Star Odyssey

Chapter 1934: Not Giving Face

The next day, Ku Pu went to find Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I won’t be able to accompany you for the next while. How would you feel about having Ku Lei keep you company?"

Lu Yin smiled. "If you’re going to be busy, Patriarch Ku, there’s no need for you to find anyone to accompany me. In fact, I’m about to leave myself."

"Alliance Leader Lu, please don’t be bothered. You are welcome to stay a few more days here in the Voidsoul Region, so please feel free to allow my Ku family to host you a bit longer. With Ku Wei as your disciple, we are already family," Ku Pu said with a smile.

Lu Yin found it funny how thick-skinned this man was. If Lu Yin had not utilized the influence of the Lockbreakers Society to pressure the Ku family into allowing Ku Wei to become his disciple, Ku Lei would have killed Ku Wei.

"That’s true, but if we’re family, then there’s no need for you to be so polite, Patriarch Ku,” Lu Yin replied. He remained polite to the man and kept a smile on his face.

Ku Pu’s smile grew even brighter. "Honestly, if not for what’s happening with the Yōu clan, I would love to continue our conversation, Alliance Leader Lu."

"What about the Yōu clan?" Lu Yin's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked about the matter. “Did something happen to them?"

Ku Pu instantly grew solemn. "A little while ago, when the Neohuman Alliance’s Seven Skygods broke into Burial Garden in the attack that forced the place to close and all the gates to disappear, they gained access to the place through Yōu Qi, who used to be a member of the Yōu clan.”

"The boy clearly died some time ago, but Burial Garden held him in high regard, so they resurrected him after he died. Well, that’s actually impossible, so it would be better to say that Burial Garden rescued him and then accepted him as a disciple. With what happened, there are now many questions related to his death, as well as who and what allowed him to join Burial Garden. Who knows if the Neohuman Alliance’s spies were behind that entire matter. These questions all need to be investigated, and the Yōu clan has become the primary suspect.

"The Yōu clan is about to be questioned and investigated by a tribunal formed by the rest of the Seven Courts and overseen by the Interstellar Supreme Court’s Judicial Commissioner Mu Tianlun."

This information quite surprised Lu Yin. "So there’s most likely a traitor in the Yōu clan. Back when Shaman God sent me into Progenitor Chen's Mausoleum, the fact that the Neohuman Alliance had the exact coordinates led me to believe that they had a spy within the Seven Courts, and I remember that Patriarch Xia Yi was quite upset when I brought up the possibility and questioned him."

Ku Pu’s voice dropped low, "We all had our own doubts, as Xia Yi reacted far too strongly back then, though it now seems that the Yōu clan is the more likely culprit."

"If no evidence supporting the suspicions that the Yōu clan cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance appears, what will happen to them?" Lu Yin asked.

Ku Pu shook his head. "That’s hard to say. The entire reason why the Seven Courts have been able to retain control of Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum despite the pressure of the Hall of Honor is not only because they are wary of our strength, but also because the tomb is not worth fighting us over. After all, the tomb should belong to Progenitor Chen’s descendants, which are the Xia family. The Hall of Honor is the overlord of the Human Domain, and if they started a war with us over such a matter, it would leave many other forces worried that they might also be targeted one day.

"However, things are completely different now that the Neohuman Alliance is involved. If we make any attempt to try to cover for the Yōu clan, there is no way that the Hall of Honor will not take action. On top of that, it’s impossible for my Seven Courts to allow any of our people to collude with the Neohuman Alliance. The Yōu clan is in deep trouble this time.

"Even if no evidence of collusion can be found, the Yōu clan will still have to pay a steep price. Each member of the clan will be individually investigated, including Matriarch Yōu Kexin, and they might even be taken to the Interstellar Supreme Court to be interrogated, which would destroy the clan."

Lu Yin sighed. "This is what happens when one works with the Neohuman Alliance. Even if it is nothing more than a possibility, any suspicion must be treated seriously. The Divine Venom Dynasty’s Qing Shaohuang was also taken to the Arbitration World to be interrogated after one of his subjects cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance."

"It’s true, there’s no way out of this for Yōu Kexin," Ku Pu said.

"Patriarch Ku Pu, could I accompany you?" Lu Yin asked.

Ku Pu was taken aback, and his eyes flickered as he thought of the Yōu family and how they had split from the Yōu clan. The Yōu family had originally enjoyed a close relationship with the Sword Sect, but the exposure of the Yōu Secret Art had placed the family in a precarious position. By all accounts, the Yōu family should be a part of the Great Eastern Alliance, so what was Lu Yin’s goal?

"Would that be inconvenient?" Lu Yin pressed.

Ku Pu quickly answered, "Of course not. If you want to go, then we’ll make the trip together, Alliance Leader Lu."

"Thank you."

…

Lu Yin and the Second Nightking followed Ku Pu and left the Voidsoul Region, making their way to the Great Abyss.

From a distance, the Great Abyss shone like a mirror that stretched across a region of space. At the center of the river was the Yōu clan’s home.

The Ku family’s Voidsoul Region was not far from the Great Abyss, so the three men soon arrived.

"Alliance Leader Lu, do you see that boat?" Ku Pu asked. Lu Yin followed the man’s gaze and saw a small wooden boat floating on the river by itself. It even had oars, which was rather odd. It looked positively ancient.

"It’s a simple wooden boat, though very old," Lu Yin said. For some reason, looking at the boat gave him the impression that there was an old man sitting in it and casually paddling about while singing some nameless tune.

"The Yōu clan’s elder used to row everyone across the river with that boat. Everyone always referred to him as Yōu Lao. However, even that old man’s been arrested," Ku Pu commented.

He then climbed into the wooden boat. "Alliance Leader Lu, let's go."

Lu Yin nodded and climbed into the boat as well, and the three men started to row across the Great Abyss.

When they drew close to the Yōu clan’s home, Ku Pu hesitated for a moment before pulling out a cosmic ring that he handed to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, you’ve traveled a long way to visit my Ku family, and our elder asked me to give you this as a welcome gift. Please accept it."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Patriarch, this isn’t quite appropriate. Given the fact that Ku Wei is my apprentice, we are essentially family. There’s no need for you to offer any welcome gifts for my visit."

Ku Pu smiled. "It's because we can be thought of as family that I wish to give you this. I’ll ask you to watch over Ku Wei from now on, Alliance Leader Lu."

Lu Yin accepted the cosmic ring and offered a polite word of thanks.

"It holds a piece of Withered Bark, and it’s one of the pieces that was left behind by our ancestor. It’s powerful enough to defend against an attack with a power level of over a million, and it also contains the properties of time." Ku Pu stared at the cosmic ring. "To be honest, not even I qualify to use that, even with my position as patriarch."

Lu Yin was ecstatic. He did not even think to question the truth of Ku Pu's words, as what Lu Yin possessed was simply invaluable for the Ku family. It was not unreasonable for them to give him even something as priceless as a piece of their Progenitor’s Withered Bark.

"Thank you, Patriarch, and please share my thanks with Elder Ku Rong," Lu Yin said. He was truly grateful for this gift. The Ku family had just given him a piece of their second most valuable treasure.

Ku Pu was actually suffering from giving Lu Yin such a priceless gift, but the man still forced out a smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, you're truly welcome. Remember, we're family."

"True, family." Lu Yin's eyes were practically glowing. The Seven Courts really was a blessed place for him. He had already received a true Root of Intelligence from the Hui family, and now, he had gotten a piece of ancient Withered Bark from the Ku family as well. At that moment, Lu Yin became determined to visit both the Ce and Xie families. What could he get from them?

If he had tried to visit all of the Seven Courts’ families in the past, it was highly possible that he would not have been allowed in, let alone welcomed. However, things had since changed. Lu Yin was determined to gather anything that could benefit him, and he was not willing to allow any opportunities to slip through his fingers.

He found it a true pity that the Xia family was his enemy, as he really wanted to see if there was any way to get the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to learn it from them. It really was too bad.

Actually, Starsybil had also learned the secret technique. Lu Yin forcefully suppressed his desire for the technique, but he could not deny that he wanted to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

Because he had been playing host to Lu Yin, Ku Pu was the last of the Seven Courts’ patriarchs to arrive at the Yōu clan’s home.

When they arrived, they found that not only were there thousands of cultivators from the Seven Courts’ various families, but also hundreds of cultivators from the Interstellar Supreme Court.

The members of the Yōu clan all looked either sad or angry, and each one was being held separately while being monitored by three to five cultivators each. Not a single person from the Yōu clan had the slightest bit of privacy at this moment.

Their matriarch, Yōu Kexin, her daughter, Yōu Qin, Elder Yōu Ren, and a total of a dozen of the members of the Yōu clan formed a circle with their backs to the center so that none of them could see each other. They were also isolated so that they could not hear each other, but everyone surrounding them was able to observe and hear everything from all twelve people.

Every last person from the Yōu clan had been arrested and was being watched. It was humiliating for the family, but there was no other way to do it. The Hall of Honor was somewhat wary of the Seven Courts; if almost any other family had been implicated in such a manner, the entire clan would have been captured and dragged to the Arbitration World, and who knew what fate might await the prisoners in that place.

Qing Shaohuang had absolutely hated Lu Yin, especially after learning that the Second Nightking had been following Lu Yin even before the ancient powerhouse approached Qing Shaohuang. And yet the former emperor’s overwhelming hatred had washed away after his trial in the Arbitration World. He no longer had the courage to do anything at all to Lu Yin, which indicated just how memorable his time with the Interstellar Supreme Court had been.

Ku Pu’s arrival meant that all six of the Court of Seven Names’ family leaders had reunited. They were also joined by Mu Tianlun and Lu Yin.

No one had expected Lu Yin to appear.

Mu Tianlun's eyes flashed when he noticed Lu Yin, though a faint smile appeared on his face as he spoke up. "What brings Alliance Leader Lu to the Seven Courts? Ah, I had actually forgotten that you entered Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum the last time it opened after you were captured by the Neohuman Alliance."

Lu Yin looked back at Mu Tianlun. Lu Yin was not comfortable with this Judicial Commissioner. The man had previously supported the Daynight clan, and he had even wanted to assist the Daynight clan when Leon’s Armada had attacked their flowzone. Later, when Lu Yin had been found to cultivate death energy, Mu Tianlun had repeatedly asked the Chief Justice to condemn Lu Yin. Even after the Chief Justice had ruled that Lu Yin’s death energy would not allow him to be controlled by the Specter clan, Mu Tianlun had reported the matter to Arch-Elder Zen, hoping to see the Semi-Progenitor move against Lu Yin.

If not for Mu Tianlun, Lu Yin’s first time at Mt. Microcosms would have been much easier. It was clear that this Judicial Commissioner held a strong hatred towards Lu Yin.

"Is there something that you want to say? Just spit it out. I don’t want to listen to bullshit," Lu Yin casually retorted.

Hui Zhi and the other Seven Courts’ patriarchs were caught off guard by this antagonistic interaction.

Mu Tianlun’s brows rose. "Alliance Leader Lu, you seem to be upset with me."

Lu Yin stared back at Mu Tianlun. "I’m not upset, I’m very upset. Honestly, the sight of you revolts me."

Mu Tianlun's expression fell, and his eyes blazed with killing intent.

"Impudent! How dare you insult the Judicial Commissioner?" a middle-aged man shouted at Lu Yin from behind Mu Tianlun.

Lu Yin frowned.

Snap!

There was a crack of noise, and the middle-aged man was instantly sent flying. The Second Nightking had taken action, instantly knocking the man out and shattering the bones in half of his face. He looked completely pathetic.

Mu Tianlun was enraged by the sight. "Lu Yin, how dare you!"

Lu Yin indifferently replied, "I don't like being interrupted when I’m speaking. He was merely taught a small lesson. There are some people who can’t understand their position properly, and they won’t even be able to regret their actions before they die."

Mu Tianlun’s eyes glinted with a cold light as he glared at Lu Yin. “Are you threatening me, Alliance Leader Lu? I am one of the Interstellar Supreme Court’s Judicial Commissioners! Do you understand the consequences of threatening a Judicial Commissioner?"

Lu Yin sneered. "Do you know the penalties for slandering an overseer?"

Mu Tianlun's eye twitched, but he said nothing in reply.

Hui Zhi smiled. "You two, we are here right now to investigate the Yōu clan, so please calm yourselves down and have a seat. This entire tribunal would lose all respect if people saw such antics."

Lu Yin merely gave a careless smile, walked over and took his seat.