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Lu Yin looked at Lan Si, who was coughing. “Don’t drink too fast. The pill is effective, but it still needs some time to work.”
“Thanks,” Lan Si said. “Defeating me means that you can replace me as one of the Ten Arbiters. You’re certainly qualified in terms of strength.”
Lu Yin stared off into the distance. “I don’t want to replace you—I want to replace someone else.”
Lan Si’s gaze shifted, but he did not reply.
Lu Yin wiped his lips, which had had some leftover dried bloodstains on them. He had also swallowed a pill already, one that had been upgraded until its rune lines almost matched those of an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000. Naturally, it was amazingly effective.
Lan Si looked down at his own arm and smiled bitterly. “I never imagined that I could lose.”
“You’ve already said that several times,” Lu Yin observed.
Lan Si shook his head. “But I truly never even considered it.”
Lu Yin’s lips curled up. “Each of us is confident in our own strength, and we almost came out even. If you had been just a little luckier, I would have lost, and if I had been a little less luckier, then you would have won. This is quite normal.”
Lan Si seriously answered, “This was not just a matter of luck. You were able to withstand more than ten Vacuum Palms, which is something that I never expected. When we competed outside of the ruins, I was able to sense your physical strength, and I am confident that, at that time, you could not have even received three Vacuum Palms. Who could have guessed that, in such a short amount of time, you would improve by so much. You were even able to upgrade your eight lined battle force to nine lines, and your physical strength is strong enough to compensate for a difference in realms, even surpassing mine. Along with your secret technique and Gods’ Origin’s methods, your improvement was just too much.”
Lu Yin nodded. “That’s true. If I hadn’t been able to improve my eight lined battle force to nine lines, then there’s no way I would have been able to receive so many of your Vacuum Palms, and I would have definitely lost in that case.”
“Lu Yin, the difference between us will only grow more in the future,” Lan Si said seriously.
Lu Yin did not understand. “What do you mean? That I’ll pull ahead, or you will?”
Lan Si laughed. “Of course you’ll be the one to pull ahead! You’ve only cultivated for twelve years, but me? I’m close to forty years old, and I’ve been cultivating ever since I was young. I was given the Mt. Stacks Dojo’s best resources, and I even obtained the Vacuum Palm by chance. But you walked out of the Outerverse, step by step, and although many say that the Hall of Honor is your true background, I have the feeling that you’ve never received any guidance from them, as your battle style is very feral.”
Lu Yin’s brows rose up, as this was the first time anyone had called his style feral.
“What? You’re not convinced?” Lan Si retorted. He then continued, explaining, “You have many methods, and they are all quite complex. The higher you climb, the more these things will burden you. You have a domain and battle force, and you’ve cultivated them decently. However, you also use battle techniques, your physical body, and spiritual force. Such diversity is taboo among cultivators, or at least, it is according to the education that I’ve received.”
Lu Yin muttered to himself, deep in thought. He had considered this before, and it was true that his strength was complex with many different techniques. However, there was nothing that he could do about it. He had not put much effort into improving his domain, and he had never specifically trained his physical strength either, but they had both been miraculously upgraded as he naturally cultivated. Lu Yin was quite helpless about the process, but of course, he enjoyed the results.
If he hadn’t been able to use his domain to sense Lan Si’s location during this battle, then Lu Yin would not have had enough time to react to the Arbiter’s sudden movements and seize the advantage. Having more varied fighting methods in battle was not necessarily bad, as they provided him with more flexible attack patterns.
Still, Lu Yin did not say any of this to Lan Si, as the Arbiter would not possibly believe Lu Yin. His abilities had been miraculously upgraded? Only a fool would believe that such things were possible.
“You said that you’re almost forty, but I’ve heard that two of the Ten Arbiters are already older than forty. Do you know which ones they are?” Lu Yin asked.
Lan Si replied, “Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix.”
Lu Yin was not surprised to hear that Xing Kai had already surpassed forty years of age, as his appearance looked like a fifty year old’s. On the other hand, judging by his appearance, Serati Phoenix did not look older than forty at all.
Still, it was quite normal for a cultivator’s age to be drastically different from what age they physically appeared to be.
“What’ll happen when the Ten Arbiters surpass the age limit?” Lu Yin asked.
Lan Si set the wine pot down. “What do you think?”
Lu Yin shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
Lan Si thought about it and then replied, “We’ll see if anyone can replace them.” After saying that, he looked at Lu Yin and commented, “Your position right now is pretty awkward.”
Lu Yin also had thought about this, as his strength was strong enough to replace either Xing Kai or Serati Phoenix. If anyone wanted to use age as an excuse to remove them from their positions, then Lu Yin would definitely be used in the negotiations.
Lu Yin did not have much of an impression of Xing Kai, but it was different for Serati Phoenix. Even though Lu Yin had never really encountered the Arbiter, just the Undying Bird’s reputation was enough to make people wary. The family’s ability to survive within Daynight Flowzone without caring much about what the Daynight clan thought was indicative of the Phoenix family’s strength.
Lan Si stared at the distant Astral River. He seemed to be speaking to both himself and Lu Yin as he said, “The Ten Arbiters are ten extraordinary people, and not a single one of us can be underestimated.”
Lu Yin’s heart twitched. “Have you traded blows with any of the other Arbiters?”
Lan Si thought about it and nodded. “Yes.”
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. “Who? And what was the outcome?”
Lan Si thought back, and his brows involuntarily rose up. “Wen Sansi, outcome-” He paused as he took a long drink of wine from the pot. “Lost.”
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. “How?”
Lan Si looked at him. “If you fight against him one day, you’ll understand what it truly means to be exasperated. Even if he just stands there and doesn’t attack you, you still won’t be able to think of winning.”
Lu Yin did not understand. “Unable to be attacked?”
Lan Si shook his head. “The one who can’t be attacked is Jin He. Wen Sansi is even more disgusting, and you’ll understand when you eventually face him. Actually, I didn’t exactly lose, but regardless, I can’t beat him.”
“Do you know about Jin He?” Lu Yin asked, his expression growing a bit colder.
Lan Si shook his head. “Not really. He usually seems pretty laid back, but he enjoys killing too much.”
The two chatted for a long time. By the end, Lan Si’s injuries had recovered a bit, and he was barely able to stand up.
“For our battle, I lost. According to our wager, from this day forward, the Mt. Stacks Dojo’s Lan family will unconditionally support you,” Lan Si solemnly said to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin grew emotional, as the Lan family’s strength was rather significant. Also, Lan Si was one of the Ten Arbiters. This meant that, before Lu Yin had even become an Arbiter himself, he was already able to influence one of the Ten Arbiters.
Lu Yin also stood up. The feeling in his left arm was slowly returning, and he was recovering from his other injuries as well.
Off in the distance, away from the ruins of Planet Fleabane, the crowd gradually dispersed. At the same time, the Great Eastern Alliance established a perimeter and prevented anyone from recording Lu Yin at this moment.
Lu Yin extended his hand towards Lan Si.
Lan Si smiled bitterly, but then he grabbed Lu Yin’s hand to stand up.
Upon seeing this, Elder Tie and the others approached the two, and Lan Baobao glared fiercely at Lu Yin, but she quickly looked at Lan Si with concern.
“Young Master, how are your injuries? Let’s go and get you treated first,” Elder Tie said.
Lan Si shook his head. “It’s not a big deal.”
Elder Tie was not reassured with Lan Si’s answer, and he quickly found a cultivator with an innate gift of healing to treat Lan Si.
Lan Si said, “Starting today, our Mt. Stacks Dojo will join the Great Yu Empire and unconditionally support Lu Yin.”
Elder Tie and the others fell silent, as they had all been aware of the wager.
Actually, they had never considered the possibility of their young master losing, and like Lan Si, they had only believed in his victory. Their mindset had matched the thoughts of most people in the universe, but ultimately, Lan Si had lost. Thus, it was difficult for them to accept the outcome since everything had happened so suddenly.
Lan Baobao glared at Lu Yin. “Did you use any dirty tricks?”
“Baobao, shut up!” Lan Si growled.
Lan Baobao was unsatisfied. “How could he win if he didn’t use any dirty tricks? You’re one of the Ten Arbiters!”
Lu Yin smiled and did not bicker with the girl. “Everyone, pack up for now. Actually, it’s not too bad to stay on Zenyu Star. I’ll make arrangements for everyone.”
Elder Tie and the others looked to Lan Si.
He nodded.
Lu Yin grew excited. With this group of experts from the Mt. Stacks Dojo staying on the planet, Zenyu Star’s safety was essentially guaranteed, especially since Elder Tie already had a power level of more than 300,000. The planet would be well protected now.
In the distance, various experts bowed to Lu Yin before leaving.
Lu Yin similarly expressed his thanks to the old woman and several other experts.
He was quite clear on his position. Even though he was the Outerverse Allied Forces’ Commander and the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, he still needed the support of the people. They had shown him enough face, and they were all experts as well. Even if these people left the Great Eastern Alliance, he would still have to show them an appropriate amount of respect.
After the battle, Lu Yin activated his gadget, and countless messages continued to pour in, each one congratulating him for defeating Lan Si.
Planet Fleabane had completely disappeared from the universe due to this battle, but its name would be forever recorded down in history.
Wendy Yushan moved over, and she looked at Lu Yin with concern.
Lu Yin’s gaze swept past her, and he saw that the Astral River’s energy was dissipating at an unprecedented speed. A gaseous energy was constantly being released that flooded space in a rarely seen cloud that billowed towards them.
Everyone stared at the Astral River, as if they were all forming a guess at something.
Lu Yin’s eyes went wide when he felt the spreading star energy sweep through the area. He activated the Cosmic Art and quickly began absorbing the energy as a vortex formed around him.
All of the cultivators in the area instinctively began to absorb the surging star energy.
Gradually, the star energy cloud swept by them, and the Astral River’s surging energy that had once connected heaven and earth and obstructed passage between the Outerverse and Innerverse vanished.
Lu Yin had known that this day would eventually come, but he had never expected that it would be so soon.
The Outerverse had been isolated from the Innerverse for eighty months. Eighty entire months had passed, which was six and a half years. Finally, the connection had been reestablished.
As the energy dissipated, the various strange fish that had once roamed the Astral River’s energy fell out, making for a magnificent sight. Some of the strange creatures’ rune lines even caused Lu Yin to shudder.
Fortunately, these creatures did not leave the Astral River, as that would be too terrifying.
Countless cultivators dashed toward the border of the Astral River.
Elder Tie and the others had complex expressions. Now that the Astral River had returned to its normal state, they would be able to return to the Starfall Sea. However, nobody knew what had happened to Grayweed Continent, not to mention Mt. Stacks Dojo.
“I might simply abdicate from the Ten Arbiters,” Lan Si suddenly mentioned, which caused a great number of gasps of surprise.
Lan Baobao felt aggrieved, as the Ten Arbiters were synonymous with unrivaled. A defeated Divine Fist would indeed find it hard to continue being an Arbiter, though he was still fully strong enough to remain an Arbiter.
“Young Master, the position of the Ten Arbiters was given by the Hall of Honor. Even if Lu-” Elder Tie caught himself before continuing, “Even if Alliance Leader Lu beat you, he cannot immediately become an Arbiter himself.”
Lan Si shook his head. “This is unrelated to this fight. Rather, it’s because the influence behind me has disappeared.”
Elder Tie and the others looked aggrieved, but they fell silent.
Lu Yin instantly understood. The Ten Arbiters represented more than ten inconceivably powerful youths—more importantly, the title represented the powers behind them.
Lan Si had represented Starfall Sea’s Grayweed Continent.
Grayweed Continent had been home to seventy two dojos and a dozen Enlighters. Besides Dojo Master Lan, there had also been Tian Yanzi, another Envoy, and that wasn’t even mentioning its unique geographic location. With this power supporting him, Lan Si had been able to become one of the Ten Arbiters, wielding matchless authority. Otherwise, just based on his power level, how could he be qualified to command the younger generation?
No matter how powerful Lan Si might be, he was still just a youth, and any random powerful member of the older generation from an Innerverse power would be able to erase him.
Becoming one of the Ten Arbiters who had the authority to make decisions required one to also have a powerful strength supporting them from behind.