Star Odyssey

Chapter 1935: Trial

Not every member of the Yōu clan was qualified to be questioned by the tribunal. As for the tribunal itself, even if someone was brought over by a patriarch like Ku Pu, they would only be allowed to stand to the side and observe. Only those who were seated, the representatives of the Seven Courts’ families, were qualified to question the members of the Yōu clan, but Lu Yin held a special status. He was one of the Hall of Honor’s overseers, which qualified him to participate in the tribunal and ask questions.

When Mu Tianlun saw Lu Yin take a seat, the Judicial Commissioner’s expression relaxed. His eyes no longer contained a cold glint, returning to normal as he took his own seat.

The previous scuffle had been seen by Yōu Kexin. Before the members of the tribunal took their seats, Lu Yin and Mu Tianlun had happened to argue in front of Yōu Kexin, and thus, she had seen the conflict between the two.

The top members of the Yōu clan were surrounded by important people. Those within the circle had been positioned facing away from each other in a circle, with each of them facing outwards. Meanwhile, Lu Yin and the other members of the tribunal formed a larger circle that surrounded those being questioned.

In front of Lu Yin stood Yōu Kexin's daughter, Yōu Qin.

Yōu Qin stared back at Lu Yin with complicated emotions. This person was from the same generation as her, and she had even competed with him once. However, at this moment, Lu Yin stood far, far above Yōu Qin, and he was even qualified to question and interrogate any member of the Yōu clan. Seeing this change in position was very uncomfortable for Yōu Qin, especially when she remembered that Lu Yin had once defeated her brother, Yōu Qi, in a direct fight. Many people had been shocked by the results of that match, but none more than Yōu Qin. She had once believed Yōu Qi to be invincible among their peers.

"Yōu Kexin, tell us about Yōu Qi's childhood and everything that he experienced while growing up," Hui Zhi said. This tribunal was being led by the Hui family while Mu Tianlun was just supervising the proceedings to prevent the Seven Courts from covering anything up.

Yōu Kexin looked up at Hui Zhi. "There’s nothing more to say. Every detail about him has already been carefully investigated."

Hui Zhi frowned. "Yōu Kexin, I hope you understand the seriousness of this matter. At the moment, this is still just an internal trial of the Seven Courts, but things will be much different if you are taken away to be questioned by the Interstellar Supreme Court."

"That’s true. Sister Kexin, just answer our questions." Xie Ahua rubbed her chin and blinked as she spoke. She then turned to look at Lu Yin, shooting him a charming smile.

Lu Yin glanced at the woman, particularly noticing her attire, as her clothes were exceptionally revealing. They reminded him of Xie Xiaoxian, whom Lu Yin had encountered in the Mountains and Seas Zone and whom he had seen borrow other people’s battle techniques.

Yōu Kexin spoke indifferently as she shared everything she knew regarding Yōu Qi.

Yōu Qi's childhood was not a complicated story, especially since what everyone was truly interested in was who he had been in contact with, as that might be an indication of who the hidden traitor in the Seven Courts was. They were looking for an opening that could provide access to one of the Neohuman Alliance’s weaknesses.

Yōu Kexin spent half a day recounting the details about Yōu Qi’s childhood.

"You’re his mother, so tell us how he died," Hui Zhi pressed.

A flicker of pain flashed across Yōu Kexin's eyes. "He didn’t die."

Hui Zhi was caught off guard by this denial. "He didn’t die?"

Yōu Kexin replied, "He never died. How could anyone be resurrected after dying?"

"So are you saying that he faked his death?" Hui Zhi asked.

Yōu Kexin stared back at Hui Zhi. "Regardless of whether or not that happened, he’s dead now."

"Tell us about what happened when his death was faked," Hui Zhi said.

Yōu Kexin casually replied, "I've already told you this."

"Tell us again, in detail." Mu Tianlun spoke up sharply.

Yōu Kexin fell silent for a bit. She was normally an arrogant and indifferent person, and that was even discounting the fact that she was being ordered to drudge up the memories of her own son’s death, which was difficult.

In a low voice, Mu Tianlun said, "It seems that this interrogation is unnecessary. I’ll take her back to the Arbitration World. She will reveal everything there."

Hui Zhi, Ce Laoyan, and the other patriarchs all frowned. Yōu Kexin was the Yōu clan’s matriarch, which made her the representative of one of the Seven Courts. The entire Seven Courts would be humiliated if Yōu Kexin was taken to the Arbitration World to be interrogated.

They were all hoping to use this tribunal to prove that the Yōu clan had not colluded with the Neohuman Alliance so that they could avoid letting the Interstellar Supreme Court get involved. However, Yōu Kexin's attitude was making it difficult for the tribunal to help the Yōu clan despite their best efforts.

"Yōu Lao, do you know much about Yōu Qi?" Hui Zhi redirected his attention to another person, the Yōu clan’s oldest member.

Lu Yin looked over at a tired-looking old man with calluses on his hands and a kind face. This man had been the owner of the wooden boat that Lu Yin had used to cross the Great Abyss.

"Yōu Qi? He’s a good child," Yōu Lao replied. His voice was a bit hoarse, and he seemed rather confused. He acted as though he had not figured out exactly what was happening quite yet.

However, the old man’s words left Hui Zhi speechless; a good child? Would a good child betray humanity?

"Yōu Lao, you need to get a grip on what’s happening! Yōu Qi betrayed humanity! He’s a traitor!" Mu Tianlun sternly shouted.

Yōu Lao looked over in surprise. "A traitor? No, not that child."

Mu Tianlun frowned and looked over at Hui Zhi. This old man was playing the fool. It was clear just how powerful he was.

At this moment, Lu Yin spoke up. "Yōu Lao, why are you saying that Yōu Qi is a good child?"

Mu Tianlun became upset. "Alliance Leader Lu, Yōu Qi betrayed humanity by providing the Neohuman Alliance with the coordinates that allowed them access to Burial Garden! You can’t possibly think that such a person isn’t a traitor."

Lu Yin replied indifferently, "I'm the one asking a question, so how is this any of your business? Just shut up and listen."

Mu Tianlun was extremely angered. Lu Yin was not showing even the slightest bit of respect for a Judicial Commissioner.

Xie Ahua smiled coquettishly. "Alliance Leader Lu, you’re quite overbearing."

Ku Pu, Hui Zhi, and the other patriarchs glanced around at each other. Lu Yin was indeed becoming more and more overbearing, and he clearly was not giving Mu Tianlun any face at all.

Xia Yi spoke up for the first time. "Alliance Leader Lu, you are also a Lockbreaker. Is this why you are trying to support the Yōu clan? Everyone, we can’t forget that when this child came out of Progenitor Chen's Mausoleum, Yōu Kexin actively supported him and spoke up for him simply because they are both Lockbreakers."

Mu Tianlun's eyes grew cold. "Patriarch Xia Yi, are you referring to the time when Alliance Leader Lu was captured by the Neohuman Alliance?"

"That's right, when Alliance Leader Lu was held captive by the Neohuman Alliance," Xia Yi agreed.

These two were in perfect harmony, as they were both suggesting that there was a possibility that Lu Yin had cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance. Even if he could not be controlled by the death energy that he cultivated, it did not mean that he was not actively colluding with the Neohuman Alliance.

Even though such accusations would not be able to actually do anything to Lu Yin, the two men wanted to at least raise some suspicions that Lu Yin had a connection to humanity’s enemy.

Naturally, their efforts were completely useless, as Ku Pu and the other patriarchs saw through these efforts as nothing more than an attempt to insult Lu Yin.

Lu Yin shifted his legs. "An idiot and a piece of trash are copying each other and singing the same song."

"What did you just say?" Xia Yi became furious.

Mu Tianlun leaped to his feet, gritting his teeth as he spat out in a cold voice, "Alliance Leader Lu, you just personally insulted the two of us! I will lodge a formal complaint against you to the Interstellar Supreme Court! I am a Judicial Commissioner, and Xia Yi is also the Xia family’s patriarch."

Lu Yin just rolled his eyes. "I just mentioned an idiot and a piece of trash. What does that have to do with either of you? How is it my fault if you think that I’m talking about you?"

"You…" Xia Yi also rose to his feet and glared at Lu Yin.

"Alright, everyone. Let’s not forget our purpose here," Hui Zhi interjected in a deep voice as he looked at Mu Tianlun. "Your Excellency, the Interstellar Supreme Court is already playing the role of a judge. Are you going to change this tribunal to a trial just like that?"

Mu Tianlun shot Hui Zhi a dirty look as the patriarch was being quite rude with this question.

"Brother Xia, you should sit back down. Honestly, you aren’t Alliance Leader Lu’s match," Xie Ahua said with a smile, though her comment only made Xia Yi even angrier.

Ku Pu also spoke up. "Brother Xia, don’t forget that we are all part of the Court of Seven Names."

Xia Yi glared at Lu Yin as he helplessly sat back down.

While the Xia family was considered the head of the Seven Courts, that did not mean that the other families would simply follow whatever the Xia family said. While they would listen to Xia Ji, that had nothing to do with Xia Yi, especially since Xia Yi was merely a puppet patriarch with no real power that could be removed at a whim.

"Alliance Leader Lu, please continue with your question," Hui Zhi politely said to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin nodded and looked back at Yōu Lao. "Elder, can you tell us why you say that Yōu Qi is a good child?"

Yōu Lao had been placed directly in front of Mu Tianlun, and after hearing Lu Yin's question, the old man lifted his head and looked at Mu Tianlun. "Are you done arguing? Who won? Grandpa will give you a treat."

Everyone was speechless. 𝒇𝚛e𝗲𝘸e𝚋𝑛o𝘃𝙚𝒍. c૦𝒎

Lu Yin found this rather amusing, and Yōu Lao’s behavior reminded Lu Yin of Astral-10’s Trialmaster. "Elder, what do you think about Yōu Qi?"

Yōu Lao stroked his beard. "Yōu Qi’s a good child, but he’s too stubborn. He’s been stubborn ever since he was a child. If others trained for ten hours, he would train for eleven. He trained hard, loved his sister, and was loyal to his mother. He also always made time to chat with an old man like me.

"His innate gift is quite impressive as he can use the techniques of the dead as his own. Unfortunately, he was never able to accept the Yōu Secret Art. Because of that, he roamed the universe on his own in an attempt to prove himself as the Yōu clan’s true heir…"

Yōu Kexin had a much better understanding of this matter than Yōu Lao. How could she not know such details about her own child?

"The last time I saw the child, he said that he wanted to eradicate a scourge, but he never returned," Yōu Lao said with a shrug.

"Where did he go? What scourge did he want to eradicate?" Lu Yin asked.

Yōu Lao thought for a moment. "I believe that it was some place called Peacewater Planet."

"Peacewater Planet?" Lu Yin leaped to his feet, shock covering his face.

Everyone stared at Lu Yin.

"Alliance Leader Lu, what's wrong?" Hui Zhi asked.

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. Peacewater Planet was the planet where the parallel universe that held Aeternus Nation was located. It was the planet where Lu Yin had met with Silver, and it was also where space had torn open to expose the hidden Aeternus Nation.

"Elder, are you sure that he mentioned Peacewater Planet?" Lu Yin asked, clearly excited.

Yōu Lao thought for a bit before nodding. "Yes, it was Peacewater Planet. I remember that clearly."

"What else did Yōu Qi say at that time?" Lu Yin pressed. Complicated emotions danced through his eyes. If he was right with this guess, then everyone might have misunderstood Yōu Qi.

The old man sighed, regret filling his eyes. "He said that the Yōu clan’s heir could not be considered a true heir without the Yōu Secret Art. He also mentioned that the planet might hold humanity’s greatest disaster. What danger could the planet hold? I did not care about the matter, but I never expected him to never return, ah—"

Lu Yin moved a hand to seal off Yōu Lao again so that the old man would not hear the next question. Lu Yin then turned to Yōu Kexin. "Matriarch Yōu, please tell us about when Yōu Qi died, or rather, what everything around the time when you were convinced that he did not die. I know that these memories are painful for you, but this is extremely important for this tribunal to hear."

Yōu Kexin's tone remained indifferent. "Alliance Leader Lu, can you promise that my Yōu clan will be given a completely fair trial?"

"I, Lu Yin, give you my promise as both an overseer and a Lockbreaker," Lu Yin loudly declared.

Everyone was taken aback. Lu Yin seemed to be too concerned with the fate of the Yōu clan.

Yōu Kexin then continued in a more relaxed manner, "I already said that we received a message from Yōu Qi right before we received the news of his death. We never saw any trace of him again until the Astral Tower competition.

“However, that last message was not the only thing we received, as there was also a final video sent of him. I have it saved on my gadget."

Hui Santong walked forward and handed the matriarch’s gadget to Lu Yin, who then tossed it over to Yōu Kexin.