Chapter 2574: Bounty List
Xu Xiangyin's question left Lu Yin even more puzzled. "Senior, why would such a precious seat be offered as a reward for a trial for the Sixverse Academy's students?"
Xu Xiangyin shook his head. "I myself don’t know the answer to that. I asked Senior Xu Wuwei, and he told me that anything involving the Origin Universe cannot be understood with normal reasoning. He also mentioned that the Cyclic Universe’s Sage Yuan has visited the Origin Universe on several occasions and that he has some sort of conflict with a man named Lu Yin. This Lu Yin refused to enter the war against Aeternus. This trial itself might be a sign of the Great Sovereign's intent to move against the Origin Universe."
Lu Yin felt a tremendous weight settle onto his heart. The tea ceremony seats were extremely significant, but one was being offered up as a reward for a trial.
"Who is supposed to be caught?" Lu Yin asked.
Xu Xiangyin pulled out a list that he handed to Lu Yin. "As long as the trial participants succeed in capturing someone on this list, they will have successfully completed the trial and will be rewarded accordingly. The top three people on that list represent tea ceremony seats. Capturing any one of them will earn you a seat. If all three are caught by different people, then there will be another method to determine who is granted the seat."
As Lu Yin studied the list, his expression subtly changed. From top to bottom, he saw the names of Lei Qingqing, Highsage Leon, Wendy Yushan, You Ling, the Impure Brothers, Luo Shen, Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, Xu San, Ku Wei, Mira, and several others. Every single name belonged to someone that Lu Yin knew. Some were regarded as family, others as friends, while some simply had business ties with him.
Given the detail of the list, it had clearly been compiled by someone closely connected to Lu Yin, or it might be the results of an in-depth investigation conducted by the Sixverse Association.
What was the point of this trial? Vengeance? Some scheme concocted by Sage Yuan? Even so, how could Sage Yuan arrange for the trial to award a seat at the Great Sovereign's tea ceremony?
"This trial is not particularly dangerous, since each of you students will have a Lotus Artifact to protect you, though those won't be of much help in completing the trial. I don't believe that the people of the Origin Universe will dare to actually harm any of you. Lu Yin won’t dare to offend the entire Sixverse Association. For all of these reasons, I hope that you do participate. Even if you are not able to get a seat at the tea ceremony, if you can bring back someone on that list, I can recommend you to Senior Xu Wuwei. There might even be a chance for you to listen to the Great Sovereign’s teachings. 9,990,000 people are granted such an opportunity, so you might be able to be included among them," Xu Xiangyin said.
Lu Yin put away the list and earnestly replied to the old man, "I understand, Senior. I'll do my best to capture the people on this list during the trial."
Xu Xiangyin looked quite satisfied. "Don't try to force things. After all, that place has peak powerhouses. For now, go rest. You'll be leaving in no more than five days."
"Yes, Senior," Lu Yin replied.
Shi Jiao was not in the Cyclic School, or else she would have greeted Xuan Qi soon after his return.
Lu Yin sat in a pavilion, staring at a waterfall in front of him, lost in thought.
The Sixverse Association was being more aggressive than he had anticipated. He had expected Sage Yuan to try to deal with him, which was why Lu Yin had returned to the Sixverse Academy so quickly with his identity as Xuan Qi. His primary goal was to gain a greater understanding of the Sixverse Association, find the means to deal with Sage Yuan, and make various preparations. It was completely unexpected for the Sixverse Association to move so swiftly.
Even so, their first move was nothing more than a trial for youths. The cultivation of the people on the capture list were not particularly high, as the strongest was Highsage Leon. Not a single person had a power level of even one million.
With energy converters, it would be easy for Shao Qingfeng and several of the other students to exceed the power levels of everyone on the bounty list.
As long as a Semi-Progenitor level powerhouse was not involved, the trial would not have drawn Lu Yin’s attention. If he had not returned to the Sixverse Academy so quickly, several people would have likely been captured before he realized, which would have placed him in a reactive position.
A cold light flickered across Lu Yin's eyes. He was not worried about the trial. Despite the fact that the reward of a seat at the upcoming tea ceremony would spur many students into participating, as long as the trial was conducted in the Fifth Mainland, the students would not pose any real threat. Rather, what concerned Lu Yin was the open hostility that the Sixverse Association held for the Fifth Mainland. This was a continuation of hatred that originated from the Heavens Sect era, only combined with a feeling of indifference.
Several times, Xu Xiangyin had claimed that Lu Yin would not harm the students who traveled to the Origin Universe. From the Sixverse Association’s perspective, the Origin Universe had long since fallen into decay, and Lu Yin was a minor threat that could be easily dealt with at any time.
It was even possible that Xu Xiangyin regarded the Origin Universe as no different from the Cloudflow Universe. This likely reflected the popular opinion of the people of the Sixverse Association.
Since Lu Yin had become aware of the trial, how should he respond to it? Dealing with the students would be a breeze for him, and their Lotus Artifacts would not be enough to protect them. However, what would happen afterwards? The next people sent to the Origin Universe might be at the Semi-Progenitor level, or even Progenitor level. The Sixverse Association had no shortage of such powerhouses.
Lu Yin spent a day sitting in the pavilion, alone and mulling over things. The following day, Shi Hong and Zuo Yu unexpectedly arrived.
"Xuan Qi?" Both of them were surprised to see Xuan Qi.
Lu Yin responded with a slight smile, "What a coincidence."
"Coincidence? I thought that you were here because you also received the news," Shi Hong said, puzzled.
Lu Yin looked at her, confused. "What news?"
"News of the trial," Shi Hong elaborated, her eyes bright as she looked at Lu Yin. "Many of us will be going to the Origin Universe for the trial. There are quite a few bounties. Since it's an unfamiliar place, everyone’s decided to gather here first and select their targets so that we can avoid infighting."
Nodding, Lu Yin said, "That’s quite a coincidence."
Then turning to Zuo Yu, he asked, "Are you also going?"
Zuo Yu irritably replied, "Anyone who’s passed a school’s requirements is allowed to participate."
Shi Hong stepped forward. "Xuan Qi, who will you be targeting?"
Lu Yin replied, "Naturally, I'm going for the top three."
Zuo Yu looked surprised. "You're going after the top three?"
Shi Hong chimed in, "The top three are Lei Qingqing, Highsage Leon, and Wendy Yushan. Which one do you plan on capturing?"
Lu Yin shook his head. "I don't really know anything about any of them, so I’ll decide who to target after I get to the Origin Universe and find out more about where they are."
"These people aren’t individuals that you can target just based on how close they are," a voice spoke up from a distance. Luo Zang had arrived.
The three turned towards where he was approaching, seeing several people following as well. From a different direction, Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, and Mu Mu were also arriving, along with several strangers that Lu Yin had never met before. Each of the individuals had a similar level of cultivation to Shao Qingfeng and the others, and they also had people following them. Clearly, several teams had already been formed.
Once Luo Zang drew closer, he said, "The Origin Universe isn't weak. If we scatter aimlessly, we’ll risk being exposed and surrounded by the people there. That's why we’re gathering here. We need to discuss our targets."
Shi Hong and Zuo Yu stepped back, silently acknowledging that the people who were gathering were not individuals whom they could afford to offend. They moved behind He Shu, which made sense, as they were all from the Transcendent Universe.
Xu Ji also arrived. He glanced at Xuan Qi before focusing on Luo Zang. "There's nothing to discuss. Everyone is naturally going to aim for the top three. With so many people participating, how are we supposed to split the different targets?"
Shao Qingfeng nonchalantly replied, "The targets should be assigned based on cultivation level."
Xu Yue popped out from behind Xu Ji. "This is a trial set up by the Sixverse Academy. There's no reason for any discussion. We should just get on with things, and whoever catches the targets will prove their ability."
He Shu laughed. "As I've mentioned before, randomly capturing people will only alert the Origin Universe. If we are surrounded, or possibly even betrayed by one of our own, none of us will succeed. The trial is just one aspect of this task, but this is all unquestionably related to Senior Sage Yuan. I've visited the Origin Universe once before, and that Lu Yin is quite audacious."
"Audacious? Heh, I like audacious people." A burly man clenched his fists. "It's just a pity that Lu Yin isn't on the list. It would be great if we could catch him too."
He Shu's eyes flickered. "Lu Yin is able to fight against Senior Sage Yuan."
His previous threats against Lu Yin had been nothing more than posturing merely for show, a gesture to assert his stance in front of Sage Yuan. He wasn't a fool—he recognized the great chasm between their abilities. Thus, upon returning, he had always considered Lu Yin his hypothetical enemy.
The burly man fell silent. Sage Yuan was one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. That was not a level that any student could contend with.
"Everyone on this list has to have some sort of connection to that Lu Yin, right? I never imagined that even Senior Sage Yuan would resort to capturing people just to threaten someone," a petite, adorable-looking girl with completely white eyes commented. Her appearance was rather unique, as even her hair had a bit of white to it, though it was also readily evident that she was extraordinarily intelligent.
He Shu looked at the girl. "Le Le, how do you think we should divide up the listed targets?"
The girl absentmindedly toyed with her with her white-ish hair, creating an even bigger mess of it. She looked as though she had not groomed herself in months. "I don't know. I don't like talking to you."
He Shu's eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, Xu Yue reached over and grabbed Le Le's hair. The girl let out a startled yelp, which in turn, also startled Xu Yue.
"Le Le, what are you doing?"
"Yue Yue, what are you doing?"
"I was looking for you."
"You scared me!"
"You scared me too!"
Xu Ji was left speechless by the exchange. "Le Le, everyone here regards you as the smartest of us all. What do you think we should do?"
Le Le blinked, her eyes somehow becoming even whiter. "Well, just capture whoever’s closest to each of us."
Everyone rolled their eyes.
Luo Zang posed a question. "We'll all arrive in the same location, so if we seize whoever’s closest, won't we just end up all targeting the same person?"
Le Le retorted, "That's just stupid. We know nothing about that universe, so of course the first thing that we need to do is spread out and learn about the situation there. When the time comes, then we can just capture whoever’s closest to us. Also-"
She paused to scratch her head, causing white bits to scatter from her hair. Xu Yue shrieked in horror and quickly retreated far away. "Le Le, you're disgusting!"
Le Le looked down at her hand, and then smugly asked, "Disgusting? It's not like you've never eaten this before."
Xu Yue's eyes went wide with shock. "When have I ever eaten that?"
Le Le smirked. "Do you remember the snack that I gave you three months ago? You certainly seemed to enjoy it quite a bit."
Xu Yue blanched. "Don't tell me..."
Le Le nodded. "Yep. I made it from this."
Everyone instinctively backed away, all of their faces showing disbelief when they looked at Le Le and sympathy when they looked at Xu Yue.
Xu Yue screamed in disgust, "Le Le, I'll kill you!"
She lunged at Le Le, who instantly fled. The two quickly disappeared from the gathering.
He Shu gave a small chuckle. "Everyone, don't take Le Le too seriously. She's always like this."
Shao Qingfeng added, "She thinks that this discussion is just a waste of her time."
Xu Ji countered, "Isn't it, though? Even if we decide on our targets, who here will willingly give up on an opportunity to capture someone higher on the list? Even if it’s only a one-in-a-billion chance, all of us would readily stake everything for the chance to win a seat at the Great Sovereign's tea ceremony. Given our strength, capturing the people on this list is not really the challenge. The real challenge is the race to see who gets there first."
"Then why are we wasting our breath on this nonsense?" Mu Mu frowned.
Shao Qingfeng explained, "We're here to caution everyone. The Origin Universe may not be formidable, but it's also not weak. We need to completely avoid the Heavens Sect."
He Shu chimed in, "That's the exact reason why we've gathered here, to avoid the Heavens Sect. No one is allowed to go anywhere near that place.
“Also, one more thing: betraying each other, even at the brink of death, is forbidden. Anyone who dares to do so will not be spared if they return alive.”
"Whoever we manage to capture will ultimately depend on our own abilities," the burly man declared.
"If we capture someone, won't that make them a subhuman?" a voice suddenly piped up.
"Those on that list are already all considered subhuman," Luo Zang stated coldly.
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