Chapter 249: Hoodwinked
The Tilting Tower was angled at 45° degrees, and its interior was naturally sloped as well. Lu Yin felt a strange sensation the moment he stepped into the Tilting Tower; it was as though his entire body had tilted to the side as well.
Suddenly, he heard a melodious voice echoing in his head. Lu Yin’s eyes lit up, and both his heart and spirits were lifted as an eleventh soft explosion quietly rang out.
“What a good place! It allowed me to quickly comprehend Eleven Stacks. It really lives up to its reputation of being a unique training ground,” Lu Yin muttered to himself. He suddenly felt an urge to snatch this place up as well.
“Since you came here unannounced, should I treat you as an enemy?” Liu Xiaoyun’s voice rang out from within the tower. She was the Dao of God’s Realm Master, and the Tilting Tower was where she had been when she left the trial zones last, so she naturally reappeared here when returned. She was also the first student leader who Frankfurt had found.
Lu Yin turned around and greeted Liu Xiaoyun with a weak smile. “There’s no need to be so serious. We’re not strangers anymore.”
Liu Xiaoyun’s tone remained indifferent. “Without the permission of the Realm Master, entering any training ground controlled by another Realm Master is considered an act of provocation.”
“Come on, senior. It can’t be that serious. I’m still new here, and there are many rules that I’m not yet aware of,” Lu Yin casually replied.
Liu Xiaoyun stared at him and thought to herself, If he were anyone else, I would have already attacked by now. However, since it was Lu Yin who was trespassing in the Tilting Tower, attacking would have just embarrassed herself; this man was not someone who she could handle. “I never thought that you would break through to the Limiteer realm so quickly. Congratulations, you will be able to join the student council soon.”
Lu Yin laughed and turned around to examine the inside of the Tilting Tower while feeling the wall with his hand. The building had an ancient aura to it.
According to the Ghost Monkey, these trial zones were the remnants of an ancient civilization, and everything here was constructed from the ancient runes of the Runemasters. If this was indeed true, then it was a genuine miracle. After thinking of this, Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the Ghost Monkey, so he hurriedly released the tamed beast’s senses.
“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” the Ghost Monkey cursed the moment his senses were restored. Lu Yin instantly cut off the flow of star energy to his right arm again. This monkey really didn't learn quickly.
“Senior, regarding the attack that you used to kill Tu Bo, was that an imitation of the Thirteen Swords?” Lu Yin asked.
Liu Xiaoyun grunted in response. “Yes.”
“Impressive. You managed to imitate an art form that the Sword Sect did not pass down to you,” Lu Yin praised.
But Liu Xiaoyun remained unmoved. “It’s merely an imitation, and it isn’t the real thing. Besides, my imitation pales in comparison. It has less than twenty percent of the genuine technique’s strength. It’s useless against powerful figures.”
“Tu Bo is not just anyone—he’s a seed from Shamrock Enterprises. If he was killed by an imitated technique, it just goes to show that your technique is quite impressive,” Lu Yin said.
“Are you trying to praise yourself? You defeated Liu Shaoqiu and even took the Third Sword head on,” Liu Xiaoyun replied as she cast a suspicious look at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin shook his head. “If Liu Shaoqiu had displayed the Fourth Sword back then, I would’ve been the one to lose.”
Liu Xiaoyun shook her head as well. “It’s not that simple, and what he said at that time wasn’t wrong either. He had only grasped up to the Third Sword at the time; the Fourth Sword was still out of his reach. It’s impossible for someone who isn’t even a Limiteer to comprehend the Fourth Sword. Having said that, you aren’t wrong either; if the Fourth Sword had appeared at that time, then your defeat would have been guaranteed.”
One’s cultivation realm was always a major deciding factor in this universe. However, the mentors who were overseeing the tournament in the trial zone had noticed that Lu Yin had deliberately damaged Liu Shaoqiu’s star energy sword during their battle. Lu Yin had specifically stopped short of destroying the sword as a backup in case Liu Shaoqiu was actually able to demonstrate the Fourth Sword. If Liu Shaoqiu had actually grasped the Fourth Sword back then, then the previous damage done to his sword would have actually given Lu Yin a tiny window of opportunity to steal victory. This minor detail was something that Liu Xiaoyun and many other students had neglected, and many of them still held the misconception that Liu Shaoqiu’s star energy sword had simply not been able to withstand his own attack.
In other words, Lu Yin had held the upper hand throughout the entire course of his battle with Liu Shaoqiu. Liu Shaoqiu grasping the Fourth Sword was also irrelevant as Lu Yin would have still emerged victorious. This was because Liu Shaoqiu’s ability to use the Fourth Sword did not rest on his abilities alone; Lu Yin also had a say in whether he would allow it to appear. This was perhaps a major reason why the Sword Sect had decided to offer to accept Lu Yin as a disciple.
Lu Yin did not explain the battle to Liu Xiaoyun, but it was unfortunate that she could not realize the facts herself. It was likely that the Sword Sect would not explain this to Liu Shaoqiu either, and the entire matter had likely spiraled to become a common understanding.
Lu Yin chose a random spot to sit down as he calmly listened to the warbling melody in his ears. He thought back to the Thirteen Stacks technique. If he was in this place, then perhaps he could completely grasp all Thirteen Stacks.
Liu Xiaoyun gave Lu Yin a complicated look. Despite sensing that he had broken through to the Limiteer realm, she was utterly unable to gauge how strong he truly was. This man was able to hide his abilities very well. It had been the same back when they were aboard the Nalan family’s spacecraft; she had completely missed his power then. Could it be that her aunt had seen through his strength? Was that why her aunt had saved this person?
Before long, Kuang Wang arrived. He looked at Lu Yin with a tinge of bewilderment in his eyes. Not much time had passed, but Lu Yin had already become a Limiteer.
The third student leader to arrive was Nightqueen Yanqing. Lu Yin opened his eyes wide to stare at her the moment she stepped into the Tilting Tower. The reason why he was only able to join the student council now was because of the Daynight clan’s obstruction. This woman had definitely played a hand in the matter.
Nightqueen Yanqing walked straight towards Lu Yin, her snow white thighs gleaming. Lu Yin looked at her calmly.
“I heard that you did well at the border,” Nightqueen Yanqing drily said.
“I did pretty well,” Lu Yin casually replied.
Nightqueen Yanqing’s eyes flashed before she said, “I would like to invite you to visit the Daynight clan.”
Once she said these words, the expressions of everyone present changed. This invitation to the Daynight Tribe was laced with malicious intentions. Even a fool knew of the ill will that the Daynight clan held towards Lu Yin. An invitation could only mean two things; it was either an intention to have him surrender and join them or just an opportunity to kill him. This was the way the Daynight clan operated.
Lu Yin’s gaze remained cold. “Thank you for the invitation. However, I have no immediate plans to visit the Daynight Flowzone.”
Nightqueen Yanqing’s expression turned frosty. “I’ll give you a chance to reconsider your choice. The Daynight clan is extending an invitation for you to be our guest.”
“Perhaps I was not clear before. I have no immediate plans to visit the Daynight Flowzone.” Lu Yin’s tone of voice was even colder this time.
Nightqueen Yanqing sneered. “No one dares to reject an invite from the Daynight clan, and yet you have already turned down an invitation twice.”
Lu Yin matched her gaze and refused to back down. “I tend to have mood swings at times. Sorry about that.”
“If that is your decision, then you can forget about joining the Council of Astral Academy,” Nightqueen Yanqing said duly.
Kuang Wang’s eyebrow twitched at those words. “Hey, what is that supposed to mean? Since when do you make the decisions of the Council of Astral Academy?”
Liu Xiaoyun also looked at Nightqueen Yanqing with contempt.
Nightqueen Yanqing’s mouth twitched disdainfully. “The Council of Astral Academy is made up of the Astral Combat Academy’s most exemplary students . The members are required not only to have exceptional abilities, but also outstanding morals. Lu Yin has not exercised restraint in his actions, and there are suspicions that he has ties to pirates and that he frequents the pirate port. I am sure that neither of you want a pirate to be a member of the Council of Astral Academy.”
Liu Xiaoyun and Kuang Wang both looked in Lu Yin’s direction.
Lu Yin’s face grew gloomy; so this was the play that Nightqueen Yanqing had chosen to make. The scene of him being attacked by that light beam back at the pirate port had long been made public. In the past, many students used to have no qualms about going to the pirate port to train, but after this matter had blown up, it had become a frowned upon activity. Things were made even worse with the Daynight clan’s relentless pursuit of the matter, and the ironclad evidence was enough to put Lu Yin in a very tight spot.
The Daynight clan had no need to uncover the full details of what had happened at that time; all they needed to do was make a big deal about the fact that Lu Yin had been at the pirate port. This was the influence of a powerful organization.
Lu Yin could not defend himself and could only stare icily at Nightqueen Yanqing.
Nightqueen Yanqing continued pontificating. “One person alone cannot make a decision for the student council, but I will bring this matter up to the Ten Arbiters Council and ask them to pass judgement. I believe that the Ten Arbiters will also not be eager to let someone who has ties to pirates join the Council of Astral Academy. Am I right, Student Lu?”
“You are absolutely right. The truth will be revealed one day. No individual or clan can hoodwink the entire universe. I am still young, and I have the youth to play your game. However, my only concern is for you, Miss Nightqueen Yanqing. You are not getting any younger. Do you really want to squander your remaining youth fighting with me?” Lu Yin said in a mockingly tone.
Nightqueen Yanqing flew into a rage. “You know too little about the universe! There have indeed been cases of individuals who hoodwink everyone. Even now, such people exist, and they are people who you could never even dream to compare to. Lu Yin, you are insignificant!”
Lu Yin slowly walked out of the Tilting Tower step by step. “In the past, I felt that a powerful figure of the Great Yu Empire’s younger generation was far out of reach for me, and yet, I surpassed them. After that, there was an Area Master of Astral Combat Academy, followed by a Realm Master. The Dao of Heaven is a cycle, and it is an inviolable truth that no one will stay undefeated forever... And no one can truly hoodwink the masses forever.” After saying that last sentence, he walked out the Tilting Tower and left the Dao of God.
There was no need to waste any more time there. Above Nightqueen Yanqing, there was still Nightking Zhenwu. If things went along according to the typical procedures, no one would act against the Daynight clan in this matter. Unless Lu Yin could prove that he had nothing to do with the pirates, there was temporarily no way for him to get around this obstacle that the Daynight clan had created. Furthermore, Lu Yin was far from innocent. It was an undeniable fact that he had indeed acted as a pirate when robbing other pirates. If he agitated the Daynight clan any further, they would eventually expose this fact, and if it came to light, then there would no longer be any way to salvage the situation.
Lu Yin never expected that he would one day be backed into a corner by the Daynight clan. Additionally, he was only viewed as an enemy of the Daynight clan because of his immunity to the Third Sword’s spiritual force attack. It was such a silly reason since he did not even have some special constitution as everyone believed—he had just recited the Stonewall Scriptures. Even though he did not know what the scriptures meant, any fool could tell that they were more precious than some misunderstanding over a special constitution.
An individual’s special constitution could only pose so much of a threat to the Daynight clan, so Lu Yin felt that the Daynight clan was only interested in him for research purposes. But even if that was the case, he was still in great danger. It wouldn’t just be the Daynight clan; many other powerful groups in the universe might also attack him. What he needed to do right now was to find some powerful backing, just like how he had used Charon to enter the trial zones.
Lu Yin’s biggest backer right now was the Lockbreaker Society. Lu Yin walked out of the trial zone mountain, and after muttering to himself for a moment, he walked towards the entrance of the teleportation arena.
“Greetings, Trialmaster,” Lu Yin said as he bowed respectfully.
The Trialmaster opened his eyes wide. “Ah, so it’s you, young fellow. What are you here for?”
“I wish to unlock a sourcebox here. Would you allow me to do so?” Lu Yin probed.
The Trialmaster was astonished. “Here?”
Lu Yin nodded his head.
The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin carefully and then let out an odd laugh. “Young man, what a shrewd one you are! You know that lockbreaking is risky business, so you came here for me to help you minimize those risks and possibly even save your life if the situation calls for it.”
Lu Yin did not deny any of the mentor’s claims, and he bowed once again. “I hope that you can help me with this.”
The Trialmaster pondered the situation for a moment. “Alright then, I’ll help you. After all, you are Astral-10’s top student, so I should help you out in some manner.”
“Thank you, mentor.” Lu Yin was overjoyed by the Trialmaster’s response, and he quickly retrieved the harmless sourcebox that the Nalan family had given him from his cosmic ring. He then started preparing himself to begin the lockbreaking process.
The Trialmaster immediately stopped him. He then looked sternly at Lu Yin. “Young man, is this the sourcebox that you want to unlock?”
Lu Yin nodded his head.
The Trialmaster knitted his brows. “You are being too impatient. We Lockbreakers are always fighting for our very lives during a lockbreaking attempt, and the profession is dangerous enough as it is. Despite all that, you want to try surpassing realms with your lockbreaking? Do you think that you’re at war or something?”