Star Odyssey

Chapter 1932: The Source

Lu Yin's answer caused Ku Rong's heart to drop. Even something as rare and exceptional as a treasure left behind by Progenitor Ku was not enough to impress this youth! Lu Yin must either want to take more than what the Ku family could even offer or he truly had no idea how to teach Extremes Must Be Reversed to another person.

Of the two options, Ku Rong believed the second to be true. If it was a simple matter to pass Extremes Must Be Reversed to another person, Progenitor Ku would have left the battle technique with the Ku family, and it would have been impossible for not even his disciples to have learned the technique.

This was such a pity!

"Senior, could you sell me the Withered Bark that Progenitor Ku left behind?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. "I can offer you some very good things."

Ku Rong’s mood had already been ruined. "Alliance Leader Lu, I need to get some rest, so I’ll head back first. As for the treasures left for us by our ancestor, there’s no way that we would ever sell them."

As the man spoke, he turned back to look at Lu Yin once more. "While it might be impossible for you to pass on Extremes Must Be Reversed to anyone else given your current strength, that doesn’t mean that it will remain impossible in the future. I hope that you will allow my Ku family this bit of hope, and we will continue to be open and forthright with you, Alliance Leader Lu."

The old man then stepped through the sky to leave.

Lu Yin pursed his lips. It was pretty clear that the old man was in a rotten mood.

After Ku Rong left, Ku Pu approached. After all, Lu Yin was a guest of the Ku family, so it made sense for Ku Pu to play host for him.

Ku Pu had already been informed that Lu Yin could not or would not pass the Ku family Extremes Must Be Reversed, but despite that, the patriarch remained welcoming and polite to Lu Yin. The Ku family needed a bit of hope, and Lu Yin was happy to offer them that much.

This was completely different from how Lu Yin had strung the Wen family along. After all, the advanced method of using Literary Prison was real and in Lu Yin’s possession whereas the Ku family really did have nothing more than a simple hope of acquiring their ancestor’s technique.

Ku Pu had completely forgotten about his grudge against Lu Yin, and the man led Lu Yin around the Voidsoul Region. As they moved around, the patriarch shared what he knew about Progenitor Ku with Lu Yin, and even Ku Wei was occasionally mentioned in the two men’s conversation.

Ku Wei was the only link that existed between the Ku family and Lu Yin. Aside from him, the only thing that the two parties shared were some common interests.

Ku Pu had never dreamed that he would one day be forced to take advantage of Ku Wei’s existence in order to strengthen a relationship with someone.

Fortunately, the Ku family had agreed to release Ku Wei into Lu Yin’s care in the past, as if they had not, the family’s relationship with Lu Yin would likely be similar to his relationship with the Xia family. Then, it would be nearly impossible for them to recover from such a situation.

Lu Yin and the Second Nightking spent some time in the Voidsoul Region, as Lu Yin was quite interested in the lightning that fell upon the land.

This lightning came from the Withered Bark that had been left behind by a Progenitor, and while the lightning was not very powerful, the Withered Bark produced an endless amount of the lightning, and the lightning strikes produced treasured materials for the Ku family.

One day, Lu Yin politely refused Ku Pu’s offer to show him around the Voidsoul region again, as Lu Yin wanted to wander about on his own.

Lightning fell from the sky, and it struck a river down below.

Lu Yin suddenly appeared at the location, and he squatted down to stick a hand in the river. He felt a slight numbness but nothing very strong. The lightning was not even as powerful as an attack from an Enlighter, and he could not sense anything unique about the lightning either.

Another bolt of lightning fell in the distance.

Lu Yin entered the void and disappeared.

Lu Yin's activities could not be hidden from Ku Rong. Ku Pu stood behind the elder in a respectful manner, and they both stared out towards Lu Yin.

"Elder, is it really impossible for him to teach us Extremes Must Be Reversed?" Ku Pu could not resist asking.

Ku Rong shrugged. "I can’t say. I can’t get a read on the child."

Ku Pu frowned. Even one of the families that made up the powerful and majestic Seven Courts was unable to handle a single youth. This was truly frustrating.

"It doesn't matter whether or not he can teach others the technique right now. As long as he continues to gain strength, the day when he will be able to teach us Extremes Must Be Reversed will eventually come. It’s highly likely that he will eventually reach the same level as Progenitor Ku, so we must make sure that we maintain a friendly relationship with him," Ku Rong stated solemnly.

Ku Pu was caught off guard. "Can he really become a Progenitor?"

Ku Rong glanced over at Ku Pu. "That child defeated a manifestation of Progenitor Chen at the same level of cultivation as him in order to pass his first stellular tribulation. Regardless of how strong any Progenitor might have been, Progenitor Chen was always recognized as being invincible. When this boy becomes a Progenitor, it’s highly likely that he will reach the same level of strength as Progenitor Chen, and there’s no way that he will still be unable to give us Extremes Must Be Reversed at that time. We need to play the long game here. The reason why Lu Yin is constantly protected by the Hall of Honor is because they can see his future potential.”

"The Seven Courts is not some permanent organization, and we are only working together because of Progenitor Chen's Mausoleum, though the same things might tear us apart. It’s impossible to know the future, but we need options to ensure a path forward for our family."

"Understood," Ku Pu said respectfully.

Ku Rong casually ordered, "Give him one of the five Withered Barks from the ancestor."

Ku Pu's expression completely changed, and his reluctance was quite clear. Still, he answered, “Understood."

…

The story of Progenitor Ku had piqued Lu Yin’s interest in the Voidsoul Region, but while he wanted to uncover more regarding Progenitor Ku's past, Lu Yin could not remain in the Voidsoul Region forever.

Also, the members of the Ku family were very respectful towards Lu Yin, and Ku Lei even bowed every time he saw Lu Yin.

Lu Yin raised his gadget to make a call. He was reaching out to Madam Yōu.

The Yōu clan was actually one of Lu Yin’s strongest motivations for visiting the Seven Courts. Running into Undying Yushan in Aeternus Nation had been quite upsetting to Lu Yin, and he had already been told that there was a connection between Undying Yushan and a certain person: Progenitor Yōu Ming.

The Ancient Progenitor was in the Yōu clan’s ancestry, and so the only way to learn about Yōu Ming was through the Yōu clan.

The Yōu clan had already split apart, and the Yōu Secret Art had been hidden in the Innerverse. There had to be some reason for this move, though the Sword Sect had failed to find it. Lu Yin had to uncover the reason quickly.

Madam Yōu had joined the Great Eastern Alliance in the war against the Astral Beast Domain, and she had done well during the fighting. This meant that the Sword Sect could not do anything to the Yōu family for the time being, which had given the Yōu family a bit of peace, though they knew that such peace would not last very long.

Madam Yōu had already felt an increasing change in the Sword Sect’s attitude towards her family.

The most obvious indication was how the Sword Sect’s Elder Li came and went through the Yōu family’s territory as though it was an uninhabited land. He clearly did not care about the existence of an Envoy like Madam Yōu at all, which left the woman with a bad premonition.

When such actions were combined with what was happening to the Yōu clan, Madam Yōu was very worried.

"Mother, has there been any word from the main house?" Yōu Ye'er visited Madam Yōu and anxiously probed.

Madam Yōu's expression grew ugly. "Go focus on your training. That’s none of your concern!"

"If the main house is in trouble, we’re losing our foundation. The Sword Sect's treatment of us has only gotten increasingly worse. Mother, you just fought in the war against the astral beasts, and yet they’re already treating us so badly. They’re being too overbearing," Yōu Ye'er angrily complained.

Madam Yōu's eyes turned cold. The Sword Sect's treatment of the Yōu family was an indication of the Great Eastern Alliance’s attitude, or more precisely, Lu Yin’s attitude.

Madam Yōu had tried speaking with Lu Yin on multiple occasions, but he had never once agreed to support the Yōu family. All of her previous attempts had failed, and there was no chance of success without revealing everything to the young man.

But could she take that risk? Madam Yōu grew increasingly anxious and worried. Lu Yin had gained a completely different status from when she had first spoken to him. Originally, she had only wished to join the Great Eastern Alliance to take advantage of Lu Yin’s impressive influence and background, but the youth himself had posed no threat to Madam Yōu. He had been a safer option than the Sword Sect, but that had since changed. At the moment, Lu Yin was far, far more dangerous than the Sword Sect had ever been.

If the Yōu family was in the same position as it had been in the past, not even the threat of the Sword Sect would be enough for Madam Yōu to risk telling Lu Yin anything sensitive, but everything had changed. At the moment, the Yōu family was under the complete control of the Sword Sect, and Yōu Ye'er was even being monitored at all times by them. If not for Madam Yōu’s participation in the war against the Astral Beast Domain, Yōu Ye'er would never have been released.

The Yōu family no longer needed simple protection, but a chance to simply survive. Their situation had changed so quickly that Madam Yōu had no idea how to proceed.

At this moment, her gadget beeped, and Madam Yōu was stunned when she looked down to see who was calling: Lu Yin?

Yōu Ye'er also saw the caller ID. "Mother, it’s Lu Yin!"

Madam Yōu gestured for her daughter to stay silent, and then took a deep breath before answering the call. “Alliance Leader Lu, what can I do for you?"

Lu Yin was wandering about the Voidsoul Region, observing the dead trees that were strewn about. He calmly replied, "How have things been for you lately? Is the Sword Sect still making things difficult for you?"

Madam Yōu had no idea why Lu Yin would ask such a thing. It was impossible for him to be ignorant of what the Sword Sect was doing. What did this young man want?

"Things are still the same as before," Madam Yōu replied. She found Lu Yin to be far more terrifying than the Sword Sect. She was subconsciously on edge, but her circumstances did not allow her to simply avoid Lu Yin, which complicated the situation and left her uncertain as to how she should speak to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin heard the stiffness in Madam Yōu's response. "Alright, I understand. That’s all."

With that, he simply ended the call.

He wanted information about Progenitor Yōu Ming, but it was possible that Madam Yōu would not be honest with him. The wariness that he had just heard in her voice told Lu Yin it would be difficult to get any of the information he wanted from the woman, so the best choice was to have the Sword Sect handle the dirty work for him.

Lu Yin was about to send Liu Qianjue a message, asking the Sword Sect to make things more difficult for the Yōu family, but he almost instantly received a call request from Madam Yōu. "Alliance Leader Lu, can you help us?"

Madam Yōu’s face was pale, and she looked completely out of options as she spoke to Lu Yin. Yōu Yu’er stood just behind her mother, her fists clenched. The young woman looked as upset as her mother. Things were not going well for their Yōu family, and if they were not careful, they might soon follow in the Yu family’s footsteps.

Lu Yin was surprised by the sudden call. "Didn't you just tell me that things are no different from before? You should still be fine."

Madam Yōu quietly answered, "I’m not asking for the Yōu family, but for the Yōu clan."

Lu Yin felt puzzled. "You’re going to have to explain that."

Madam Yōu fell silent for a while. "Before the Astral Beast Domain invaded the Outerverse, something was discovered in Burial Garden. Reports claim that the Seven Skygods attacked Burial Garden and that attack was even what led to the Progenitor of Secret Arts to betray humanity. The Seven Skygods were able to enter Burial Garden by following Yōu Qi."

"Yōu Qi?" Lu Yin was momentarily confused, but then he quickly remembered. "Isn’t he the younger brother of the Yōu clan’s Yōu Qin? The dark knight-looking guy who was able to summon the Sword Sect’s Thirteen Swords when he fought me in the Mountains and Seas Zone?"

"That's right." Madam Yōu was not surprised to learn that Lu Yin was already aware of what had happened in Burial Garden. His current status allowed him access to too much information. "His body acted as a beacon for the Seven Skygods. After Burial Garden was sealed, the Hall of Honor launched an investigation into the Yōu clan, and the Interstellar Supreme Court has sealed them off completely. It’s possible that the Yōu clan is in serious trouble right now. Alliance Leader Lu, I don’t know if the Yōu clan really did cooperate with the Neohuman Alliance, and I can only hope that it’s not true. It’s possible that Yōu Qi acted entirely alone, but I simply hope that this matter won’t destroy the Yōu clan, let alone my Yōu family."

Lu Yin had known almost nothing about the incident regarding Burial Garden after the place had been closed off, as he had not been paying attention to it. Learning that Yōu Qi had been the key to the Neohuman Alliance gaining entrance was a surprise to him.

"There have already been rumors of a traitor to humanity in the Seven Courts. Does this mean that it was Yōu Qi?" Lu Yin asked.

Madam Yōu's voice grew bitter. "I don't know, but that’s not very likely. The Neohuman Alliance was able to enter Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum even before Yōu Qi was born, so he should not be the traitor from those rumors."

"But he’s the reason why the Interstellar Supreme Court is investigating the Yōu clan." Lu Yin understood that Yōu Qi might be a traitor, but there was no way that he was the only traitor within the Seven Courts. In that case, who was the person behind Yōu Qi?

When Lu Yin had exited Progenitor Chen's Mausoleum, the Seven Courts had already guessed that the Neohuman Alliance had been given the coordinates for the tomb by an inside traitor. This was also the reason why Lu Yin had first butted heads with Xia Yi.

When Lu Yin thought back to that time, the matriarch of the Yōu clan, Yōu Kexin, had spoken up to defend him. She had done so because Lu Yin had already been a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and Lockbreakers were notorious for protecting each other.

If it turned out that there were no traitors within the Yōu clan, then Lu Yin needed to repay that favor.

Just a reminder, but in order to keep things as clear and understandable as possible, the Yōu clan is the group that remained behind in the Neoverse, while the Yōu family is the group that broke away and fled to the Innerverse.