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The fighting had gone on for several months now, and the intense war had led to countless deaths. This was the first time the border defense had attempted any sort of counterattack, and it had achieved great success.
News of the events spread all throughout the Outerverse, where countless people were elated at the defenders’ success. Although many did not even know who the Outerverse was fighting against, their victory was all that mattered.
In particular, all six of the lavazones heaved massive sighs of relief.
They had been suppressed too thoroughly in this war; even when the Outerverse’s entire strength had been brought to bear, they had not been able to gain any sort of reprieve. But at this moment, they could finally relax a little.
The one who had achieved the greatest contribution at this time was naturally the Arrow Mountain Elder. He had been the one to implement the plan, and he had also taken the risk of venturing deep into enemy territory with only a narrow chance of escape. Following him was Lu Yin, who had not only provided the plan, but also the blood-red bell. Without that bell, there would have been no chance of success.
He had also provided the poison, and suddenly, after Lu Yin’s contributions were tallied up, he received the honor of meeting with Yuan Shi.
Before this battle, Lu Yin had never met Yuan Shi, as the plan had been passed on by the Arrow Mountain Elder, and the Arrow Mountain Elder had also personally handed the blood-red bell over to Yuan Shi.
With the success of the plan, they had managed to cause the Sixth Mainland to suffer heavy losses, and Yuan Shi was now finally meeting with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin had only ever seen Yuan Shi from afar before, and he had never been able to see the powerhouse clearly. Yuan Shi always seemed to be surrounded by an invisible barrier that prevented others from seeing him clearly. However, when he met the elder, Lu Yin was able to get a clear view of the man.
Yuan Shi looked like a benevolent elder who did not seem too intimidating, though that might have partly been due to how gently he treated Lu Yin. Regardless, in Lu Yin’s eyes, Yuan Shi looked more like an average commoner than an absolute powerhouse.
“Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Yuan Shi.” Lu Yin bowed respectfully.
Yuan Shi smiled slightly. “Little fellow, you are pretty decent. You may stand.”
Lu Yin raised himself up and looked at Yuan Shi curiously. Up till now, Yuan Shi was quite likely the strongest person whom Lu Yin had ever met. Lu Yin was not certain what level Mister Mu had reached, and the Sea King most likely had a power level similar to the Arrow Mountain Elder’s, which meant that he definitely could not compare to Yuan Shi. This elder’s power level was at least 800,000.
Lu Yin shuddered just at the thought of a power level of 800,000. Lu Yin blinked. He could at best rival experts whose power levels were a bit higher than 100,000, and with his secret technique, he was likely to survive against a cultivator with a power level of 200,000. With his external items, he was able to stay alive when faced with Enlighters with power levels of 300,000. However, all of that was entirely too far from a power level of 800,000.
The border warfront in Endless Weave was completely different from the one in Ironblood Weave that Lu Yin had participated in. This time, he had not exerted too much effort from start to finish, and he had been more of a spectator.
Yuan Shi sized Lu Yin up and down, and then appreciatively commented, “Little fellow, even if someone told me that you came from the Neoverse, I would believe them. It’s strange for the Outerverse to give birth to a genius like you.”
Lu Yin hurriedly replied, “Junior doesn’t actually know my own origins. It’s possible that I may have been born outside of the Outerverse.”
When facing Yuan Shi, Lu Yin did not dare conceal such a detail, as his secrets had already been exposed by Wei Rong.
Yuan Shi was puzzled by this response. “You don’t know where you come from?”
Lu Yin nodded. “There are holes in Junior’s memories.”
Yuan Shi nodded. “If that’s the case, then if you are willing, I can help you take a look.”
Lu Yin hurriedly replied, “There’s no need for me to trouble Yuan Shi. My master has already taken a look.”
He did not want others to pry into his memories, regardless of whether it was Yuan Shi or Mister Mu. His die’s existence was his greatest secret, and even if he did not understand how powerful Mister Mu and Yuan Shi were, in the depths of his heart, he still felt that the die was more powerful than either of them. In fact, he would feel the same even if confronted with a Progenitor.
His die was truly too mysterious, and the best example of that was that the die had stolen the blood-red bell from the Chief Justice, whose strength was no lower than Yuan Shi’s at the very least.
Yuan Shi was curious. “Who is your Master?”
Lu Yin was placed in a difficult position. “Master has instructed Junior not to tell anyone, so I ask Yuan Shi to please forgive me.”
Yuan Shi smiled. “No matter. There are many people like that, and the universe does not lack for hermit experts.”
Yuan Shi then took out the blood-red bell and returned it to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin quickly accepted it.
“If not for this, things would have been very dangerous this time.” Yuan Shi sighed.
Lu Yin’s expression betrayed his nervousness. He had actually stolen this bell, and he was worried that his lies had been seen through!
“Keep it. There’s no need to be nervous. Since he gave it to you, I won’t ask anything further. Perhaps he has some sort of expectation for you, and your missing memories may also be related to him,” Yuan Shi commented.
Lu Yin knew that Yuan Shi was talking about the Chief Justice, and he realized that Yuan Shi had misunderstood the reason behind his unease. He hurriedly stored the blood-red bell away and heaved a sigh of relief.
“Little fellow, during this war, your contributions have been extremely impressive. What do you want?” Yuan Shi smiled gently at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin righteously responded, “Protecting the human race is Junior’s duty.”
Yuan Shi was amused at such a response. “Contributions will still be justly rewarded.”
Lu Yin was torn, as he truly did not know what he should request from Yuan Shi. From such a powerhouse, it would be too coarse to just ask for money. But what other things were possible? Lu Yin could not think of anything at this moment.
Yuan Shi looked at Lu Yin for a while and then smiled. “You may take your leave for now and tell me when you think of something. If the war continues in the near future, then you may need to lend me your bell to use.”
This sentence made Lu Yin confident that Yuan Shi could not match up to the Chief Justice, or else he would not need to borrow the Chief Justice’s emblem.
“Yuan Shi, how about this: Junior will leave this bell with you,” Lu Yin carefully offered.
Yuan Shi thought about it, but then he shook his head. “You can leave now.”
Lu Yin could not understand what Yuan Shi was thinking, but Lu Yin did not dig any further. He simply left after bidding the old man farewell.
As he watched Lu Yin’s retreating figure, Yuan Shi fell deep into thought. Missing memories, emblem, origin, Lu surname—what does he want, exactly? To give someone with a primeval surname his emblem does not seem like his style. Or, could it be…?
No matter what Yuan Shi’s guesses were, he could have never suspected that Lu Yin had stolen the bell, as that was simply impossible in his mind. The Chief Justice of the Hall of Honor’s Interstellar Supreme Court was shrouded in fog at all times, and nobody was able to fully understand the man. Not even a powerhouse with a power level of 1,000,000 could steal something from that man.
No more than a few days later, Elder Daggs unexpectedly sought out Lu Yin to enquire about the poison.
Lu Yin was surprised. “Was the poison effective?”
Elder Daggs exclaimed, “It wasn’t just merely effective! Even powerhouses with power levels of 300,000 were unlucky. That poison has a corrosive effect against humans, machines, and everything it touches. It also affects the arrowheads greatly, so they have to be shot out immediately after the poison is applied. Otherwise, the poison will also completely corrode the arrows.”
Lu Yin finally understood.
“Do you still have any other such poisons?” Elder Daggs asked anxiously.
This sort of poison was capable of dealing huge damage to the Technocracy’s androids and all sorts of firearms. It could be used in this war as well as in all future wars.
Lu Yin awkwardly answered, “Elder, you guys have not paid the debt for the poisons that were given last time.”
Elder Daggs glared fiercely at the youth. “Are you selling the poison?”
Lu Yin choked; why did it sound like he was being scolded?
“Elder, I have an insignificant background, and nobody provides me with resources. It wasn’t easy for me to even obtain these poisons, and you should know their value. Junior cannot possibly be extending myself so far for free,” Lu Yin awkwardly explained.
Elder Daggs coughed, but he also agreed. After thinking about it, he said, “Your contributions this time were great. They helped bring about the deaths of the Sixth Mainland’s Imprinters as well as altered the regular battlefield. Thus, it’s difficult to estimate the full value of your contributions. Yuan Shi intended to give you your rewards himself, but of course, as the overall commander of the border, I must also express my gratitude. Your military contributions are not that easily calculated, so let’s settle things with an exchange.” He then tossed Lu Yin a cosmic ring. “You can consider your poisons as being purchased by the Hall of Honor.”
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. Since the Hall of Honor was the one purchasing the poisons, then the payment should be quite extravagant. He thought about it before checking the cosmic ring, but once he did, his breath slowed for a moment; there were almost two million star essence within the ring.
“Elder, this is?” Lu Yin grew a little excited.
Elder Daggs said, “Your bottle of poison was strong enough to threaten powerhouses with a power level of 300,000, and its value should be close to one million star essence. There’s enough star essence in that ring to buy another bottle as well.”
Lu Yin was disappointed, as he had thought that everything in the ring was just for one bottle, but it turned out that he had gotten all excited for nothing.
Still, the payment was pretty decent, as one vial of poison had cost him around 600,000 star essence to upgrade, which he had then sold for one million. His revenue nearly doubled his initial investment, which was a great profit.
He could understand this from the Hall of Honor’s position, as they were generous when they acted.
“How many more such poisons do you have?” Elder Daggs asked.
Lu Yin thought about it. “Three more.”
Elder Daggs was surprised. “Rumors have it that Frostwave Weave’s Lu's Grand Auction frequently sells goods that are beyond the imagination of normal people. It turns out that the rumors are true. Not bad, little fellow. Your destiny is pretty good.”
He then passed Lu Yin another cosmic ring that held an additional two million star essence. “We’ll take all of them.”
Lu Yin’s eyes became luminous. “This is very impressive, elder.”
Elder Daggs smiled. “Pass them over.”
Lu Yin awkwardly replied, “Could you wait a while? I’ll deliver them to you in a few days.”
Elder Daggs found the request to be rather strange, but he still nodded. “Sure. Ah, right. If you have anything else that can be used on this battlefield, then sell it all to me, and we won’t buy it at a low price.”
With that, the Border Commander vanished.
Lu Yin felt that he had found a VIP client.
To a super-grade colossal organization like the Hall of Honor, star essence were just numbers, much the same as the Mavis Bank.
He suddenly felt that this Elder Daggs was much more pleasing to the eye than Elder Lohar.
At this moment, Lu Yin’s liquid assets amounted to nearly five million star essence. Lu Yin’s breathing quickened; once he had the right materials, he would be able to upgrade his universal armor’s defensive capabilities to the point where it could even protect him from an Envoy! Once that happened, would he be able to step onto the battlefield with Envoys?
There was an explosion in the distance, as a ruined android had suddenly self-destructed. It did not cause much damage, but the sound still jolted Lu Yin awake.
He had been too pleased with himself and had completely been absorbed in his daydreams. So what if he could defend against attacks with a power level of 500,000? Wouldn’t he still just be a target in that case? Others would be able to casually capture him and take him away. Also, it still remained to be seen whether or not the Yu Secret Art could divert Envoy-grade attacks. Either way, it would be useless even if he could divert such attacks. He recalled the helplessness he had felt back in the Daosource Sect's ruins when he had faced Nightking Zhenwu. Even Nightking Zhenwu had been able to easily overcome the threat of the Yu Secret Art, let alone Envoy-level powerhouses.
Lu Yin had lost himself in his daydreams, and that wouldn’t do. He had to be more cautious.
Five million star essence. How could he best use this newfound wealth? Lu Yin felt as though he were walking on air with the wind accompanying every step he took. He was too rich at this moment. He was truly too wealthy.
Just one counterattack had allowed the border to temporarily regain its peace. The Technocracy’s side had been reinforced by countless androids and firearms, but their intention was not to resume the invasion. They had all been sent there to shore up the Technocracy’s defenses.
Because of the Sixth Mainland’s invasion, a majority of the Outerverse’s powerhouses had gathered at the border, and there were enough of them that the Technocracy might not be able to withstand a focused invasion. This was especially true due to Yuan Shi’s presence, and he had caused the Technocracy to become panicked.
The forces at the border, combined with Lu Yin’s poisons, had forced the Technocracy off of the position of invaders and into becoming the defenders.