Chapter 156: Bloodstained Space
When Lu Yin saw Rocky, a feeling of guilt crept up within his heart. He had just been talking with Undying Yushan about how he could best make use of the Auna Family just now. Who could have guessed that he would run into one of the aforementioned people. It really was bad to talk about someone behind their back. He shouldn’t have heard anything… right?
“Hello, Captain Rocky,” Lu Yin greeted enthusiastically and modestly.
Rocky Auna nodded, his expression as indifferent as ever. He even managed to squeeze out a smile as he asked, “Do you have the time to visit the Auna Family? Our family head has been waiting to meet you for a long time.”
Lu Yin’s first instinct was to refuse, but after thinking things over, he ultimately decided to accept Rocky’s offer. He would have to visit the family sooner or later as, even though he had a marriage agreement with them, he hadn’t done so yet. Even if his actions were interpreted in the most generous manner possible, he would be seen as having no manners. However, if people tried to read into his intentions, then they might think that he thought nothing of the Auna Family. And this was the Auna Family, a powerful family with a Cruiser at its head.
“Of course. I’ve long since wanted to visit Snow Mountain, sir,” Lu Yin answered politely.
Rocky smiled at Lu Yin before leading the way. Soon enough, they arrived before a luxurious spacecraft. The two of them then embarked for the Auna Family’s residence.
Meanwhile, in the dark void of outer space, an ancient sword pierced through the stars, aimed straight at the Great Yu Empire.
But in reality, it was a spacecraft in the shape of a sword. No matter how closely one inspected it, it looked like a sword flying through outer space at exceptional speeds. Spacecraft like these were rarely seen and only ever came from the Innerverse’s Ten Thousand Swords Peak. Within it was Wendy Yushan, who was rushing back to her homeworld.
Within the spacecraft, Wendy had an indifferent and icy expression on her face. While she did not care much for the Great Yu Empire, it was still her birthplace, and her family was still there. If anyone had the guts to challenge the empire, then she’d kill them all.
Not too much later, she saw a spacecraft approaching hers from the front, as if it were fleeing away from the Great Yu Empire.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw the spacecraft, and with a casual stomp of her foot, she tore through space and appeared directly in front of the spacecraft. Then, with a wave of her hand, numerous metallic glints shimmered in space that instantly destroyed the spacecraft. Every person who was inside died with the sole exception of a middle-aged man, who emerged from the wreckage with a pathetic expression. He gazed at Wendy in shock. “Y-you’ve returned?”
Wendy’s gaze was cold. “What happened?”
The middle-aged man grit his teeth and turned pale before he spoke. “Your father, Undying Yushan, is fine. We were deceived by him and didn’t manage to hurt him in the slightest.”
Wendy continued glaring at him. “I already know that, but that’s not what I wanted to hear.”
“You might be a disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak, but I’m still not someone you should provoke. I’ve also got someone-” But before the middle-aged man could finish his words, Wendy killed him with a single blow. He had been a Cruiser, albeit seriously injured, and had still been very powerful. But he couldn’t even hold out against Wendy for even a second and had been instantly killed.
“I’ll look for the person who’s backing you, ant.” Wendy’s tone was calm, complete unconcerned about whether the Cruiser was dead or alive. Arrogant wasn’t even strong enough to describe her mind. In her eyes, even Innerverse powerhouses weren’t worth considering. Like she’d said, they were mere ants in her eyes.
After Wendy returned to her sword-shaped spacecraft, it continued flying into the distance.
Each Innerverse spacecraft that she met on the way was destroyed by her. She didn’t care about who these people were nor the organizations behind them. She was a disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak and also a member of the Ten Arbiters Council. No matter how brazen these people might have been, they didn’t have the guts to attack someone related to the Ten Arbiters; the Ten Arbiters were the pinnacle of tyranny, influence, and power.
Soon enough, many Innerverse organizations received the news of their members being slaughtered and became enraged. However, there was nothing they could do about Wendy Yushan. As she already knew, while they could work together to disregard Ten Thousand Swords Peak, they could never stand against the monstrous Ten Arbiters. At this moment, they were already intensely regretting their decision. If they’d known that the Great Yu Empire had birthed such a terrifying monster, then they would have tried to remove Undying Yushan regardless of the cost years ago. Then, a heaven-defying person like Wendy Yushan would have never come into existence.
Along the way, at least fifteen cultivators at the Explorer realm or above were killed by her as she paved her way home with blood. The entire space path was splattered with blood, and any soldiers or space pirates that passed by trembled in fear when they saw the macabre scene.
Wendy Yushan had used such a high-profile manner to announce her return, but when she looked at Zenyu Star, she was still very far away.
At that moment, Lu Yin had just arrived at the Auna Family’s residence.
This clan was one of the strongest among the entire Great Yu Empire. Among its members, besides the captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, Rocky Auna, the family also held another mysterious existence—Xueshan Auna. That person was a key member of the Auna Family and held the same status as Huo Qingshan within his.
This was something that Lu Yin had found out after chatting with Rocky Auna. He’d thought that the Auna family head wasn’t a warrior, but to his surprise, the person was even more powerful than Rocky Auna.
While admiring the grand manor, Lu Yin felt a chilling sensation wash over him. This was a natural side effect that emerged whenever someone activated the Auna Family’s battle technique that had been passed down through countless generations: the Blizzard Palm. Every blood-related member of the Auna Family had trained in this technique at some point in time.
As they approached the entrance of the manor, Lu Yin saw someone he knew—Torry Auna, the vice-captain of the Ninth Imperial Squadron who had nearly killed him back on Earth.
As soon as the two of them saw Torry Auna, Rocky carefully shifted gazes to observe Lu Yin. He wanted to use Torry to get a glimpse of Lu Yin’s bearing and see if he was a petty person or not. For normal people, it would be nearly impossible for them to ignore someone who had nearly caused them to die.
Thankfully, Lu Yin was merely slightly surprised at seeing Torry Aura. Then, he nodded at him and smiled casually.
Rocky Auna gently sighed. Thankfully, this King Zishan was not a petty person, which meant that he had the potential to accomplish great things in his life.
Lu Yin didn’t mind Torry Auna at all. He had never blamed Torry for anything at all. In fact, to him, it even made sense that the vice-captain had acted against him, since Lu Yin had tried to rob Jenny Auna. At that time, he hadn’t become King Zishan yet and had merely been betting that his threats would work. Besides, after his identity as King Zishan was verified, Torry had stopped trying to cause trouble for him. Everything that had been done purely out of necessity. There was no need to pursue things any further.
Torry Auna was the Ninth Imperial Squadron’s vice-captain and an Explorer realm powerhouse. No matter how high Lu Yin’s position was, he still had to give him the basic amount of respect that such a powerhouse commanded. Lu Yin nodding to Torry Auna was enough to show his sincerity.
Torry couldn’t help himself from sneaking a glance at Rocky, who surreptitiously nodded back. After seeing this, Torry bowed to Lu Yin before leaving.
Lu Yin didn’t notice this silent exchange as he was instead enamored with the Auna Family’s manor. It wasn’t very extravagant or grand, and its decorations could actually be called simple. From a distance, it was pure white; the Auna Family manor was covered from ceiling to floor with snow and ice.
“Our family has passed down the Blizzard Palm technique for generations. The effects are multiplied when we train in such an environment,” Rocky explained.
Lu Yin grunted in understanding. “I heard that the Auna Family’s Blizzard Palm technique can even freeze the void. Quite impressive.”
Rocky burst into laughter. “Any battle technique becomes frightening when its wielder is strong enough. The battle technique in and of itself isn’t that powerful. You’ve fought with Jenny before, so you should have experienced it for yourself then. It’s not powerful enough to threaten you.”
Lu Yin inwardly agreed with Rocky’s assessment, but he still had to be polite, “It’s a battle technique that’s been passed down through many generations, after all. That’s more than enough to make many people throughout the empire envious.”
Rocky shook his head. “The Outerverse is still the Outerverse in the end. The Blizzard Palm technique can be considered to be a pretty good technique in the Great Yu Empire, but it’s nothing compared to the techniques of the great organizations in the Innerverse.” At this point, Rocky looked at Lu Yin and said in an admiring tone, “I saw how you took out that Limiteer from the Outerverse Youth Council in front of the palace. You’re powerful.”
Everything suddenly clicked together for Lu Yin; he had been wondering why Rocky Auna’s attitude had changed so drastically, but it seems that in the end, it all came down to power. His identity as King Zishan meant nothing to Rocky, but his battle power was a whole other story. Lu Yin had handily defeated those Limiteers from the Youth Council, and that organization was one of the top within the Great Yu Empire. If Rocky knew that Lu Yin had also enhanced the purple star, then he might even start asking about Lu Yin’s innate gift.
After considering all of this, Lu Yin sighed ruefully in gratitude. Undying Yushan had been very generous to not ask about this matter at all.
“The only person amongst the Great Yu Empire’s younger generation that can stand up to you is probably Schutz from Astral-10. The others, even Limiteers, are no match for you,” Rocky said happily.
Lu Yin merely smiled. Schutz? He was one of the bottom ranked students in Astral-10 in terms of power while Lu Yin was the leader; the gap between them was huge. However, there was no need for him to say anything. Rocky might not believe him and even think that he was spouting nonsense.
The Auna Family mansion wasn’t completely covered with ice and snow, and there were places with normal weather as well.
After passing through the manor, they walked for ten minutes before reaching a sitting room. There, the current head of the Auna Family, Xueshan Auna, was already waiting.
Not only was Xueshan Auna the family head of the Auna family, but he was also Jenny’s father.
Lu Yin suddenly had the strange feeling he was being introduced to his father-in-law. While he had never considered marrying Jenny, many people in the empire already thought him as the Auna Family’s son-in-law. In some sense, he really was meeting his father-in-law.
Lu Yin paused for a moment before stepping into the living room. From a glance, he saw that a solemn looking middle-aged man was sitting at the master’s seat. This was naturally Xueshan Auna.
Lu Yin bowed, “Greetings, Uncle Xueshan.”
Xueshan Auna inspected Lu Yin with a curious look on his face. Lu Yin didn’t move and just remained standing.
A while later, Xueshan nodded in satisfaction and warmly said, “Have a seat. You too, Rocky.”
“Yes, sir,” Rocky answered.
Lu Yin bowed once again. “Thank you, sir.”
When Lu Yin sat down, a servant immediately came over and poured tea for the three of them. The fragrance was pleasant and calming with a hint of bitterness. The leaves themselves seemed to be frosted over, which piqued Lu Yin’s curiosity.
Xueshan Auna looked at Lu Yin as he said, “I’ve always wanted to greet you. Forgive me for making you come all the way to our Auna Family mansion.”
Lu Yin politely answered, “Not at all, sir. I should be the one greeting you. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Xueshan Auna was very satisfied with Lu Yin’s congenial attitude; he was neither arrogant nor hot-tempered. In the past, he would not have cared one way or another, but he now knew that this person was a student of Astral-10. Lu Yin had the ability to also easily defeat Limiteers from the Outerverse Youth Council, but his demeanor remained polite. This was rare. “Enough with the pleasantries. I hope that you won’t mind if I call you Little Yin.”
Lu Yin smiled. “That’s what His Majesty calls me as well. Of course I don’t mind.”
“Alright then. How’s life in the Astral Combat Academy, Little Yin?” Xueshan asked.
Rocky looked at Lu Yin. The two Auna men might be powerful, but they had never gone to the academy. The Astral Combat Academy was the most prestigious academy in the universe and neither of them had met the requirements when they were younger.
Lu Yin gave a brief summary on his activities in the academy. Of course, he did not mention Astral-10’s decline. Just as Undying Yushan had instructed him, regardless of whether he actually married Jenny, it was necessary to maintain his value in the Auna Family’s eyes. If they discovered what had happened to Astral-10, then Lu Yin’s value would drop along with it.