Chapter 2575: Hostages
He Shu lifted his head and proclaimed, "The day I become a peak powerhouse, even Lu Yin will be nothing more than a subhuman."
Shao Qingfeng chuckled. "That day will come. Our Cyclic Universe will conquer the Origin Universe and punish them for offending us. We’ll start by targeting those close to Lu Yin. It will be a unique experience for him to watch his loved ones being sold off as subhumans."
"Haha, I'm really looking forward to it."
"We are the first class from the Sixverse Association’s Sixverse Academy to integrate the power of the six universes. In the future, there is no doubt that we will ascend to the top echelons of the association. Conquering the Origin Universe shall be our goal. What do you say?"
"Sounds good. I'm in."
"I'm in as well."
...
"Xuan Qi, what about you?" someone asked.
Shao Qingfeng and the others looked over.
As everyone stared at him, Lu Yin chuckled. "Sure."
He Shu arched a brow. He was the only one present who was aware that Xuan Qi was also from the Origin Universe. He Shu found Xuan Qi's smile incomprehensible. Was the man really laughing? About what? After all, the Origin Universe was also his universe.
No one had any idea what Lu Yin was laughing about, as he had just released a genuine, heartfelt laugh.
Given what was happening, he would not have any lack of motivation to pursue vengeance for the Lu family.
ver the next two days, all of the participating students gathered near the pavilion to wait. Soon, a woman named Yuan Qiunan arrived. She was one of Sage Yuan’s disciples.
"I overheard some discussion about conquering the Origin Universe. Allow me, Yuan Qiunan, to congratulate you all in advance on your success." Yuan Qiunan happily greeted the students upon arriving.
The students responded modestly, "Sister Qiunan is flattering us. Our skills are not much, and we were just chatting about our dreams for the future."
Yuan Qiunan continued, "My master has heard of your ambition and is quite satisfied. He sent me here to provide you with some information regarding the Origin Universe in hopes that it might aid you in your trial."
The crowd was overjoyed. "Many thanks to Senior Sage Yuan. With this, we won't need to waste time investigating."
"Thank you, Senior."
"Thank you, Senior."
Some time later, Yuan Qiunan left, though not before expressing her satisfaction with everyone's attitude yet again. The students grew increasingly confident about Sage Yuan's, or perhaps the entire Cyclic Universe's, disdain for the Origin Universe. The youths’ contempt for the Origin Universe also grew more evident in their words, as did their hostility towards Lu Yin.
Lu Yin also received the delivered information, and he proceeded to calmly review it.
It was very detailed information, as each person on the bounty list had their location listed, their cultivation level, and even their battle techniques.
Essentially, the students had been given a guidebook for their trial.
It was not actually a trial at all, but rather a kidnapping operation that was targeting Lu Yin.
He Shu approached Xuan Qi and whispered, "Don't even touch the top three. Regardless of whether you are capable of capturing them, the other students won't be polite if they notice what you’re doing. Be careful."
Lu Yin did not reply, and he just watched as He Shu walked away. He had likely delivered a warning from He Ran. She cared about Xuan Qi because of Zi Jing.
While the students were caught up in discussing who they would capture, Lu Yin left.
The day of the trial finally arrived, and everyone was gathered in outer space. Their escort was an unknown Semi-Progenitor-level expert from the Cyclic Universe whom they learned was under Sage Yuan's command.
The escort soon arrived, and when he raised a hand, several palm-sized power vessels that looked like glass lotuses flew out and into the hands of the gathered students.
Lu Yin caressed the Lotus Artifact that he had been given. It was a power vessel that had been created by Sovereign Nine Lotus, and it was capable of directly transporting him to the Sixverse Academy.
"These Lotus Artifacts can spare you from death once. Use them only as your final resort. Also, these are intended as rewards for participating in this trial. You are not required to return the Lotus Artifacts even if you still have one when the trial ends," the Semi-Progenitor stated.
The students were ecstatic, as they had each essentially been granted an extra life.
Lu Yin carefully stored his Lotus Artifact while glancing covetously at the other students. He wanted all of the Lotus Artifacts.
The unknown Semi-Progenitor tore through the void and led the students away. A single step delivered them to the Fifth Mainland.
Lu Yin looked around. Were they at the edge of the Astral River now? The bank that he saw off in the distance looked familiar.
Seeing that the Sixverse Association could freely enter and leave the Fifth Mainland greatly worried Lu Yin. He had no idea how many coordinate seals they might have planted within the Fifth Mainland.
Coordinate seals were unique to Aeternus, and the Sixverse Association could only acquire them by stealing them from the Aeternals.
Coordinate seals acted as beacons to specific spatial coordinates, which allowed people from other parallel universes to find a targeted universe. At the same time, the seals quite literally sealed off small areas.
It was not impossible for parallel universes to intersect. An example of this was how the Fifth Mainland and the Three Monarchs Universe met at the base of the Tower of Resonating Light. Long ago, Gu Yue had managed to seal that connection by using a coordinate seal that he had somehow obtained.
Lu Yin yearned to obtain numerous coordinate seals, as that would enable him to freely travel between parallel universes.
He suddenly thought of Jiang Chen. How had that guy visited Earth on multiple occasions? He had mentioned that his father was something of a powerhouse, and there was also that lightning rabbit that Jiang Chen had been persistently hunting.
The more Lu Yin learned about parallel universes, the more intrigued he became with Jiang Chen. If only he could find that man again.
Additionally, there was also Lu Yin’s own acquired innate gift of space. It was possible that it would one day allow him to freely roam about parallel universes in the same manner as the big tree.
"Everyone, I believe that all of you are aware of the information provided by Senior Sage Yuan regarding this place and your targets. Be extremely cautious and act within your limits," Shao Qingfeng said. His gaze briefly rested on Lu Yin before the young man left.
Luo Zang, He Shu, and the others followed suit, each leaving on their own.
With the information that the students had been provided, they had a general idea of the targets’ locations. All they needed to do was confirm that information.
Lu Yin was confident that the majority of the students would make their way to the Cosmic Sea. Of the top three names on the bounty list, two of the people could be found in the Cosmic Sea: Highsage Leon and Lei Qingqing.
As everyone dispersed, Shi Hong led Zuo Yu away.
Noticeably, Seruzen was missing from the trial.
Jiang Xiaodao was acting unusually subdued, and he seemed lost in thought.
Lu Yin left the others without attracting any attention. Despite Xuan Qi’s extraordinary talent, one’s cultivation level and intelligence would be far more important factors in their success during this particular trial, which was why everyone had overlooked Xuan Qi.
After separating from the other students, Lu Yin quickly crossed the Astral River and returned to the Heavens Sect.
Upon arriving, the first person that Lu Yin met with was Wang Wen.
"Capturing people?" Wang Wen's surprise was evident.
Lu Yin handed the bounty list to Wang Wen. "I knew that the Sixverse Association would take action, but I didn't expect them to move so quickly. Furthermore..."
Wang Wen completed the sentence, "...this childishly."
Childishly? Lu Yin considered the sentiment, but he found himself agreeing. "Exactly. For a grudge between universes, the idea of sending a group like this to capture hostages is rather naive. Still, if they manage to succeed, it could prove quite effective."
Wang Wen grew solemn as he set the list down and stared intently at Lu Yin. "Why isn't my name here?"
Lu Yin locked eyes with the man. "You want to be captured?"
“Of course not! But the fact that my name is missing from this list is an insult! I was instrumental in unifying the Outerverse, and I've given you solutions to many other issues. The fact that I’ve been completely overlooked is quite irritating," Wang Wen complained.
Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Then let's broaden their perspectives. Just like the Astral Beast Domain, we’ll make you their greatest threat."
A cold laugh escaped from Wang Wen. "They’ll learn to respect me! How dare they underestimate me? Hmph!"
Having vented his annoyance, Wang Wen picked the list back up. "Let's select a few to give to them."
Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. "That’s just what I was thinking."
Wang Wen's voice grew harsh, "They've made their move, and we naturally need to respond. We must maintain some level of control over this situation, as we need to appear both defiant and manageable. This is how they won't go all out to completely crush us. As you’ve said, just their reserve strength is more than enough to deal with us, and I don't plan on dying.
"They are openly provoking us and revealing their hatred in a blatant manner, but we still need to maintain some level of balance."
Lu Yin said, "This is exactly why I wanted to infiltrate the Sixverse Association with the identity of Xuan Qi. I had hoped to be able to strike first, but unfortunately, time didn't allow for that."
Wang Wen shook the list. "They’re already resorting to kidnapping hostages, presumably to strong-arm us into sending help to the Three Monarchs Universe. Regardless, since we have Monarch Mu, we might as well extend a bit of help. The four ruling powers won't be able to do much against us as long as Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen are around. On top of that, we don’t need to worry about Aeternus for now. Even if worse comes to worst, we can always just return Monarch Mu, though that is our last resort."
Lu Yin also hoped that they would not be forced to take that step. Should things develop in that manner, not only would they be at odds with the Three Monarchs Universe, but they would also have openly offended the Transcendent Universe, which would be no different from making enemies with the entire Sixverse Association.
At the moment, the Sixverse Association looked down on the Origin Universe and felt contempt due to past grievances, but this was not the same as a completely hostile position. There was a distinct difference.
"I'll let you choose the candidates," Wang Wen said. "Find out who's willing to be captured. The Sixverse Association needs our cooperation, so none of the captives will suffer."
Lu Yin also understood this. "They’re essentially going to be hostages."
"Just like that Luo Lao'er," Wang Wen agreed. He soon left, and Lu Yin stared at the bounty list. He was lost in thought for a rather long time. Eventually, he marked a few names. He intended to negotiate with those people. Even if he needed to offer them up as hostages to the Sixverse Association, they needed to first consent to it.
For the moment, Lu Yin was quite curious to see what methods the Sixverse Academy’s students would employ to accomplish their task.
The information that they had been provided with would result in various tactical moves, and this would then reveal key strategies of the Sixverse Association.
...
The information that Shao Qingfeng and the others had received led to most of the students moving in secret until the targets were located. The students wielded a variety of powers, which meant that they should not face any problems in capturing their targets. They believed that the only obstacles in their path were each other, which made speed the most important aspect of this trial.
The target who could be found closest to the Astral River was Mira.
Mira, who was also known as the Red Lotus Witchbow, could be regarded as Lu Yin's guide for when he had first stepped into the larger universe when leaving Earth. Without her, even if Lu Yin had successfully disguised himself as a descendant of King Zishan, it most likely would not have been nearly as smooth a process. Mira had been the person who had sent Lu Yin to the Astral Combat Academy, and she had also ensured his membership in the Outerverse Youth Council. Lu Yin owed the woman a debt.
While Lu Yin had later risen to prominence and his interactions with Mira had become few and far between, she remained someone of great importance to him. It was only natural that she had been listed as a bounty.
Three people were targeting Mira. Two of the students were people that Lu Yin had never even spoken with. They could be considered the most average type of students in the Sixverse Academy.
Even after decades, Mira's long white hair still hung to her feet, and she also had cute little bangs on her forehead. She looked the same as before. She was dressed in a light summer dress, and her skin was clear and completely unblemished.
The only change was that she had matured. One’s temperament was enough to completely transform a person. In the past, Mira had put on an act in order to appear more mature, but at present, every move she made radiated feminine charm.
Mira came from a planet called Dream Locust in Erudite Flowzone. She had once been a follower of Wen Sansi, but she had since joined the Heavens Sect and become one of countless cultivators who patrolled the Fifth Mainland.
"Return to base," Mira ordered as she stared at her gadget.
"Yes."
The spacecraft soon adjusted course, and Mira stood and stretched her weary body. She felt truly exhausted!
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