Star Odyssey

Chapter 2000: Replacing Liu Shaoge

Liu Shaoge was a very cunning person, and he had elevated himself from originally being just an ordinary person to his current position. He had managed to join the Celestial Frost Sect, and even get the attention of Semi-Progenitor Bai Laogui. He had been able to suppress Yu Chen, and get in contact with the Hidden Earth Society. He was clearly no less intelligent or capable than Wei Rong.

Lu Yin absolutely believed that he had been recognized by Liu Shaoge, but that Liu Shaoge did not dare expose Lu Yin out of fear of being exposed himself in turn.

Liu Shaoge was fully aware that if his background was exposed, he would at the very least lose everything he had gained, and might even be killed. He would never risk such an outcome.

However, just because Liu Shaoge was unwilling to take a risk did not mean that Lu Yin held the same hesitation.

Lu Yin felt that it would be better to head off with the people from the Perennial World instead of being sent to a random human planet in the Technocracy. Regardless, so long as Lu Yin was within the Technocracy, he would be within the Master Brain’s surveillance, so it would be difficult to escape regardless of where he went.

Lu Yin continued to stare at Liu Shaoge, and the stare grew increasingly intense.

"Hey, you! Watcha lookin’ at?" A cultivator noticed Lu Yin and shouted at him.

Everyone else was being obedient, and Lu Yin was actually following orders as well, though he did not stop staring at Liu Shaoge.

"Hey! What are you staring at?" The man raised a hand and formed a whip out of his star energy that he used to strike at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin pretended to fall after being struck.

The sudden movement caught Liu Shaoge's eye, and he looked back at Lu Yin once again. When Liu Shaoge saw Lu Yin still staring at him, his heart dropped. "Grab him, too."

"Understood." The man was respectful towards Liu Shaoge, and his whip quickly wrapped around Lu Yin and pulled him up onto the massive boat made from a sheet of white paper.

There were already a hundred people on the paper boat, and all of them were being taken away from the rest of the captured humans.

Everyone else was taken back to the spaceship they had previously boarded, and the vessel soon took off towards an inhabited planet.

Half a day later, Lu Yin and Liu Shaoge were staring at each other. Surprise clear in each young man’s eyes.

"I assumed you were originally from Earth. I never thought you’d actually be one of the Lu family’s direct descendants," Liu Shaoge spoke first.

Lu Yin replied, "I never thought you’d be able to climb so high. It looks like you were even able to overtake Yu Chen."

Liu Shaoge sighed as he pulled out a pair of wine glasses from his cosmic ring. He poured two drinks and casually handed one to Lu Yin. "Regardless of where I go, I still prefer to drink wine from Earth. There’s just something about it."

Lu Yin swirled the wine in his glass as he sat down. "So, no one’s noticed I’m here?"

Liu Shaoge laughed. "Of course not! How would I possibly be able to explain myself to the invading army? You do know we’re all here because of you, right?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "There should be more to it than that. If they just wanted to deal with me, sending a single Semi-Progenitor should be enough."

Liu Shaoge sat down across from Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, we should talk."

Lu Yin set his wine glass down on the table. "I’d like to hear more about what’s been going on with you."

Liu Shaoge looked upwards. "It hasn’t been easy for me to get to where I am now. I hope you’ll be willing to let me go, Brother Lu."

Lu Yin was surprised by this request. "Brother Liu, what are you talking about? I’ve never moved against you before."

Liu Shaoge laughed. "We could have just pretended to not know each other, so why did you want me to get you away from that planet? Wouldn't it have been better for you to stay far away from Wang Si and the rest?"

Lu Yin nodded. "That’s true, except I don’t want to stay far away from them. After all, how would I deal with them if I’m not nearby?"

Liu Shaoge helplessly shook his head. "So you want to drag me down to die with you, Brother Lu?"

"Quit being so over-dramatic. We haven’t gotten to that point yet. Both of us come from Earth, so we should help each other out," Lu Yin retorted with a smile. He retrieved his wine glass once again and took a sip. "You are right. The wine from Earth is very good."

Liu Shaoge raised his hand that held his own wine glass, and then slowly swirled it. "Brother Lu, do you have any idea what sort of price I’ve paid to get to where I am? You should already know that I only went to the Perennial World because I was left without any options. You’ve always been rather antagonistic towards me, and if I hadn’t fled when I did, I would have died here in this Fifth Mainland.

"I helped you once when we were both in the Perennial World, and you said that would erase all debts between us. I hope you remember saying that."

Lu Yin answered solemnly, "I, Lu Yin, remember every word I say. Don’t worry, I don’t see you as an enemy any longer. Any grudges that might have existed between us were washed away."

"I hope you’ll leave as soon as possible. I’ll help you find a way," Liu Shaoge offered as he stared at Lu Yin.

A smile slowly spread across Lu Yin’s face. "Do you have a way to send me away?"

"There are rumors spreading that Lu Xiaoxuan has gone missing, so Semi-Progenitor Wang Si and the other powerhouses will definitely start sending some people into the Fifth Mainland to start searching. That will be your chance. Of course, if you’re worried about the Fifth Mainland giving you up and being treated as a public enemy of the whole Human Domain, I can also find an opportunity to get you back to the Perennial World," Liu Shaoge replied.

Lu Yin continued to smile at Liu Shaoge. "Honestly, there are very few people on my list that I admire. You’re name is half-written there now."

Liu Shaoge grew wary.action

Lu Yin continued, "There are extremely few people who could reach your same position after starting out as a regular human. You started with no resources, no backing, no powerful innate gift, and not even some sort of exceptional opportunity. Everything you’ve achieved has been accomplished through your own efforts. You absolutely deserve my admiration. However, your intentions are always impure."

"What are you talking about?" Liu Shaoge was puzzled.

Lu Yin stood and stared out into space. "Someone who really deserves to be admired is Progenitor Ku. He climbed up from being someone with a handicap, to becoming a normal person, and then continued on step by step until he became a Progenitor. Progenitor Chen had his famous clone that became a colossal giant and challenged the entire Daosource Sect because of it. The Rune Progenitor established an entire civilization that used an alternative cultivation method. Those people deserve to be admired. Compared to them, people like the two of us have selfish motives and are impure."

Liu Shaoge remained silent.

"Everyone has their own path, and you’ve faced your own difficulties. You can't be Progenitor Ku or Progenitor Chen, and the same’s true for me," Lu Yin said as he turned back to face Liu Shaoge. "All I want to say to you is that even if you and I are on different sides, or if you end up being an enemy instead of a friend, just remember that you’re human, and so am I."

Liu Shaoge frowned. "I can’t follow along with you, Brother Lu."

Lu Yin laughed. "Maybe I’m just overthinking. I don't know why, but when I look back and then see where you are now, I just get the feeling that you’ll eventually betray mankind."

Liu Shaoge went stiff for a moment. "Brother Lu, are you trying to come up with an excuse to kill me?"

"Don’t take it so seriously and just tell me what it is that you want." Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively.

Liu Shaoge took a deep breath. "Given the current situation, at best I can get you out of the Technocracy, but I can’t do anything beyond that. Your best bet is to stay here for now and stay hidden. I’ll let you know when it’s the right time."

Lu Yin suddenly lifted a hand and pointed a finger at Liu Shaoge's forehead. "There’s no need for you to let me know. I’ll go see for myself."

He then knocked Liu Shaoge unconscious, pulled out Zenith Mountain, and threw the man in.

He had already made a point of marking a certain location on Zenith Mountain, and that was where Liu Shaoge was sent.

Long Xi and the others saw that Liu Shaoge was thrown in, but none of them recognized him. They simply ignored him.

Adopting Liu Shaoge’s image, Lu Yin easily went and picked up a gadget from Sky Creation Academy that could connect him to the Human Domain’s network.

This showed what Sky Creation Academy was capable of.

Most people assumed that the Technocracy could not connect to the Human Domain’s network, but that was nothing more than a fantasy.

It was impossible for humans to connect to the Technocracy’s network, but the Technocracy had multiple means to connect to the Human Domain’s network.

Lu Yin pulled out the bubble he had that contained the reddish liquid, and he shared a picture of it on the Human Domain’s network. It was almost instantly lost within millions of other posts.

After that, Lu Yin pulled out his wireless jincan and called Xiao Fa.

While a wireless jincan did not have many features and was a bit awkward to use to communicate, it was not restricted by distance in the same way that gadgets were, and it was also something that the Technocracy should not be aware of.

In the Innerverse, on the Ross Empire’s mobile fortress, Wang Wen was losing his mind.

Everyone was searching for Lu Yin, but who knew where he might have gone? Wang Wen was also looking for Lu Yin.

Word of Lu Yin's disappearance was something that could not be made public, but Wang Wen had no idea how long he would be able to keep the matter a secret. It was really a massive problem.

At this time, his gadget beeped, and he glanced to check it. Divine Venom Dynasty’s King Qing Li?

The call connected, and Wang Wen quickly heard Qing Li’s voice, "There’s been word from the alliance leader."

Wang Wen was stunned. "Where is he?"

Someone else spoke up in a stuttering voice. It was Xiaofa. "Lu- Alliance Leader Lu called me with his wireless jincan, and he asked me to give you a message."

The call ended a little while later, but Wang Wen’s mood was not much improved. He still had no idea where Lu Yin was, but the fact that he had used a wireless jincan to make a call suggested he was not in a very good situation, and he was likely being monitored.

Forget it. If Lu Yin did not want to give away his location, it meant that he did not need help. Wang Wen instead accessed the network and quickly found the image Lu Yin had posted from Liu Shaoge's gadget. Wang Wen saw it was a picture of a bubble with something a bit reddish inside it. What in the world was it?

Lu Yin had asked Wang Wen to confirm that the image had been taken at Sky Creation Academy.

Wait a second… Wang Wen’s head snapped up. Could Lu Yin be at Sky Creation Academy? Had he actually been captured by people from that place? But if that was the case, then why was Lu Yin able to make calls?

Not even Wang Wen could figure out what Lu Yin was doing! The man’s only option was to follow along with Lu Yin’s request. The picture was promoted online, as well as the fact that it was taken at Sky Creation Academy. Wang Wen used the Great Eastern Alliance’s resources to make sure the picture got tremendous coverage.

When Lu Yin rolled six pips on his die he was able to access information that defied other people’s very imagination.

He had been able to organize a plot to counter the Perennial World’s invasion without Arch-Elder Zen or any other Semi-Progenitor having a single clue as to what was happening. At the same time, the Great Eastern Alliance had given Lu Yin the means to find where one of the massive black crystals had been hidden.

Lu Yin’s original plan had been to smash the black crystal and then blame its destruction on the Perennial World. Once the Aeternals learned of it, a war would start between Aeternus and the Perennial World’s invasion force that was still based at Sky Creation Academy. However, Whiteless God had arrived too quickly. Truly, she had been too quick, almost as if she had been right next to Lu Yin all along.

Semi-Progenitors could almost instantly travel absurd distances, but even then, Whiteless God had arrived too quickly. Lu Yin had simply shattered the crystal before turning to leave, and had not taken any extra time at all, and yet he had been caught before even a single minute had passed. Exceptional speed was one thing, but Whiteless God had definitely been very close by to begin with.

Chroma Flowzone was in the Innerverse, and Whiteless God had clearly been nearby. This meant that she had been in the Innerverse, which was the Great Eastern Alliance’s territory. In other words, Whiteless God was likely part of the Great Eastern Alliance, and possibly even someone Lu Yin was familiar with.

Lu Yin’s reason for asking Wang Wen to spread the picture was to tell Whiteless God the bubble with the reddish liquid was at Sky Creation Academy.

Lu Yin understood just how important those black crystals were to the Neohuman Alliance. But it was possible that the only ones that knew about the bubbles with the liquid that were hidden at the center of the black crystal were Lu Yin and the Neohuman Alliance. Although Senior Brother Qing Ping had taken a perfect sample of it, it was possible he would not break the crystal open.

Lu Yin was just trying in hopes of luring Whiteless God to Sky Creation Academy. He hoped to force the Neohuman Alliance to weaken their forces in the Fifth Mainland by fighting against the Perennial World’s forces. Humans could not afford to fight themselves with such an enemy facing them, or at the very least, the Neohuman Alliance had to be dragged into the scuffle.

Also, Lu Yin felt that it was possible to probe the depths of Sky Creation Academy’s strength with this move.