Chapter 190: The Palm In The Darkness
Lu Yin turned around to look around the lounge. He immediately noticed that there was a star chart of the surrounding regions, and it was stamped with the symbol that represented the Astral River, and the chart showed their distance from the Astral River. There was also a special symbol on the chart accompanied with the label, “pirate port.”
Pirate port? Lu Yin looked at the area more closely and saw that they were no more than ten regions away. It would only take about five days of wormhole traveling to arrive. That port was most likely a secret harbor where countless interstellar pirates gathered and one of the dark pits of the Outerverse.
“Who are you?” a heavy voice sounded from next to Lu Yin. The Mad Viper Knight had stood up, and his face was stern as he spoke to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin turned around and smiled back. “I heard that Mr. Knight graduated from the Astral Combat Academy, so I wanted to learn a bit more about him.”
The Mad Viper Knight’s eyes widened and a flash of killing intent crossed through his eyes. “It’s a good plan to use the light to hide the dark, but it won’t be that easy to get rid of my Knight Pirates.”
The star energy in his body exploded out at that moment, shattering the lights in the lounge. It was so thick that Lu Yin could, with his naked eye, see the Mad Viper Knight’s star energy congeal into a python. The star energy python then opened its mouth and hissed at Lu Yin. He immediately retreated, and the place that he had just been standing in a moment ago shattered as it was struck by star energy. A viscous green liquid spread out in every direction, corroding the metal walls.
Poison? Lu Yin raised his brows and shifted sideways to avoid the Mad Viper Knight’s cane as it thrust forward as the area had been sealed by star energy. Lu Yin was surprised by the Mad Viper Knight’s strength. The fact that his control over star energy had reached the realm of infinite changes was evident of that. He was a Limiteer who must have received higher education, and he might truly be an alumnus of the Astral Combat Academy.
Bang!
There was a thunderous sound that accompanied the lounge’s explosion. The vessel simply could not withstand the attacks of an Limiteer.
Lu Yin avoided using Flash. This Mad Viper Knight’s strength was good, and he greatly surpassed every pirate that Lu Yin had encountered before. He had been able to crush every peak Limiteer that he had come across in the Outerverse as they were all of average strength. However, the Mad Viper Knight hadn’t only reached the realm of infinite changes; he also cultivated a powerful battle technique that released poison. Unfortunately, all of this was useless against Lu Yin as this level of power was not enough to threaten him. If the Mad Viper Knight had really been a student of the Astral Combat Academy, then he would have definitely been ranked among the weakest.
Lu Yin let out a fierce shout as he tore through the star energy python and slammed his hand into the Mad Viper Knight. The Limiteer ring armor that the pirate captain had just donned was shattered, and his star energy was dispersed. His body was forced up against the wall, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as a dumbfounded look surfaced on his face.
“Realmbreaker.” The Mad Viper Knight finally realized the situation that he was in when Lu Yin’s palm had caused him to recall his time in the Astral Combat Academy. The Mad Viper Knight had paled in comparison to those freaks who had made him despair whenever he saw them. And now, he had met another one yet again.
The lounge was shrouded in darkness, but Lu Yin steadily walked straight towards the Mad Viper Knight step by step by relying on the indistinct starlight to guide him, ready to obtain his spoils. At that moment, a stray strand of light flashed out from a sword blade, and Lu Yin evaded to the side. The lounge was cleaved in two by the blade strike, and Lu Yin felt a heavy aura behind him. It was an aura that desired to slice everything to pieces.
Lu Yin’s gaze sharpened as he throught to himself, Is this a domain? He raised his hand and enveloped himself in battle force as a precautionary measure. He then activated his Cosmic Art as a sword stabbed towards him from behind. He easily evaded before retaliating with a Cosmic Palm.
The nine stars exploded, empowered by an overwhelming battle force, and Lu Yin snapped the attacker’s blade in half before directly attacking their body. This person was sent flying out of the lounge and into the distance. There was no telling how many walls they had blasted through.
Bang!
The broken blade fell to the floor, attracting Lu Yin’s attention. As he looked at it, he frowned. Red? It looks very familiar. Could it be Zhuo Daynight?
Lu Yin’s face changed and he rushed out of the lounge in a hurry.
Back in the lounge, the Mad Viper Knight spat out another mouthful of blood before he peeled himself off of the wall with great difficulty. He panted heavily and stared in the direction that Lu Yin had taken off in fear. Where did all of these terrifying youths come from? One has a domain and the other battle force. With their young age, they must be freaks from the Astral Combat Academy!
He grit his teeth as a bone-deep hatred flashed across his eyes. He hated those arrogant, freakish geniuses as their very existence prevented people like him from making a name for themselves.
Cough cough.
The Mad Viper Knight dragged his heavily injured body out from the lounge.
At this moment, the entire vessel was permeated with a thick bloodmist as countless pirates had died. The corridor was painted with blood, and the other two Limiteers had already been beheaded.
Lu Yin dashed through a few shattered lounges before he finally saw Zhuo Daynight, fainted, a hundred meters away. Her face was pale and she was still clasping the hilt of her broken blade.
“It really is you,” Lu Yin said with a grimace. He had not been able to see in the darkness of the shattered lounge and had thus retaliated with an excessive amount of force. However, he was not at fault as Zhuo Daynight had been the first to attack.
Lu Yin took out some medicine and fed it to Zhuo Daynight. She coughed twice and forced her eyes open. When she saw Lu Yin’s indistinct figure, she mumbled, “It- it’s you.”
“Why are you here?” Lu Yin asked.
Zhuo Daynight looked at him despondently as a thin line of blood flowed out of the corner of her lips. Her pure face was devastatingly pale. “You- why are you here?”
“I happened to get robbed.”
Zhuo Daynight looked around and saw her broken blade. She breathed out and coughed again, causing a fresh gush of blood to cascade down her lips. Her eyes glazed over and she fainted again.
Lu Yin immediately tried to rouse her, but it was useless. Her internal organs had been too heavily wounded by his attack. She had been struck with a terrifyingly powerful nine star Cosmic Palm. Even Uro had been overpowered by that palm, so there was no need to mention Zhuo Daynight. She was already lucky to not have died immediately upon direct.
Lu Yin was left helpless as he held her against his body. He could not let her die here. While it was true that she had schemed against him before, she was not a bad person at her core. With her background, she was probably cleaning up pirates while on her way back to the Innerverse. In fact, it was not that strange to have run into her here.
Wait, the Mad Viper Knight! Lu Yin suddenly remembered this person and carried Zhuo Daynight back to the lounge, but the pirate captain was nowhere to be found.
A personal spacecraft flew out of the pirate ship. The Mad Viper Knight had managed to drag his injured body into a personal spacecraft and was now gazing malevolently at his own pirate ship. “Go and die. Be buried with my spacecraft.” He then pressed a button to destroy the entire vessel.
A red light flickered within the pirate’s spacecraft. Lu Yin’s expression changed drastically when he heard the urgent alarm, and he hurriedly carried Zhuo Daynight as he Flashed towards where he had docked his own spacecraft.
Little Eight and the rest had also seen the flashing red lights and had immediately realized that the vessel was about to explode. Little Eight had immediately given orders to leave, completely disregarding Lu Yin’s current status, but fortunately, Lu Yin had arrived at the last moment.
Little Eight immediately welcomed him aboard with a rich expression. “Boss, it would’ve been too late if you didn’t arrive just now. These people insisted on leaving, but I was the one who wanted to wait for you no matter if we lived or died.”
“Shut up and find a doctor,” Lu Yin barked.
Little Eight quickly ordered the crew to quickly leave the field of meteoroids and seek a doctor.
Not long after their departure, the entire cluster of meteorites exploded, and the Knight Pirates’ spacecraft was vaporized. Apart from the Mad Viper Knight, not a single other from that pirate group survived.
Lu Yin sighed, as this trip had been a fruitless endeavor.
“Boss, we saw a spacecraft departing. That should have been the Mad Viper Knight,” Little Eight spoke apprehensively.
Lu Yin nodded and then seemed to remember something. “I recall you saying that the Knight Pirates has more than five Limiteers, so why were there only three there?”
“The Knight Pirates have two pirating vessels. Normally, they only send one out at a time to raid other ships.”
Lu Yin frowned. “They certainly are sly. This pirate group can’t be regarded as strong in the scope of the entire universe, but they are rich enough to squander their money on two pirate ships. A sly individual can fall back since they have multiple plans. It’s no wonder that they were able to orchestrate the death of an Explorer.”
“It’s a pity that he escaped. Otherwise, with his status, Boss’s harvest should have at least doubled,” Little Eight lamented.
Lu Yin felt his headache resurface when he heard this comment. His misfortune was all thanks to Zhuo Daynight. Things had been going so smoothly too; it was such a pity.
“Boss, Brother Eight, that woman’s injuries are too heavy. We can’t treat her with our equipment, and there are no nearby regions where her injuries can be treated either. Our only option is to take her to the pirate port,” a pirate reported.
Lu Yin grunted. “Go to the pirate port.”
“Ok.”
“Boss, is she your woman?” Little Eight asked, trying to probe the situation.
Lu Yin derisively glared at him. “Why, did you recognize her?”
Little Eight knew he was being mocked and his eyes held some fear. He might be an inexperienced pirate, but he had still heard of the famous clans of the universe, and he had immediately recognized that this woman was from the Daynight clan. Why had a Daynight woman appeared among the Knight Pirates? Little Eight didn’t dare to even wonder.
“It’s best that you forget this matter, or else I don’t know what trouble might befall you.”
Little Eight put on a confused face. “Matter? What matter? I don’t know anything.”
Lu Yin smiled lightly—this fellow was quick-witted alright. “Tell me more about this pirate port.”
Little Eight explained, “The pirate port is a safe harbor where pirates can replenish their supplies. It’s called a port, but it’s actually a planet, and all kinds of underworld powers of the universe have gathered there. Pirates, murderers, escaped convicts, rebels… You name it, you’ll find them there. Of course, you’ll also see people similar to the Daynight cl- no, disciples from powerful families such as the Mavis family training there…”
With Little Eight’s introduction, Lu Yin gained a greater understanding of the pirate port. In the end, it was a gathering point for people from all trades. The Dark Mist Weave was filled with seedy individuals, and the pirate port seemed to be the soul of the weave. Many there did not even bother using their real names, as if they were exposed, they would need to pay a steep price and might even be targeted by others for revenge.
Lu Yin curiously asked, “Doesn’t anyone care that the pirate port is so close to the Astral River?”
“Of course they care, but they can only occasionally mobilize some troops to intimidate the place. After all, the pirate port provides services for not only pirates, but also for the troops and travelers traveling to and from the Innerverse. As long as you have the money, you can find what you want there. So while it’s the pirate port for pirates, it’s also a popular resupplying point that’s under the protection of the Leo clan.”
“The Leo clan?” Lu Yin was puzzled.
Little Eight’s grew serious as he explained, “The pirate port was actually established by the Leo clan. This clan was once incomparably powerful and even governed a weave at one point. But as the number of their geniuses dwindled, their ancestors eventually came up with a daring idea. They moved their entire clan to the Dark Mist Weave and established a pirate port there. Think about it—who can destroy a pirate port that’s supported by a clan that was once strong enough to govern an entire weave? Moreover, at one point, the Leo clan had Hunters among its ranks. Even though their circumstances have deteriorated significantly since then, a Cruiser still guards the pirate port.”
Lu Yin now understood the situation better. No wonder the pirate port had been built in such an obvious place. The Leo clan, huh?
“Little Eight, you seem to be quite well informed.” This time, Lu Yin was doing the probing.