Star Odyssey

“Uncle Sect Leader passed this ring to me. It contains Master Bei’s apology as well as the many years of recompense that Neo-Vestige Sect owed me. All this is inside, and it’s for you,” Peach offered.

Lu Yin hurriedly declined and cracked a joke. Although he was in need of money, he would not stoop to stealing from a child. Even though Peach was not much younger than Lu Yin himself, her appearance was rather deceiving. Additionally, she had always maintained her childlike nature, which could not be changed, and that simply meant that she was a child. 

Lu Yin would feel embarrassed if he took her belongings.

“I still have a lot, and all of the items belonging to my line have been returned to me. Your Highness, take it as a gift of thanks from me.” Peach was persistent, as she wanted Lu Yin to keep the ring. 

Lu Yin simply refused, as it was indeed rather embarrassing for him.

“In that case, I’ll give you this.” Peach took out a pocket-sized, arrow-shaped carving from around her neck. “Master carved this for me to play with. I’ll give it to you, and you can’t refuse it. Otherwise, we won’t be friends any longer,” Peach said stubbornly.  

Lu Yin nodded. “Alright, I’ll keep it.” He then quickly stored it awy in his cosmic ring. “Are you happy now?”

Peach smiled brightly and left.

There were a few Neo-Vestige Sect disciples nearby that glared fiercely at Lu Yin, looking as though they were keeping an eye on a con artist.

“Seventh Bro, how embarrassing! So you would even take things from a little girl,” the Ghost Monkey taunted.

Lu Yin deep fell into thought and did not even bother with the monkey, as he was already thinking about something else. 

Back when they had been in the Neo-Vestige Sect, Lu Yin had asked Peach how she had been rescued, and Peach had told him that Undying Yushan had taken her away. 

With how highly Master Bei regarded that arrow, it was impossible for him to not have personally taken action against Peach. The fact that Undying Yushan had been able to take Peach away while also preventing Neo-Vestige Sect from finding any sort of trace of her whereabout under those circumstances gave Lu Yin a fresh understanding of Undying Yushan’s abilities. 

Lu Yin suddenly thought of the blind monk. If Peach had such an origin story, then what about the blind monk? 

“What did you say? You’re a prince from the strongest tribe in Forested Weave?” Lu Yin stared at the blind monk, dumbfounded. This royal identity just did not match the man’s image. 

The blind monk was completely unperturbed by Lu Yin’s reaction. “During a tribal war, your subject unintentionally lost his way and was rescued by His Majesty. A few years later, your subject’s tribe was victorious, and my relatives came to find me. However, your subject wanted to stay in the Great Yu Empire for a while longer, and so, I have not gone back and have delayed it even until now.” 

Lu Yin finally understood the monk’s circumstances. “So is your tribe very powerful?”

The blind monk thought about it and then answered, “It’s the weave’s guiding power.”

Lu Yin exclaimed, “Could you convince Forested Weave to join the Great Eastern Alliance?”

“I can try. It should be possible,” the blind monk answered very straightforwardly. He was very confident. After all, he was a prince. 

“Why didn’t you say anything about this before?” Lu Yin asked.

The blind monk fell silent.

Lu Yin guessed that, because he had saved Peach, this fellow now wanted to sincerely follow Lu Yin. Otherwise he would have continued to hide his identity.

What had Undying Yushan been trying to do back then? None of the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons seemed to have simple backgrounds. Had the old emperor truly wanted to unite the eastern weaves back then? It wasn’t impossible. After all, the Greatsword Dynasty had been wary of Undying Yushan’s ambition, which made it clear that the man had not completely restrained his ambitions. 

In some sense, many of Lu Yin’s own achievements should be credited back to Undying Yushan.

Lu Yin’s expression became quite complex, and he suddenly wondered if he should hope for Undying Yushan to be alive or dead.

“Monkey, do you think that Nightking Zhenwu’s arrow aura could be somehow related to Neo-Vestige Sect’s three arrows?” Lu Yin asked. 

“It’s very possible, but because those arrows are too ancient, the elder probably couldn’t make any sort of connections. Nightking Zhenwu’s arrow techniques might have come from the Sixth Mainland, and he probably obtained them from the Daosource Sect's ruins. Isn’t being from the Daosource Sect's ruins basically a synonym for being very ancient?” the monkey analyzed. 

Lu Yin agreed with this train of thought. “So we shouldn’t let Neo-Vestige Sect ever learn of the matter regarding Nightking Zhenwu.” Then, his eyes suddenly lit up. “No, we should let them find out.” 

The monkey sniggered. “Do you want to tempt Neo-Vestige Sect into dealing with Nightking Zhenwu?” 

Lu Yin’s lips curled upwards. “It’s not impossible, as Neo-Vestige Sect was only able to obtain three arrows back then. If Nightking Zhenwu was able to get a hold of a more complete inheritance, then what do you think Neo-Vestige Sect would do?”

“Of course they would try to think of a way to seize it.”

“That’s right. Still, this scheme will have to be carefully planned out. Otherwise, if it doesn’t work, then they might end up teaming up against me, and that would be dreadful,” Lu Yin mumbled to himself.

During the group's trip back, Meng Tianlong left the group at the Vastdearth Sect. This trip to Neo-Vestige Sect had completely shocked him. First, there had been the confrontation with that Enlighter. Later, he had witnessed some of the hidden secrets of Arrow Mountain. And finally, he had felt the power of the Arrow Mountain Elder. Meng Tianlong had been thoroughly convinced that his Vastdearth Sect was not on the same level as Neo-Vestige Sect. 

And the most frustrating thing of all was that Neo-Vestige Sect’s Sect Leader Gong Ling seemed to greatly appreciate Lu Yin, along with that little brat, Peach. It was entirely possible that Neo-Vestige Sect would end up cooperating with Lu Yin, and if they did, all of the eastern weaves would fall into Lu Yin’s pocket.

Meng Tianlong no longer bothered with visiting Elder Meng’s training grounds daily, as he had realized that it was pointless. If Lu Yin wasn’t intimidated by Neo-Vestige Sect, then there was no way he would care about their Vastdearth Sect Elder.

What he needed to do right now was borrow the Great Eastern Alliance’s strength and bolster the Vastdearth Sect’s strength.

“It looks like Meng Tianlong has been frightened.” Aden was amused by the noticeable change in the sect leader.  

Lu Yin smiled. “In the universe, a sect can hand down an inheritance for tens or hundreds of thousands of years, and the sects that have developed to the level of the Vastdearth Sect usually have to produce their own Enlighter if they want to advance another step further. Neo-Vestige Sect is a much more ancient power, and their hidden strength is something that Meng Tianlong cannot even imagine.” 

“Is Gong Ling really willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance?” Aden was curious about this bit.

Lu Yin nodded. “Once we have twenty weaves. Right now, the Great Eastern Alliance has nine. Even if we rope in all of the eastern weaves, it still won’t be enough.”

“It looks like Your Highness has other ideas,” Aden said, but then he turned to leave.

Lu Yin eyes flickered, and he raised a hand to activate his gadget. He looked at a star chart, and he focused on the border of the eastern weaves, and specifically, on Armament Weave.

Wei Rong should have settled the situation within Sourcepeak Weave for the moment, as that should have been within the man’s capabilities. However, Lu Yin did not know what the man’s next move would be. It was certain to be related to the central weaves, but where would Wei Rong start his plans? 

In the past, Lu Yin had been able to establish the Great Eastern Alliance due to all the blackmail that he had obtained from Mafioso Planet, and that information had greatly helped him. That information, combined with his own methods and his combat record, had led to his success. 

Wei Rong would definitely use alternative methods, but it was also certain that he would use Lu Yin. 

The Great Eastern Alliance’s existence was a huge threat to the central weaves, and Lu Yin’s own existence would very likely help Wei Rong accelerate the unification of the central weaves. 

When the spacecraft had just left the Vastdearth Sect, an alarm suddenly sounded from within the vessel. 

“Your Highness, there are interstellar pirates!” Peach shouted excitedly as she stared closely outside the ship.

Lu Yin was surprised. Interstellar pirates? Robbing us? Are they crazy?

The group was traveling in an Aurora, but in order to avoid any accidents, Lu Yin had removed the Great Yu Empire’s emblem from the ship’s hull before they had set off for Neo-Vestige Sect. Still, very few pirates would have the courage to rob an Aurora, as the vessels represented status and wealth. Additionally, the defensive capabilities of an Aurora were beyond the capabilities of what pirates could tear through. This was strange. 

In the distance, a row of dilapidated spacecraft lined up to block the way of Lu Yin’s group on the route back to Frostwave Weave. The ships had all armed their weapons and were obstructing the way forward. 

On one of the broken-looking vessels, a few people had gathered together and were busy bickering. “Hurry up and let them go! That’s an Aurora, and those things can even fend off a Cruiser’s attacks. There’s no way we can break through that thing’s hull with our firepower, and we might even end up provoking some strong enemies.” 

“We have no choice! We’re at the end of our rope! If we don’t rob these people, then we’re going to starve to death!” someone else shouted.

“We can’t go anywhere else, as these ships simply can’t fly anymore. There’s no habitable planets nearby where we can land, and there are no enemies to go against us. Thus, we can only rob these people. Hopefully, with a little luck, we’ll be able to intimidate them,” a rough looking man said helplessly.

…

Just as these pirates were discussing their options, an immense pressure descended upon them that forced all of the pirates to prostrate on the floor. Star energy was suppressing them and making it hard for them to breathe, giving the pirates a sense of desperation. Such overwhelming pressure could only come from a Hunter while the powerful enemy that had forced them into such dire straits had just been a Cruiser. What luck to bump into a Hunter at this moment. 

The blind monk stepped out of the void and casually grabbed two people. He then tore back through the void and left. 

With a thump, two pirates were pathetically thrown onto the floor in front of Lu Yin. The blind monk then walked over next to Lu Yin, where he stood silently.

The two pirates exchanged glances and looked up in terror. They saw Lu Yin, the blind monk standing beside Lu Yin, as well as Peach, who was staring at them curiously.

“So- sorry, Lord. We are as blind as bats, and we disturbed you lords. We were blind,” the ruffian-looking pirate hurriedly begged for forgiveness.

Lu Yin looked at the man, feeling that this person seemed familiar. Suddenly, Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. “Little Eight?” 

The ruffian was stumped. “Little Eight.” That was such a distant yet familiar-sounding nickname. In the past, when he had just become a pirate, after completing only five robberies, he had run into a madman. That man had insisted that he guide him to rob other pirates, and they had parted ways at the pirate port. Little Eight had been the name that the madman had bestowed upon him. He stared blankly at Lu Yin before quickly growing ecstatic. “Boss? It’s you, boss! It’s really you! Boss, Little Eight looked for you so desperately!” 

As Lu Yin looked at the ruffian-looking pirate grabbing his thigh, he kicked the pirate away. “Back then, didn’t you tell me that you were going to stop being a pirate? Why are you still working as one now?”

Little Eight’s face showed his anguish. “Boss, you don’t know how much agony Little Eight has endured. Back then, after our parting at the pirate port, we were robbed again. I’ll be damned, but that bunch of scoundrels betrayed us, and they sold our location to other pirates, who then sold us to some black-hearted merchants as slaves. If not for some decent luck, Boss wouldn’t even see Little Eight right now. Boss, take me in! Boss!” The man once again latched onto Lu Yin’s thigh. 

Peach and the few others were astonished. Boss? Pirates?

The other pirate was also confused. Little Eight? Isn’t he called Little Seven?

“Little Seven, do you know this lord?” the other pirate asked.

Little Eight turned back and vehemently snarled, “I’m Little Eight! Remember that, Little Eight!”

Lu Yin kicked Little Eight away a second time. “Alright, what’s going on? Why are your spacecraft so broken?” 

Little Eight wailed, “Boss, you don’t know how miserable we’ve been. We’d been living pretty well in the Darkmist Weave, and although we occasionally robbed some people, we worked in a more refined manner. Recently, who knows who we offended, but all of the pirates in Darkmist Weave are being chased after, and the ones that are coming after us are also pirates, who are supposedly coming from the west. They chased all of us away. Boss, Little Eight is having a tough time.”

Lu Yin grew interested. “The pirates from the west are kicking you guys out?”