Chapter 2241: Time Limit
Lu Yin watched as Prof. Wei’s expression quickly became one of great reverence. "Progenitor Hui."
Lu Yin’s brows rose high. "Progenitor Hui?"
Prof. Wei nodded. "Despite being unable to perform divinations of any kind, Progenitor Hui was still able to see through the ages and make plans eons into the future. I admire him more than anyone else, as his accomplishments changed all of history. I want to learn more about him. After all, it’s necessary to know everything that he did in order to have an understanding of human history."
"So Prof. Wei admires Progenitor Hui? I have to admit, I also admire Progenitor Hui a great deal," Lu Yin said.
Prof. Wei's eyes lit up. "Why do you look up to Progenitor Hui, Prof. Hao Yu?"
Lu Yin pointed towards the Mother Tree. "Ceaseless Impetus."
Prof. Wei looked positively thrilled by the answer. "I actually decided to learn about Progenitor Hui because of Ceaseless Impetus. I can’t even imagine what kind of person was able to create a sourcebox array that protects all of humanity. It’s even said that the Perennial World came into existence partly because of Progenitor Hui. His influence can be seen in every generation that’s lived since his time. When I visited the rear battlefield, there were countless people who admire Progenitor Hui there as well, though Aeternus’s monsters hate Progenitor Hui more than anything…"
It was readily apparent just how much Prof. Wei admired Progenitor Hui. As soon as Progenitor Hui was brought up, she did not stop talking until she had shared everything that she knew about the Progenitor. Lu Yin never even had a chance to interrupt.
Still, it was not entirely bad, as the woman’s monologue let Lu Yin know just how much Progenitor Hui had done for the Perennial World.
Lu Yin found Prof. Wei's excited expression to be quite amusing. He wondered what sort of expression she would make if she ever visited the Fifth Mainland and learned that Progenitor Chen had predicted events countless years into the future. He had even destroyed the Sixth Mainland without using a single soldier.
"Prof. Hao Yu, to tell you the truth, I’ve always had ulterior motives for approaching you." After Prof. Wei finally wound down after raving about Progenitor Hui for a while, she became a bit hesitant.
Lu Yin grew curious. "What sort of ulterior motives?"
"I want to become a Lockbreaker," Prof. Wei stated firmly as she looked back up at “Hao Yu.”
Lu Yin was surprised. "You want to learn to lockbreak?"
Prof. Wei nodded. "Progenitor Hui’s greatest accomplishment, aside from helping humanity stop Aeternus, has always been his sourcebox arrays, especially Ceaseless Impetus. He can be considered the greatest Lockbreaker in human history, and I don’t believe that anyone has ever surpassed him, even in the ancient eras predating Progenitor Hui. I want to learn lockbreaking so that I can understand Progenitor Hui even the tiniest bit more."
Lu Yin understood. "That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Both students and faculty are encouraged to learn from each other here in Virtue Archives. For example, I’ve asked Mr. Tang to help me improve my domain to the void god level. If you want to learn to lockbreak, I don’t have any problem helping you."
"Then thank you very much, Prof. Hao Yu." Prof. Wei smiled happily. This was the first time Lu Yin had seen such a radiant smile on the woman’s face. It made her look quite pretty.
"Given how much you admire Progenitor Hui, do you have any idea if he’s still alive?" Lu Yin asked.
Prof. Wei shook her head. "I’ve only been able to learn about Progenitor Hui's deeds through the commonly available methods. How could I learn anything about his current whereabouts? Still, I’ve always believed that Progenitor Hui is still alive."
"Why’s that?" Lu Yin asked.
"Progenitor Hui is just too intelligent. From everything that I’ve learned over the years about his accomplishments, he preferred to maintain control of things. I can’t help but believe that he must have wanted more control over his own life as well."
Maintain control over things? Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the seal that he had seen on the Royal Frost Continent. The seal could have only been left there by Progenitor Hui, but what had Progenitor Hui sealed away? There was a similar seal in the treasury of the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect that the Daynight clan had been protecting, and it had also been left behind by Progenitor Hui.
Given that Progenitor Hui had left some things behind in the Fifth Mainland, he might have also done so in the Perennial World.
Virtue Archives was very peaceful over the course of the following days, and none of the four ruling powers' various conflicts and turmoil spilled into the academy. Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan behaved the same as in the past.
After a few days, Lu Yin went to speak with Bai Weiwei. They once again discussed sourcebox arrays, though Lu Yin also took the opportunity to ask Bai Weiwei about what was happening within the four ruling powers.
He was surprised to learn that the four ruling powers believed that Forgotten Ruins God was the true culprit who had captured Xia Xing and the other patriarchs. This left Lu Yin rather confused; how had Forgotten Ruins God gotten involved?
He did not dare to ask Bai Weiwei for too many details, so instead, he asked Tong Yu to pay some information brokers outside Virtue Archives a visit. Through those channels, it only took a few days for Lu Yin to learn about the current situation.
He could not deny a certain level of admiration for the Celestial Frost Sect. They had successfully diverted an aggressive alliance formed by Shenwu's Sky, the Wang family, and the White Dragon Clan to Forgotten Ruins God, despite the fact that the woman had never even revealed herself. The sect had even revealed the fact that Forgotten Ruins God’s name was Wang Miaomiao, which helped win the trust of the angered parties. The Celestial Frost Sect had managed to successfully get out of trouble for the moment.
Lu Yin had no idea who had come up with the idea, but it practically mirrored what he had done to set Shenwu's Sky and the other three against the Celestial Frost Sect.
Lu Yin had unintentionally succeeded, and his plan had only worked because the four ruling parties did not trust each other at all.
As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they had been quite deliberate in their actions, but they had also succeeded.
Lu Yin had believed that he had never underestimated the four ruling powers, but he had also not paid much attention to what they were doing. After all, his innate gift was too bizarre and mysterious. Still, no matter how unique his abilities might be, there would always be someone who could counter him.
He was suddenly reminded of what Wang Zheng had said. The man had spoken with Long Ke about shifting the members of Star Alliance around so that, even if the Celestial Frost Sect managed to obtain the full restriction method, it would all be for naught if they could not find the people.
If Wang Zheng could come up with such an idea, then others in the four ruling powers could as well. Unfortunately, if they implemented that plan, Lu Yin’s efforts to obtain the four portions of the restriction method would be completely useless.
In the end, Lu Yin had simply been too impatient. This was an issue that he should have foreseen in the beginning, and he could only blame himself. After capturing Xia Xing's clone, Lu Yin had deliberately mentioned Star Alliance to Xia Ziheng, as Lu Yin had not been confident that the man could reach that conclusion without help. In hindsight, Lu Yin realized that he might have indicated his goals a bit too early.
Lu Yin smiled wryly. If people tried to act smart and outthink others, they were doomed to eventually be tricked by someone else.
He rubbed his head. These kinds of plots were not his strong suit. Wang Wen and Wei Rong were much better at such schemes. Again, Lu Yin regretted not bringing the two men with him.
However, regrets were useless. Instead, he needed to think about the worst-case scenario and how to handle it. The worst possibility would be if every member of Star Alliance was successfully gathered up and hidden. How should he deal with something like that?
Just as he started thinking about it, his communication crystal trembled. When Lu Yin looked down, he saw that Xia Ziheng was calling him.
As soon as a connection was established, Xia Ziheng started talking. "You should already have heard about what happened to our four ruling powers. Each of our sect masters or patriarchs have gone missing. I’ll offer you the promise that you asked for."
"Where is my grandfather?" Lu Yin asked.
"Yu Chuan is in Shenwu's Sky. You don’t need to worry about him, as he’s perfectly safe."
Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Shenwu’s Sky isn’t able to control Star Alliance. How can I be sure that my grandfather won’t be sent on some sort of mission that will kill him?"
"He won't."
"Why should I trust you?" Lu Yin retorted.
Xia Ziheng's voice turned cold. "No one from Star Alliance will be sent on any missions for the time being. Yu Chuan won’t be leaving Shenwu's Sky."
Before Lu Yin could say anything, Xia Ziheng continued to say, "I’ll say it again: Yu Chuan won’t be leaving Shenwu's Sky for now, and there’s no point in having anyone try to take him away. I don't care what conditions the Celestial Frost Sect have offered you—Shenwu's Sky is your only option if you ever want to see Yu Chuan again. I’ve run out of patience to deal with you. When Virtue Archives’ students arrive at Shenwu's Sky for training, you’ll have to give your answer."
The call cut off abruptly.
Everything happening within the four ruling powers left Xia Ziheng with no energy left to deal with “Yu Hao.” The Semi-Progenitor simply wanted to settle things as quickly as possible, and Yu Chuan was the most reliable method to force “Yu Hao” into joining Shenwu’s Sky.
As for Lu Yin, he also obtained the information that he had been wondering about. Xia Ziheng said that no one from Star Alliance would be given any missions for some time, and with what else Lu Yin knew, the situation was quite clear: everyone in Star Alliance had been hidden. It was impossible to gather all the members together if they were not deployed. At the moment, it was safest for the four ruling powers to not allow Star Alliance out of their sight.
Shenwu's Sky had pieced the events together and had come to the conclusion that the Celestial Frost Sect was the most likely culprit. As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they knew that someone else was behind the kidnappings. However, the only thing that anyone knew for certain was that someone was targeting Star Alliance. So naturally, the army of Envoys had to be rendered inaccessible.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered as his mind raced, trying to think of how he could gather the members of Star Alliance back together. This would absolutely be far more difficult than his first accomplishment.
Now that the four ruling powers knew that someone was trying to seize control of Star Alliance, how could they allow the army to gather in one place?
Lu Yin quickly grew more and more irritated by this development. Finally, he left his residence in an attempt to calm himself down.
Things were very energetic in Virtue Archives at this time, as the students had started to tally their votes in an attempt to see who would be selected as the chaperones for the training excursion.
"Hey! Hey! Listen up!" A few students by the lake shore were shouting, and many others had gathered to watch.
"From the votes that we’ve counted so far, there are four professors that seem to be the most likely options. We need to choose three out of these four. The options are Prof. Wu, Mr. Tang, Prof. Hao Yu, and Professor Xiao Wen,” one student announced.
Everyone else immediately started chatting.
"I’m voting for Prof. Wu, Prof. Hao Yu, and Prof. Zheng," one shy girl stated.
A boy next to the girl gritted his teeth. "I’m voting for Professor Xiao Wen, Prof. Wei, and Prof. Zheng."
"I’m voting for…"
Upon seeing all the hubbub, Lu Yin did not approach the students. However, he did see a rather upset looking Prof. Huai in a tree behind the students. The man had heard that the students were tallying their votes at the lake shore, so he had stopped by to eavesdrop on them. The fact that the man had not received so much as a single vote was a vicious blow to his pride.
When Lu Yin saw Prof. Huai, he moved over to say hello, but Prof. Huai just silently waved and fled.
Lu Yin laughed.
Prof. Zheng appeared behind Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, you’ll definitely be one of the chaperones leading the students on this trip. Congratulations."
Lu Yin glanced over and smiled "Prof. Zheng, it’s still too early. After all, there are four candidates that the students are choosing from."
Prof. Zheng teased, "You’ve brought more girls than ever into our school, so you’re also quite popular with the boys."
The man seldom showed any sense of humor, so Lu Yin assumed that the older man was mocking him.
"Many students have also voted for you, Prof. Zheng," Lu Yin said.
Before the man could respond, a fight broke out between some of the students. "You muscle-brain! Didn't you vote for Prof. Zheng just because of how beautiful Prof. Hao Yu is? There’s no competition between the two at all! You guys are such hypocrites!
"You’re the hypocrites! It doesn’t matter who gets chosen, and besides, both Prof. Wu and Prof. Hao Yu look like women."
"That’s right! No one has the muscles to compare to Prof. Zheng."
"Muscles make a real man."
Lu Yin quickly grew embarrassed, and Prof. Zheng was left completely speechless. "It's getting too noisy here. Let’s finish our conversation somewhere else."
Lu Yin nodded. He had no idea what the students were even thinking about, but they clearly did not check to see who was in the area before speaking.
Once the two men were away from the students, Prof. Zheng asked, "Are you familiar with the academy’s previous training excursions, Prof. Hao Yu?"
Lu Yin shook his head. "No one’s told me anything about that."
Prof. Zheng said, "You’re most likely going to be one of the chaperones this time. I’ve got a bit of time right now, so why don’t I explain it to you?"
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