swept by, and even Lu Yin had felt their presence. There were more than a single Envoy in this location. Given that this was where the Sword Monument stood, it was certain that there were overwhelmingly powerful experts nearby.

Gui flew in place high in the sky.

Lu Yin descended on his own, and smashed into the ground. A line of people spread out before him, forming what looked like a long dragon. This was the security team that was responsible for filtering out the countless people attempting to visit the Sword Monument.

“Who approaches?” A voice entered Lu Yin’s ears.

Lu Yin bowed in the direction of the Sword Monument. “Junior Long Qi was ordered to this place to observe the Sword Monument.”

The voice went silent for a moment, and then answered “Wait.”

The tone of voice did not sound very good.

Lu Yin frowned. This reaction confirmed what he had suspected; his assignment would not be an easy one to complete. Regardless, he intended to try to observe the Sword Monument first.

There were countless people lined up to visit the Sword Monument, and where Lu Yin stood, the stone was not even visible. He was actually not even close to the Sword Monument.

Cultivators who acted as guards occasionally passed by, and Lu Yin noticed more than one Enlighter.

Off in the distance, he could see mountains, rivers, cities, and plains. He stared at the landscape and observed the region. The area directly surrounding the Sword Monument seemed inhospitable for life, and the area not only seemed rather ordinary, it was quite bad. The city in the distance had been abandoned, so where did the Liu family live?

There were so many people, yet the atmosphere was strangely calm. It felt as though everyone was unwilling to even speak, or was it that they did not feel it appropriate to speak? Were they all so respectful?

Lu Yin looked back towards the Sword Monument and thought about the Daynight clan’s ancestral stone plaque. These sorts of items generally became the base of a family’s spiritual beliefs. Who would not want such a thing? These items were able to improve the strength of people, as well as becoming a source of faith.

After Lu Yin waited for about an hour, a figure approached from the distance. “Are you Long Qi?”

Lu Yin turned his to look, and was surprised at who he saw: Zhang Dingtian?

Zhang Dingtian ran over, and he smiled when he saw Lu Yin. “Are you Long Qi?”

Lu Yin nodded and smiled as he replied, “I am Long Qi. Might I ask who you might be?”

“I’m Zhang Dingtian. I was told to take Brother Long to observe the Sword Monument,” Zhang Dingtian said.

Many nearby people heard these words, and they looked at Lu Yin with eny. Few outsiders were given the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument. Even when people did receive the opportunity, they would have to pay an exorbitant price. Few outsiders from the entire Perennial World were ever able to observe the Sword Monument.

“In that case, please lead the way, Brother Zhang.”

“Please.”

…

“The Liu family in the Middle Realm is one of the most powerful families. We don’t have many clan members, just a few tens of thousands. All of them can be found around the Sword Monument. Every day they rise and go to sleep while observing the Sword Monument. The arrangement has been maintained in ancient tribal form, so the closer to the Sword Monument to go, the more of the Liu family members you’ll meet.” Zhang Dingtian shared information about the area and the family with Lu Yin, who listened quietly.

“Typically, people are only able to observe the Sword Monument from 100,000 miles away. Can Brother Long see that line over there?” Zhang Dingtian pointed to a distant point on the ground where a seemingly bottomless ravine split the earth.

“That line divides the inside and the outside, and only those with special permission are allowed within 100,000 miles of the shrine. Once we cross that line, we can speak to each other normally,” Zhang Dingtian said.

Lu Yin looked over. “It’s been a long time, Brother Zhang.”

Zhang Dingtian sighed emotionally. “I never expected to see you here. I’m going to keep calling you Long Qi, as the character that makes your surname is something that can’t be spoken in this universe.”

Lu Yin grew curious. “Why? It’s just another primeval surname.”

Zhang Dingtian shook his head. “I don’t actually know, either. All I know is that anything to do with that particular surname is connected to some secret of the four ruling powers. All I’ve learned over the years is that that name can’t be spoken, but no one has ever shared the reason with me.”

Lu Yin felt this was regretful. “Where’s Bai Xue?”

“She headed up to the Higher Realm. Might be in the Celestial Frost Sect,” Zhang Dingtian said.

Lu Yin sighed. “I never thought that Jupiter would be a passageway. I had believed there were a group of people staying in isolation inside there.”

“This universe does seem quite isolated when compared with the Human Domain, but do you know what the people here call the universe we come from?” Zhang Dingtian looked over at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low, “The Forsaken Land.”

Zhang Dingtian nodded. “It’s an abandoned place. You, me, Bai Xue, and everyone who made it into Jupiter in the past are considered trespassers in this universe. I don’t know about whether the Primeval Surname Alliance is here, but I’ve never met anyone from it here.”

Lu Yin said, “Neither have I.”

“It’s pretty obvious that the son-in-law of the White Dragon Clan’s main family is caught up in the conflict between the four ruling powers. You really can’t stay quiet anywhere you go.” Zhang Dingtian laughed.

Lu Yin felt speechless. “What are you up to? How did the Liu family end up accepting you?”

Zhang Dingtian said, “I happened to rescue someone from the Liu family, and then ended up being accepted as Master Yijian’s disciple, which gave me a foothold into the Liu family.”

“Don’t you use a saber?¹ How did Master Yijian end up accepting you as a disciple?”

“It’s almost the same as a sword.”

“There’s a pretty big difference, no?” Lu Yin did not know how to react.

Lu Yin felt that Zhang Dingtian seemed much more cheerful compared to how he had been in the Fifth Mainland. It was as if he had set down some of his burdens.

“How is Earth?” Zhang Dingtian asked.

Lu Yin said, “It’s really good.”

“That’s good. I’ll never be able to go back.” Zhang Dingtian looked up at the Sword Monument with a complicated light in his eyes.

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “That might not be the case.”

Zhang Dingtian was caught off guard. “You know how to go back?”

“Not yet, but I know someone who does,” Lu Yin said. Naturally, he was referring to Wang Yi. That man had been able to visit the Fifth Mainland to fight in ZENITH, so he naturally had a way to travel back and forth between the two places. Also, Unseen Light had a way to return home.

The two men drew closer and closer to the Sword Monument, and Lu Yin and Zhang Dingtian chatted the whole way, and their entire conversation was about the Fifth Mainland, as Zhang Dingtian was very interested in what had happened there.

“Speaking of which, you were actually able to get an opportunity to observe the Sword Monument. There aren’t even many people in the White Dragon Clan are able to get that chance,” Zhang Dingtian commented.

When this was brought up, Lu Yin felt the need to ask, “Does the Liu family have some sort of grudge with Humility’s Gate?”

[1] This was an easy mix-up in the earliest chapters, but here it is made clear that Zhang Dingtian uses a saber (1 edged blade) rather than a sword (2 edged blade). Previous chapters should all have been corrected now. ☜