Chapter 376: Chance Encounter
“Their normal standard doesn’t lack much even when compared to you, so you can imagine what that’s like when that’s multiplied tenfold! This should also explain to you why the entire universe views the Neohuman Alliance as a great enemy. Their power cannot be judged by normal conventions, and all of their members are automatically disregarded whenever the universe judges the strongest of the younger generation.”
“If the Neohuman Alliance is one of the Three Dark Hands, then the other two Hands must possess about the same power, right?”
The Ghost Monkey sighed. “I don’t know about that since the Court of Seven Names has declined, but even then, its power cannot be fathomed by normal people. As for the last Hand, no one knows.”
“Then, are members of the other two Hands also eliminated when the universe evaluates the younger generation?”
“Maybe, but they probably aren’t at the standard of the Ten Arbiters. Those ten are the result of the universe’s great change.”
“How do you know so much? You even know the characteristics of a Mutant Corpse King.” Lu Yin was baffled.
The monkey was pleased by Lu Yin’s question. “Everything I know was written in those ancestors’ records. They roamed the universe for many years, and they naturally ended up knowing a lot.”
“Then tell me what’s above the grey eyes.” Lu Yin was curious.
The monkey paused. “Green eyes.”
“And above that?”
“Seventh Bro, do you really think that I’m an idiot? Only a ghost would know what’s above green eyes. Anyone who’s seen above that has died! They wouldn’t even have a chance to record it down!
“Right, Seventh Bro, how did you survive? Last I remember, we should have been killed by a Hunter.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “You didn’t see?”
“See what?”
Lu Yin did not know if the monkey was faking ignorance since he hadn’t had enough time to screen off the beast’s senses before using the die. “A powerhouse happened to pa.s.s by and saved us on their way.”
“A mighty powerhouse? They saved us? In that case, why didn’t they send us someplace safe? We even ran into a Corpse King!” the Ghost Monkey continued to nitpick at the details.
Lu Yin grew impatient. “Where are all these questions coming from? Any more and I’ll block you off again.”
The monkey was rendered speechless and could only mutter silently to himself.
Lu Yin finally managed to get his hands on a s.p.a.cecraft, but it was a very ordinary vessel and much slower than what Lu Yin had been travelling on before. Also, the s.p.a.cecraft presented a new problem for him.
While he was escaping, the personal s.p.a.cecraft had been struck by something and damaged, so it would not be able to go all the way to the Northline Flowzone. Lu Yin had no choice but to look for the nearest transfer planet and hitch a ride on a merchant’s ship to the Northline Flowzone.
The closest transfer planet wasn’t too far from him, and it would have taken his previous s.p.a.cecraft less than ten minutes to travel there. However, his current s.p.a.cecraft flew at a more leisurely pace, and the journey ended up taking an entire two hours.
Lu Yin did not plan on keeping this s.p.a.cecraft since it was too slow. It also wasn’t an Aurora, so it couldn’t be upgraded.
When he walked out of the s.p.a.ce station, he looked up and took a deep breath. A cacophony of melodies and noises instantly a.s.saulted his senses. The environment on this planet was acceptable, and the development of its technology was pretty good. Overall, it had a rather lively atmosphere.
He used the perks that came with his Honor Points to quickly seek out the person with the highest authority at the s.p.a.ce station. Once they recognized him, they quickly expedited his processing through the checkpoints and gave him a new change of clothes. After only about ten minutes, Lu Yin was aboard a pa.s.senger flight headed towards the Northline Flowzone, and in a luxury cabin to boot.
Lu Yin sat in a sleak, cozy recliner within the cabin, ready to check the news regarding the Northline Flowzone. But as soon as he opened his gadget, a message appeared with a bunch of words that caused black lines to crease Lu Yin’s forehead. “Return the money, return the money…”
Lu Yin was speechless. That brat Lulu was pushing him. She had probably gone to visit the Great Yu Empire, not discovered any clues related to the Seven Courts, and then directed all her frustrations onto him.
Lu Yin replied, “Hang tight.”
Not long after, Lulu sent him another message. “You’re so cruel to not pay me back.”
Lu Yin’s face distorted. He had never even said that he wouldn’t pay her back!
He was about to retort when he noticed a fragrance waft towards him, and he looked up to see a beauty sitting in the sleek chair next to him. She nodded amicably towards Lu Yin.
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. She was such a beautiful lady, and she only seemed to be about twenty or so. Her style was fashionable, but not too revealing, and her high-heels were very noticeable. Lu Yin had not seen any of the ladies around him wearing high-heels before since they were not suited for battle.
This woman was elegant and different from the combative females that Lu Yin was usually around. She had a gentle aura around her. It was not a pure gentleness like Ming Yan, but more like a concealed sharpness, where a tough interior was covered with a soft veneer.
“Nice curves, Seventh Bro. She’s checking you out! Time to make a move!” the monkey shrieked within Lu Yin’s head.
Since he had been in a hurry, Lu Yin had ended up boarding the lowest grade pa.s.senger vessel. Even though he was in a luxury cabin, it wasn’t actually a single room and housed two people. He had been wondering who would be his companion for this trip, but he had never imagined that he would end up paired with a beauty.
Lu Yin nodded amicably towards the girl and then looked back to his gadget, ready to write an angry reply to Lulu.
At that moment, the girl stretched out a slender, pure-white hand to Lu Yin. “Student Lu, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Lily Anne.”
Lu Yin was astonished, but briefly grasped the girl’s hand before quickly releasing it. “Lily Anne? What an unusual surname.”
Lily Anne stroked her l.u.s.trous hair with a smile. “Student Lu is correct. I’m from the Northline Flowzone’s Lily family.”
Lu Yin was immediately taken aback. “So you’re the heir of the Lily family. What a coincidence it is to meet you here.”
She smiled. “I thought so as well. I never expected to meet the strongest and most famous champion from the academy.”
“Miss Lily Anne is also from the Astral Combat Academy?” Lu Yin was puzzled.
“I graduated. Now, I have nothing to do, so I roam about every day.”
“Oh,” Lu Yin acknowledged.
At that point, the s.p.a.cecraft started moving towards the Northline Flowzone.
This kind of pa.s.senger s.p.a.cecraft had an agreement with the Astral River Tributary Ark so that it could cross at predetermined times. If one could afford to buy a ticket, then they would definitely reach the Northline Flowzone on schedule.
Lu Yin had not paid any money, but he had still been able to casually board the s.p.a.cecraft. Although it was a bit embarra.s.sing, he would save money whenever he could, as even this small amount might allow him to Possess with someone more suitable whenever he rolled six pips: Possession again.
Lily Anne was Lu Yin’s senior by nearly ten years, and she was much more experienced than him as well as an Astral Combat Academy graduate. Lu Yin increased his knowledge by discussing a variety of topics with her within the luxurious cabin. Well, he at least discovered that not everyone within the Human Domain had the same features. There was a common phenomenon, similar to the natives of Firesmelt Planet, where people’s appearances would change to better suit the environment of the planet.
Lily Anne introduced several monstrous-looking humans to Lu Yin; some had four hands, grew to be a hundred meters tall, were born with three eyes, or could only speak in song. Lu Yin could only stare at her blankly as he tried to wrap his mind around each introduction.
This Lily Anne was clearly an Explorer since she had graduated from the Astral Combat Academy, but Lu Yin found it very difficult to sense any ripple of star energy from her. She either had a similar technique to Lu Yin’s Invisible Aura Technique, or she had developed a habit of concealing her aura. Of course, another possibility was that she had comprehended a domain and had merged into her surroundings.
“Previously, we caught wind that Student Lu would be managing our Northline Flowzone, and we are rather excited. Student Lu is not as arrogant as those from the Daynight clan and is more easy to get along with,” she said happily.
Lu Yin smiled. “Miss Lily Anne is exaggerating. I’m only ‘overseeing’ the younger generation and not ‘managing’ them. The Ten Arbiters Council has no authority to meddle in the various administrations, so we’ll only intervene if there are any youths who overstep their boundaries.”
She smiled. “That’s already quite impressive. The brilliance of the Ten Arbiters has illuminated the universe, and I trust that Student Lu will reach similar heights in future.”
Lu Yin could tell that this woman was trying to flatter him.
“When will Student Lu break through to the Explorer realm? I heard that, during the Astral Combat Tournament, Student Lu made an agreement with the Sword Sect’s Liu Shaoqiu to challenge the Top Hundred Rankings together. I believe that Student Lu should already be powerful enough to challenge those on the rankings.”
Lu Yin humbly replied, “No, not yet. The Top 100 Rankings are the younger generation’s best elites, and I’m still just a Limiteer. I wouldn’t dare to be delusional. However, Miss Lily Anne should be amongst the Top Hundred, correct?”
Lily Anne shook her head. “No. Of those from the Northline Flowzone, only Northgate Lie has stepped into the Top Hundred Rankings, and he’s only ranked ninety third at that. The rest of us are unable to qualify, so we wish for Student Lu to fight and bring glory to the Northline Flowzone since you are now a part of us.”
Lu Yin immediately refuted her words with modest remarks.
The conversation between the two had moved from something normal to something abnormal. Lu Yin didn’t even notice when they had started flattering each other, but their talk became weirder and weirder until they soon stopped talking.
“Seventh Bro, what does this woman want? To lick your boots?” The monkey could not understand the girl’s behavior.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. Lick my boots? It was certainly possible since he felt like this woman wanted to put him at a disadvantage through her flattery. However, it was also possible that his current status was high enough to attract sycophants who wanted to b.u.t.ter up to him. He turned to look at the woman next to him.
Lily Anne was holding a book and reading it in an elegant manner. Under the soft illumination of the cabin lights, she looked like a G.o.ddess.
Lu Yin turned away. It did not seem all that likely that this woman was trying to cozy up to him. However, he had also never offended her, and he wasn’t losing out on anything either. Could it be that she wanted to ask him for some favor?
He activated his gadget and began to research the Lily family. He quickly found some information about Lily Anne, and his eyes widened in surprise. This woman was actually the successor of the Lily family, but she spent her time roaming about as she pleased? Were these families actually this carefree?
He turned to look at Lily Anne once again. Now that he knew about her ident.i.ty as her family’s successor, the woman’s G.o.ddess-like aura became even more intense. To many, marrying such a woman would mean an abrupt rise in power as she represented the Lily family, one of the Northline Flowzone’s three great families. They even had an almighty powerhouse watching over them whose power level was over 200,000.
“Student Lu, what’s the matter?” Lu Yin had been staring at Lily Anne this entire time, and his actions didn’t go unnoticed.
Lu Yin felt awkward. “This- Miss Lily Anne, I would like to ask you something about the Northgate Platform Compet.i.tion.”
She set her book down and smiled gently. “Student Lu, you should have already learned about the general situation from the network, and with your authority, you should be able to find out some of the more confidential information as well. What does Student Lu wish to know more about? Feel free to ask me.”
Lu Yin muttered to himself for a few seconds before looking at her. “The seventeen families stand united just because of this Northgate Platform Compet.i.tion? The three great families always control Northgate Platform, which seems to imply that the other fourteen families are just their va.s.sals. Am I understanding the situation correctly?”
Lily Anne’s eyes flashed, and she started stroking her hair again. “Student Lu’s perspective is not quite the same as others’. Generally, people watch the battles at Northgate Platform to see which youths from the seventeen families are good-looking, or which powers they are friendly towards. However, Student Lu seems to be more concerned about the matter of the families being united, is that correct?”
?