Star Odyssey

The discovery of Pyrolyte Mountain caused the Second Grade Hall to be targeted by all sides. Wen Qian'er did not announce how deep the pyrolyte reserves that Pyrolyte Mountain held ran, but the various great powers had their own ways of probing the place, and they also had their own spies in each other’s organizations. It didn’t take long for the amount of pyrolyte ore within Pyrolyte Mountain to shock those observing the planet from space, and all the great powers became alarmed. 

What would an explosion of five hundred grams of pure pyrolyte be like? No one knew, but based on the theoretical power level, it would be enough to ruin a region of the universe. Even the powerhouses whose power levels had eclipsed 500,000 might be injured or even killed outright by such a powerful explosion. Of course, that was the outcome of directly confronting such an explosion, and those powerhouses would never allow such a destructive material to directly explode on them; they could simply tear through the void to redirect the damage.  

But even when disregarding the apex powerhouses, the destructive potential of this much pyrolyte was indeed terrifying. 

And this was only the preliminary estimation; it was entirely possible that there was even more pyrolyte than initially thought. 

In an instant, Pyrolyte Mountain had become the focal point for all the great powers. Each and every one of them wanted to take over the mountain, but no one dared to act against Kuang Wang. 

Quite a few organizations began to unite, and from that day on, Pyrolyte Mountain became a battleground that was raided by many powerhouses every day, including those from the great powers. 

The Second Grade Hall felt the pressure intensify, and even Kuang Wang would not be able to withstand the assault if all the other organizations became hostile to them. Also, the truly top-notch Limiteers had not even arrived on the planet yet. 

Under such circumstances, naturally, there were also organizations that wanted to join forces with the Second Grade Hall. Among the stronger ones of these powers, the Daynight clan was the first to look for the Second Grade Hall. 

There was a habitable planet in Northcastle Weave that was close to Frostwave Weave. The technology of that civilization was still in a developmental stage, as their instruments of war were still ancient firearms. The planet that should have been peaceful had suddenly turned to chaos due to the Second Grade Hall’s interference, and that civilization was annihilated overnight. The Second Grade Hall was like a monster that suddenly descended, suppressing the entire civilization in an instant. 

This planet became the Second Grade Hall’s outpost where they planned their battles against Frostwave Weave. 

The Enlighter Karthika was stationed on this planet. 

When Pyrolyte Mountain was discovered, Karthika grew restless. He knew that all the other powers were envious of Pyrolyte Mountain, and so, he wanted to head to the Astral Wilderness to oversee the situation. 

But he had not gotten permission to leave yet when the entire planet began to rain. This was a rain that extended across the entire planet. 

This rain made Karthika feel grave and even a little apprehensive.

It was a very light rain, but the Second Grade Hall’s cultivators all felt strange. They wanted to look into why such an enormous rain had suddenly started, but they were all stopped by Karthika. He walked into the rain and looked up. “It’s been quite a while. It must not have been more than a thousand years.” 

The rain curtain opened up, revealing an experienced-looking old woman with black-and-white hair who slowly walked out. Under the gaze of many Second Grade Hall’s cultivators, she walked over to Karthika. “About that long.”

Karthika gestured for her to follow him.

The old woman nodded and followed Karthika into the Second Grade Hall’s headquarters on the planet. The two appeared in a meeting room, and appeared to be just like two ordinary people. They then sat down a short distance apart from each other.

Many apex powerhouses were not as imposing as some people might expect them to be; such people had their own philosophy, style of living, and many even maintained the habits of commoners. Before they revealed their power level, many were indistinguishable from commoners. It was entirely possible that someone walking beside a Seeker could be an Envoy whose power level was over 500,000.  

“I thought that you wouldn’t leave the Nightking Planet for the rest of your life, Nightqueen Qiuyu,” Karthika said as he sighed emotionally while looking at the old woman in front of him.

Her voice was cold when she responded, “I thought that I wouldn’t either during this life. But since the clan required it, I was left with no choice.”

“That matter that year-” But Karthika was interrupted by Nightqueen Qiuyu before he could finish.

“You don’t need to mention the matter from back then. Someone will pay off that debt. You should be clear about why I’ve come looking for you.”

Karthika’s face was solemn. “Is this about Pyrolyte Mountain?”

Nightqueen Qiuyu looked at him seriously. “You’re very smart. You must know that, with just your force’s manpower, you won’t be able to hold Pyrolyte Mountain. All parties involved are looking for allies, and you guys should be no exception.” 

“I’m definitely aware. However, I have many choices, especially the closeby Wen family or the Sword Sect.”

“Stop speaking nonsense. Neither party is possible, precisely because they are too close to you. There will be a conflict of interest with either of those two parties, which prevents you from forming any possible alliance with them. Our Daynight clan is the most suitable one for your current needs, as we both have the power and are a suitable distance away. Thus, there won’t be any conflict of interest.” Nightqueen Qiuyu once again interrupted Karthika in a dominant fashion. 

Karthika grimaced. “So many years have passed, but you still haven’t changed.”

Nightqueen Qiuyu’s gaze was firm. “If we cooperate, we’ll evenly share the pyrolyte from Pyrolyte Mountain. This is the most generous condition that our Daynight clan can offer, so give me your answer soon.” 

Karthika had no choice. “There’s no need to think any further. We’ll cooperate.”

For the Beast Tamers Flowzone, the Wen Family, and the Sword Sect were indeed poor parties to cooperate with, as the three of them lay too close to one another. Each wanted pyrolyte to increase their power, which would naturally cause their neighboring flowzones to weaken correspondingly. Thus, organizations that lay close to each other were forced into a competitive relationship, unable to cooperate. This was also the reason why the Wen Family and Sword Sect had not come to talk with Karthika. As for the other flowzones, they were either too far away or too weak. This included even the Blazing Mist Flowzone, which was also not a very good candidate in Karthika’s eyes. Only the Daynight clan was worthy. 

Karthika did not doubt the Daynight clan’s strength, especially since it had been recently revealed that the Daynight clan had found traces of the Third Nightking. Even though this information could not be verified, if the Third Nightking had truly been found, then the situation of the universe was about to change. Hence, it was of great importance to maintain a good relationship with the Daynight clan. 

Nightqueen Qiuyu gazed appreciatively at Karthika. “Wise choice. Our Daynight Limiteer will not disappoint you.” 

Karthika nodded. “With Kuang Wang’s emperor butterfly topgrass and the Daynight clan’s Limiteers, we have a surefire victory.” 

“It’s not confirmed yet. Don’t forget that there’s someone else rushing over, and they even have a grudge with you.” 

Karthika was lost. “Who?”

“The Sea King’s future son-in-law.” She beamed as she said this.

Karthika’s eyes went wide. “Lu Yin?”

“If that kid is not taken care of, then as soon as he enters the fray at Planet Pyrolyte, no one will be his opponent. Whoever he helps will be the final party to hold Pyrolyte Mountain,” she spoke calmly. 

Karthika felt embarrassed. “He’s the Sea King’s future son-in-law, and he also has relations with many different powers. He can’t be killed.” 

“I know. Elder Yuanjing has also mentioned that the kid cannot be touched. However, we need some kind of guarantee that he will not participate in this contest, or else he will become the largest variable. You should know how much influence someone wields when they are truly invincible in their realm.” Nightqueen Qiuyu’s tone was cold, and this was evidently reminding her of something. 

Karthika’s face changed, and he paused before looking at her. “I’ll hand over Planet Pyrolyte’s matters to you while I personally head over to oversee the Great Yu Empire to ensure that he cannot act.”

Nightqueen Qiuyu nodded. “Although sending out an Enlighter for a Limiteer junior is not worth it, the contest at Planet Pyrolyte is just far too important. Go on. I’ll handle the matters on Planet Pyrolyte.” 

“Alright, let’s work well together.”

“Let’s work well together.”

…

As he flew through space, Lu Yin continuously updated himself on news regarding Northcastle Weave, as he wanted to check on the news concerning the situation on Planet Pyrolyte. However, the network did not have any news about it, and even searching the word “pyrolyte” yielded no results.

Although the net connected many people, it was no different from reality; too much information had been blocked off. Even if Lu Yin released news about pyrolyte, the network would continue to reveal nothing, as only the various great powers were allowed to have access to such information.

Beside him, Hai Qiqi was playing a game. She had recently discovered that the Outerverse had many more fun games than the Innerverse. In her words, the Outerverse was weak because these games whittled away at people’s attention span, though Lu Yin could not be bothered to argue against such reasoning. 

His gadget beeped, and Lu Yin glanced at it. Suddenly, his expression changed, and his face grew incredibly cold.

‘Enlighter Karthika has appeared at Zenyu Star.’

Enlighters could move through space at a speed faster than an Aurora. There were about ten filaments separating Zenyu Star from the border between Frostwave Weave and Northcastle Weave, but this distance was a short walk for Karthika. 

The Great Yu Empire had no Enlighters, so Karthika’s appearance meant that the entire Great Yu Empire was now under his control—even the lives of those like Huo Qingshan, Ban Jiu, and Liuying Zishan. 

Lu Yin clenched both fists, as Karthika’s objective was obvious. This move completely prevented Lu Yin from participating in the contest at Planet Pyrolyte. He was simply unstoppable to all Limiteers, so if he acted, the biggest winner on Planet Pyrolyte would become obvious: whoever won Lu Yin’s help would get the most pyrolyte. 

Pyrolyte was considered a strategic military resource. This situation could be considered as war, just one that had not spread out yet, though it had already engulfed both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

Lu Yin knew he was very important, but he had never expected his value to be so high as to merit an Enlighter personally moving to restrain him. He estimated that such a thing was unprecedented, as he could very well be the first and only Limiteer who had to be personally restricted by an Enlighter. 

News that Karthika had arrived at Zenyu Star had been sent to Lu Yin by Huo Qingshan, and Karthika had then immediately suppressed the news. Fortunately, he had not killed anyone, and Huo Qingshan and the rest were not foolish enough to act against an Enlighter. 

Zenyu Star was still stable for now, but this was completely dependent on Lu Yin obediently returning to Zenyu Star and not participating in the scuffle on Planet Pyrolyte. Otherwise, things would become unpredictable. 

Karthika might not dare to kill Lu Yin, but the same leniency could not be guaranteed to extend to Huo Qingshan and the rest. 

Lu Yin glanced at Hai Qiqi. He could contact the Sea King and serve the Great Yu Empire up on a platter to the Sea King’s Dome. No matter if the Sea King accepted it or not, Karthika would have misgivings about making a move in that case. But if Lu Yin did such a thing, then he would no longer have any freedom. The Yushan family would no longer control the Great Yu Empire, and Lu Yin’s status as Royal Regent would be nothing more than a joke. 

Lu Yin did have the option of ignoring the plight of the Great Yu Empire, as he himself was not a descendant of King Zishan, as everything had been fabricated by Big Sis. However, he had lived on Earth for a long time, and he truly cherished those memories and feelings. He genuinely identified as an Earthling, and he did not want to let that part of him go. Undying Yushan had also treated Lu Yin very kindly and had given him the Yu Secret Art, which he was still unable to repay. 

It was impossible for Lu Yin to abandon the Great Yu Empire, as he could not retract those feelings. 

He turned to face outside of the spacecraft. Sometimes, standing too tall was not a good thing since it would attract more attention, especially when the one standing out was someone like him without any obvious powers backing him. 

“Uncle Huo, tell Karthika that I will not act. Until the events at Planet Pyrolyte end, I will stay in the Great Yu Empire.” 

“Understood,” Huo Qingshan’s voice was not very happy either. As a Hunter, he was being used to threaten a Limiteer, and he was probably the first in history to have to endure such a humiliating experience.