Star Odyssey

Chapter 1923: Is It Still Far?

"This is ridiculous!" Nan Yuan's expression looked terrible after he heard San Liang’s words, but just as he was about to continue speaking, the display in the middle of the room changed. Numerous people charged into the originally quiet residence, and a fierce battle broke out between them and the people from the residence. Instantly several of the buildings were completely destroyed.

Nan Yuan's eyes went wide. He was truly furious, but he did nothing. In fact, there was nothing that he could do while in the meeting room.

The attacking cultivators quickly found Bo, and as they did so, Mt. Microcosms’ protectors appeared and arrested all of the people who had participated in the attack on Nan Yuan's residence. The man himself had quickly received a report, but he had no time to concern himself with dealing with his home.

"Overseer Nan Yuan, please explain why San Shang's grandson was in your home," San Liang said with a faint smile. Everyone else in the room was also staring at Nan Yuan at this moment.

Old Man San Shang’s eyes were bloodshot. In their depths, there was exhaustion and regret. He regretted pursuing the position of overseer for the third time and regretted chasing after power as doing so had led to his family’s ruin.

The times had already changed. In the past, no one would ever have dared to offend an overseer. San Shang had been able to alter the path of the entire Human Domain with a single sentence, leaving even Envoys quaking in terror. Whenever he had traveled about the universe, he had been looked at with respect and admiration. These were also what had caused the old man to lose his focus. He had become drunk on that feeling of power and had been unable to accept not being an overseer.

He had used his reputation and dignity to reclaim the seat of an overseer again and again. No one had ever held the position for as many terms as San Shang. He had actually set a record for the overseers’ council.

However, the times had changed. FIrst, the Sixth Mainland had sent someone to control the old man, and then he was controlled by Lu Yin, a mere junior. After that, even Nan Yuan had tried to manipulate San Shang in a bid to counter Lu Yin’s influence. The old man was exhausted and no longer wished to deal with such things. All that he wanted to do was enjoy his last years in peace while spending time with his grandson.

Facing the accusing eyes of everyone else at the table, Nan Yuan stared straight at San Shang. "I was not the one who kidnapped San Shang's grandson, but rather Lu Yin. He kidnapped that child!"

Nan Yuan suddenly turned to stare at Lu Yin. "That’s right, you kidnapped the child in order to control the old man while I rescued him and gave him a better home!"

Lu Yin said nothing. This man was not worth Lu Yin’s time.

"Overseer Nan Yuan, you say that Overseer Lu kidnapped the child, but what evidence do you have to prove this? Also, if you rescued the child, why didn't you send him back to me, his grandfather, instead of keeping him in your own home?" San Shang slowly asked.

Nan Yuan softly answered, "Lu Yin is cunning and skilled at playing tricks. I was afraid to send the child home as I was concerned that he would only be captured once again. That was why I had no choice but to keep the child with me. I already spoke to you about this, San Shang."

Everyone turned to look at the old man.

San Shang let out a long breath. His face suddenly looked older and more exhausted than ever, though there was also a flicker of hope that could be seen in his eyes. That hope was because of Bo. As long as Bo was not dead, San Shang had a reason to live. "Overseer Nan Yuan did indeed reach out to me."

Nan Yuan instantly looked relieved.

Lu Yin's expression did not change in the slightest, and he even shifted his attention to his gadget and started checking the breaking news.

"However, he contacted me not because he wanted to protect Bo, as he just claimed, but rather to demand my unconditional support behind all of his proposals to this council," San Shang continued to slowly say.action

A smile began to spread across San Liang's face.

Nan Yuan's pupils shrank, and he screamed, "San Shang, what is this nonsense that you’re spouting?"

San Shang just sighed. "Nan Yuan, you and I have worked together for many years, but such ploys are unworthy of the Seven Courts. You tried to manipulate me into doing your bidding by capturing Bo, and I was left with no choice but to ask Overseer San Liang to help me rescue my grandchild. You are the one who first captured him!"

Nan Yuan's body swayed, and his vision grew fuzzy.

The display in the air was still showing what was happening at Nan Yuan’s home, and Bo was being questioned by Mt. Microcosms’ protectors. At this moment, his trembling answer could be heard, "That’s right, Overseer Nan Yuan killed my parents and kidnapped me in order to use me to control Grandpa! I beg you, please save me! Save me and save Grandpa!"

Nan Yuan was in a daze as he stared at the display. He watched as Bo burst into tears. Anyone would believe the child’s story.

It was over. This was the end of everything. Kidnapping an overseer’s family member in order to control the overseer and the council was a terrible crime. Nan Yuan also knew that this matter would not simply end with his dismissal, as the Seven Courts would not let him go. He would be punished for his stupidity.

That was the only way to describe his actions: stupid. All strength left Nan Yuan’s body, and all of his followers who had tried to protect his home had broken down the moment he had been sold out.

This entire situation had been a setup from the very beginning.

Some time ago, when Nan Yuan had suddenly received word regarding Bo, the information had been passed along through Nan Yuan’s own information network that he had worked to establish. The information had made him very excited, as controlling another overseer would not only increase the weight of his words on the overseers’ council and improve his position there, but it would also improve his standing within the Seven Courts. The most important detail was that Nan Yuan merely needed to rescue San Shang’s grandson, which meant that there would be no actions taken against the old man at all.

Nan Yuan’s plan had been to save Bo, allow the child to meet with his grandfather, and after receiving San Shang’s gratitude, Nan Yuan would gain control of the ancient overseer. The entire plan had been so simple.

Nan Yuan had never even considered that he might have fallen into another’s trap. Bo had been nothing more than bait, bait that Nan Yuan had eagerly devoured. He had been a fish that had purposely placed itself on the fisherman’s hook.

Everything that Nan Yuan had learned regarding Bo had been true, and it had even been true that San Shang was being controlled by the ones who held Bo captive. If the details had not been true, then it would have been impossible to convince Nan Yuan to make a move, but everything had been part of a greater plan. Nan Yuan had only seen the surface layer, and he had failed to see through to the depths of this scheme.

Both Nan Yuan and San Shang were nothing more than pawns to be played with by others. Even if Bo was returned to San Shang, the old overseer would still be under the control of the one who had arranged everything.

Nan Yuan looked over at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was not paying the slightest attention to the former overseer. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, Nan Yuan no longer even existed.

"Nan Yuan, do you have anything else to say?" San Liang's expression changed as he stared at Nan Yuan with a somber expression and started shouting.

Xin Jiao could not help herself, and she turned to look at Lu Yin. Anyone with a discerning eye would realize that Nan Yuan had been manipulated, but who would help him? There was no way to help the man. The evidence against him was ironclad, and his time as an overseer had already come to an end.

Lu Yin was becoming more and more difficult to see through.

Nan Yuan smiled wryly, and he could not help himself from clapping. "Wonderful. Truly, absolutely wonderful. Such an easy win over a fellow overseer. This is indeed worthy of you, Alliance Leader Lu."

Lu Yin finally lifted his head from his gadget and looked up at Nan Yuan. "What does this have to do with me?"

Nan Yuan looked up and blew out a long breath. "I’ve lost, and I can only blame myself for being too stupid. However, Alliance Leader Lu, don't forget that, even if I leave, my seat at this table will not go to you. This seat will always be reserved for the Seven Courts, and they will always have a voice here."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the room was shoved open, and Mt. Microcosms’ protectors flooded in to arrest Nan Yuan and take him away.

The man was not just being removed from his position, as he also needed to be interrogated. Even though his punishment would not be too harsh given his affiliation with the Seven Courts, it was still necessary to follow certain protocols.

"Alliance Leader Lu, if you completely control the overseers’ council, aren’t you afraid that people will accuse you of being a dictator? Do you really think that the entire Human Domain will fall under your Lu surname?" Nan Yuan's voice slowly faded as he was led away.

Many people heard the former overseer’s words, and they all turned to look at Lu Yin with complicated emotions.

Would the Fifth Mainland fall under the Lu surname?

It was something that they had not thought of before, but they suddenly realized that it was very close to happening.

The Great Eastern Alliance had already united both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and it had also led a war against the Astral Beast Domain. Dozens of Envoys had joined that war.

On top of that, Lu Yin himself had become an overseer, and he had seized control of the overseers’ council, which allowed him to easily decide the fates of the other overseers. The overseers were the ones responsible for the administration and oversight of the Human Domain. Their decisions were unquestionable and affected the fates of both large and small organizations, altering the path of the entire Human Domain. To a certain degree, they could even sway Arch-Elder Zen’s decisions.

The fact that Lu Yin controlled the overseers’ council essentially meant that he controlled the means by which the Hall of Honor made decisions concerning the rest of the universe.

Lu Yin had both the position and the actual power needed.

As for the Cosmic Sea, it posed no obstacle to Lu Yin. Once the Great Eastern Alliance finally entered the Neoverse, who would be able to stop them? Was the Fifth Mainland really that close to falling under the Lu surname’s control?

There were certain things that were not terrifying to carry out, but rather were terrifying to think about. The more one considered such matters, the more frightening they became.

Lu Yin had not expected Nan Yuan to leave such a comment as he was being dragged off. Given the current situation and the circumstances under which Nan Yuan had been taken down, his final words were easily able to cause many people to start thinking hard.

The room fell completely silent, and the atmosphere grew rather awkward.

At this moment, there was more movement from outside the room, and the door was pushed back open. Big Sis boldly entered the meeting room.

Due to her cultivation art, Big Sis’s appearance frequently changed, which caused Lu Yin no end of stress as he never knew what the woman was going to look like.

When he saw her enter the room, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, Big Sis had a normal appearance this time. Lu Yin quickly stood from his chair and gave Big Sis an ingratiating smile. “Big Sis, you're here."

The other overseers were all taken aback, as they had never seen Lu Yin act so submissively to anyone at all.

Big Sis let out a derisive snort. "Quit putting on a show and acting so dumb in front of me. Where’s Nan Yuan?"

"He was just taken away and locked up. He’s done for," Lu Yin replied.

Big Sis nodded, her eyes cold. “He got lucky then.”

With that, the overseers all stared in astonishment as she kicked Nan Yuan’s chair and shattered it. “Get a new one. This one’s dirty."

San Liang quickly stood up and called out, "Get us a new chair!"

The man could read the scene.

A short while later, Big Sis deliberately sat down where Nan Yuan had previously sat at the table. She glanced around at everyone else present. “It appears that I’m the new overseer, right? Anyone have any objections?"

Zi Jing pursed her lips and smiled.

Yang Ji and the others were completely speechless at this declaration. The overseers always voted to approve new members of the council, and no one had ever presented themselves in such a manner. This Big Sis was completely overbearing.

Lu Yin smiled. "Of course there aren’t any objections. Big Sis, you’re an overseer from now on."

Big Sis arched a brow and waved a large hand dismissively. “Alright then, just leave this place to me from now on. You take care of your things, and I’ll deal with this place for you."

Lu Yin…

Big Sis’s addition to the overseers’ council completely changed the council’s manner of conducting business. No one could tell if these changes were good or bad, and as for Lu Yin, he did not care. He actually left the council before the meeting was even halfway done, as Big Sis had presented more than eighty different proposals. That development made Lu Yin's heart tremble. He had no idea that Big Sis had been so well prepared.

The other overseers were completely dumbfounded by Big Sis’s behavior. Who had ever brought up so many matters at the same time? They would not be able to cover everything even if their meeting went on for three days and three nights!

Lu Yin was automatically assumed to agree with Big Sis’s position on every matter, so she simply booted him out the door. When the door closed behind him, the overseers’ council was not the same as it had been before.

***

Lu Yin’s breakthrough to the Envoy realm had not only increased his combat strength, but it had also affected his lockbreaking skills. Logically, the ability of Envoys to suppress star energy through their manipulation of stellular energy would allow them the ability to manipulate sourceboxes, but if it were truly that simple, then every Envoy would also be a Lockbreaker.

After Lu Yin left the overseers’ council, he headed straight to the Lockbreakers World, as he wanted to find out how lockbreaking changed once one entered the Envoy realm.

However, Lu Yin soon learned that all of the Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers were absent from the Lockbreakers World, and even President Xiu Ming was gone. He had simply left some time before and never returned.

Lu Yin left the Lockbreakers World, and he started making his way to the Arbitration World to meet with his senior brother, hoping that the Chief Justice had not gone into seclusion.

Lu Yin did not make it very far across Mt. Microcosms when the air in front of him warped and a person appeared, surprising Lu Yin. "Arch-Elder Zen?"

"Do you have a moment to speak with me?" Arch-Elder Zen asked Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was very respectful to the old man. "I was actually hoping to speak with you, Senior."

Arch-Elder Zen laughed and then led Lu Yin to the very top of Mt. Microcosms. Lu Yin was unable to see anything when he looked down as they were too high up. All that could be seen was a sea of pure white.