Star Odyssey

Chapter 823: Target Of Suspicion

Lu Yin disconnected from the call and frowned. Wei Rong’s words had dragged out some old memories of past events. Had Wei Rong really been unable to find which of the Ten Arbiters had judged them back then, or had he merely been putting on an act? Lu Yin had no way to investigate this issue, but that didn’t mean that Wei Rong was the same.

Right, Amethyst Exchange. Lu Yin suddenly remembered this option. Since his past had already been made public, he might as well use Amethyst Exchange to investigate the details of that incident.

Since he had thought of this possibility, then he would follow through with it. Lu Yin vanished, only to reappear on the top floor of Amethyst Exchange’s building on Zenyu Star.

Zi Xianxian was not surprised by Lu Yin’s arrival at all. “We don’t have much information concerning the Domain War at Endless Weave’s border, so there’s no need to ask about it.”

Lu Yin glanced at the pink sofa, which was extremely eye-catching every time he visited. “I’m not here about that. I wanted to ask something else—how much do you guys know about the details of the Innerverse?”

Zi Xianxian’s eyes lit up. “What would you like to ask about?”

Lu Yin replied, “So you do know some.”

Zi Xianxian shook her head, though her eyes were still wide open. “I don't know.”

Lu Yin stared at her. “How much do you know about the Ten Arbiters?”

Zi Xianxian leaned forward as she stared at Lu Yin. “You want to ask which one of the Ten Arbiters delivered the judgement upon those surnamed Lu, correct?”

Lu Yin nodded.

Zi Xianxian exclaimed, “It’s truly baffling how the Hall of Honor treats you. This question of yours is no different from you admitting that what Wei Rong revealed is true. But even so, the Hall of Honor still supports you. How did you do it?”

“I am purchasing information from you, and I have no need to provide you with any intelligence,” Lu Yin replied. Although Thousand Eyes’ pirates could provide a great deal of information, it was not on the same level as what Amethyst Exchange could supply. Those pirates were able to probe into matters connected to the dark side of the Outerverse, but they were not able to cover the Innerverse, as otherwise, they would not be pirates. In the Outerverse, only colossal organizations could investigate such matters.

Zi Xianxian was helpless. “Sorry, I don't know.”

Lu Yin was not disappointed by her response. “Can it be looked into?”

Zi Xianxian shook her head. “Any matter concerning the Ten Arbiters cannot be investigated, as you should know. Even the names of the Ten Arbiters are taboo, let alone the actions that they might have taken.”

Lu Yin turned to leave.

“Wait!” Zi Xianxian called out. “There’s no need to hurry. Even if it can’t be checked, I can conduct an analysis for you.”

She then gestured for Lu Yin to sit. “Have a cup of tea.”

Lu Yin nodded and took a seat.

Zi Xianxian poured Lu Yin a cup—of some pink drink. Lu Yin stared at it incredulously. Didn’t she say tea? Where’s the tea?

After taking a sip, Zi Xianxian licked her lips. “The Ten Arbiters have ten completely different personalities, but each one is an unparalleled youth. Of these ten, some are more outspoken while others are more withdrawn. Some like to meddle in others’ businesses, while some only have a few passions. Some even have rather strange personalities. It’s not too difficult to determine which of these ten would deliver a judgement of their own initiative, and I have several candidates.”

Lu Yin stared at her. “You know about the Ten Arbiters?” action

“I don’t understand them, but my Amethyst Exchange has completed an analysis of their personalities. This is top secret, so-” Zi Xianxian lifted a finger as she paused. “100,000 star essence, no haggling.”

Lu Yin was shocked. “That much?”

“Do you want it?” Zi Xianxian felt confident. She would not forget about how she had wanted to spontaneously tell this fellow Deng Pu’s location, but he had not cared in the least. Women tended to hold grudges. Since Zi Xianxian had been embarrassed, she would absolutely embarrass Lu Yin as much as she could now.

Lu Yin was indeed disgusted, as to him, money was not just money. It was also a direct way to improve his strength. When he saw Zi Xianxian’s gleeful expression, he felt helpless. “Go ahead.”

Zi Xianxian felt proud. The truth was that she should not be discussing secrets concerning the Ten Arbiters with an outsider. However, since the Outerverse was isolated from the Innerverse, some secrets had no value if they remained unspoken. “I can tell you, but let’s make something clear: I will not mention any names.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed.

Zi Xianxian solemnly explained, “These are the rules. Even if the Outerverse is isolated from the Innerverse, allowing us to sell certain secrets, we still have to maintain at least some rules. Otherwise, there will be a great deal of trouble in the future. Back when the Sea King stole that batch of pyrolyte, he had thought that his actions were flawless, but was still discovered by the Starsibyl Sect in the end. The cycle of karma cannot be disregarded.”

Lu Yin nodded. “Alright, go on.”

Zi Xianxian took another sip of her fruit juice. “The first person to suspect is a scholar. Such people tend to have a lot on their mind, and they must obey various rules. Since ancient times, scholars have delivered many admonishments, so it wouldn’t be too surprising for one of them to carry out a judgement.”

Lu Yin nodded. He knew who Zi Xianxian was referencing.

“Although this scholar does not seem to have any conflicts with you in the open, their morality may rear its head from time to time. Just like a fanatic, they might condemn whatever displeases them, which is very normal for them. In a certain year, they once handed down judgement over ten times, and all of the cases were completely unrelated to them. According to our analysis, they just found them to be displeasing,” Zi Xianxian explained.

Lu Yin frowned.

“The second person to be considered comes from an ancient family whose surname is made up of two words. They are arrogant, disregard all others, and are the type of person who will bite regardless of the circumstances, as long as it concerns them. In their eyes, if you are not obedient and do not fawn over them, then you are disrespecting them. They are more stern and show condescension towards everything. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if this person delivered that judgement,” Zi Xianxian explained.

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, as he knew who this Arbiter was as well.

“The third person to consider is also from an ancient family. They like the color white and have an obsession with cleanliness. At first glance, they seem like a deity, and their innate gift is also one filled with dignity. This person does not allow the existence of any stains to persist, and illegal primeval surnames are considered stains upon the universe. Thus, it would be normal for this person to deliver judgement upon them.”

Lu Yin frowned, as a certain figure from the Daosource Sect's ruins appeared in his mind.

“The fourth suspect is someone who carries out massacres.” Upon mentioning this Arbiter, Zi Xianxian’s eyes flickered with fear. "This person’s personality is rather carefree, and they dislike trouble. They go about and kill people simply when they don’t like them. When this person acts, they often destroy entire planets, and just so that they don’t see any dead people, they will often reduce everyone to nothingness.”

Lu Yin was shocked, as this was an unknown Arbiter.

“This particular Arbiter has a special trait.” Zi Xianxian’s eyes grew serious, and a trace of puzzlement appeared in her eyes. “They cannot be attacked.”

“‘Cannot be attacked’? What does that mean?” Lu Yin was surprised by this phrase.

Zi Xianxian shook her head. “I don't know the specifics, but basically, this Arbiter cannot be attacked. Any and all attacks directed towards them will be reduced to nothingness. According to our analysis, it should be some sort of innate gift, but as for what it is exactly, nobody can say. This person may seem very happy-go-lucky, but they are actually ruthless. As for why they might have exacted judgement, it’s rumored that one of this person’s ancestors was humiliated by an expert with a primeval surname. Thus, they carry a deep grudge towards all such people.”

Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

Zi Xianxian stood up. “Alright, I’ve told you about the four suspects, and you should have some understanding of the first three. It’s very likely that one of these four are behind the judgement that condemned those with the Lu surname.”

Lu Yin suddenly asked, “Of the Ten Arbiters, is there anyone who has had any involvement with the Cosmic Sea’s Four Pirate Crews?”

Zi Xianxian was puzzled by this question. “Why do you ask? There shouldn’t be any, but I’d need to check to be sure.”

“I’ll wait for you to check.” Lu Yin stood up, paid his bill, and then left.

He could not forget Old Gu De’s words. Big Sis and the others were from Leon’s Armada, so their pursuers had to have been sent by someone from the Cosmic Sea who dared to pursue them and who had some sort of conflict with them. Old Gu De had also mentioned that the person behind the pursuit was someone connected to the Four Pirate Crews. Thus, as long as Lu Yin found out which of the Ten Arbiters had a relationship with the Four Pirate Crews, that Arbiter was very likely to be the person who had delivered the judgement upon those surnamed Lu.

Zi Xianxian looked at the recently vacated chair. “The Cosmic Sea’s Four Pirate Crews?”

In response to the Domain War at Endless Weave’s border, almost every part of the Outerverse’s western region had been plunged into war preparations. The Hall of Honor was being extremely cautious, but nobody knew why.

The Technocracy had invaded the Outerverse frequently in the past, but the Hall of Honor had never exerted such caution ever before.

In the subsequent days, the Outerverse’s network was filled with reports about the Domain War, and the propaganda even encouraged cultivators to join in on Endless Weave’s war efforts.

Reports concerning the war in Armament Weave could no longer be found anywhere.

Lu Yin met with Xiao Ya once during this time, as he had been completely defeated by Wei Rong in the media front of their war. Wei Rong’s media maneuvers had been passive, as he did not have the power to directly control the media outlets. However, he had managed to gather support from other forces.

Any news that Wei Rong had exposed had been automatically broadcasted by various media outlets, and it had all rapidly spread. Concerning this detail, Lu Yin had not found any weapons that he could use to curb such rampant propaganda.

He needed to gain influence over the media, and that influence could not just be limited to the Great Eastern Alliance’s territory.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to control the media, he had to first increase his influence. Otherwise, even if he established a local news outlet, it would be useless if it had no support.

If he wanted to expand, then he needed to have the influence of the media, and if he wanted the media that he supported to have any sort of influence, then they needed to expand. This was like the question of which came first: the chicken or the egg? The only way for Lu Yin to proceed was to copy Wei Rong’s methods and then borrow the strength of a media company while not completely controlling it.

Only the Hall of Honor was able to completely control the media.

Although Lu Yin had the Chief Justice’s emblem, it would be unrealistic for him to rely on it to order the Hall of Honor about, not unless he also had a power level of 300,000 that put him on equal footing with Elder Lohar. In the end, foreign objects were foreign objects, and only personal strength was a constant truth.

“Your Highness, Bei Qing has requested an audience,” Kayze reported.

Lu Yin had Bei Qing brought in.

Bei Qing respectfully greeted, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

“What’s the matter?”

Bei Qing replied, “Your Highness, you originally decided to conduct a high quality auction every three months, but four months have already passed.”

Lu Yin suddenly remembered this, as he had indeed forgotten about the auction house. “Right, I forgot about that. Alright, I’ll give you some high quality goods to auction.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. Actually, your subject came to see you regarding another matter,” Bei Qing said as he looked at Lu Yin in a cautious manner. “There are certain items that should not be seen, and I want to ask Your Highness if these can be auctioned off.”

“Should not be seen?” Lu Yin felt this was a strange issue. What could be considered taboo compared to pyrolyte?

Bei Qing continued to explain the origin and details about certain items to Lu Yin, who quickly understood. It turned out that it was like that.

Some things blatantly displayed the emblem of specific families or powers. Normally, if people obtained such items, they wouldn’t dare to openly sell them out of fear of being discovered. Thus, they wished to take advantage of the Lu's Grand Auction to sell off their contraband. These items were indeed worthy of being categorized as items that were not fit to be seen, as anyone who were selling such things would definitely offend the original owners.

Lu Yin replied, “Buy those items and then sell them back to the original owners at a high price.”

Bei Qing was surprised by these orders. “Your Highness, won’t that offend them?”

Lu Yin did not care. “It’s not like we were the ones who stole these items or plundered their property. We’re helping them to recover their lost goods, so don’t we need some reciprocity?”

Bei Qing understood: the intent was to buy these items at a low price and then sell them back to the original owners at a high price. If someone of average status had this opportunity, they would naturally not dare to do such a thing as the original owners would simply eliminate them. However, this was the Lu's Grand Auction, and so, those powers could only pinch their noses and give in. In fact, they even needed to show some gratitude.

“We will have to take and save videos of these transactions so that they can’t falsely accuse us of anything. Also, if there are any unusually precious items, then just keep them,” Lu Yin ordered.

“Rest assured, Your Highness. Your subject knows what to do,” Bei Qing reassured the Royal Regent.

“Head back for now and come back again tomorrow at the same time. I’ll give you some more good things to sell then,” Lu Yin said.

Bei Qing was delighted, and he quickly took his leave.