Chapter 252: Exchange
Beep beep beep beep
A series of soft beeps sounded out from Lu Yin’s gadget.
He looked down and his gaze changed; this was incredible. How did this happen?
“The Ten Arbiters have ruled that Lu Yin has no blemishes on his record and that he is allowed to join the Council of Astral Academy.”
Being able to join the Council of Astral Academy was hugely significant to Lu Yin. First, this meant that he was no longer just an ordinary student; rather, he had become a subsidiary member of the Ten Arbiters Council. This status gave him the Ten Arbiters’ protection, and there was no better backer than the Ten Arbiters. Even the Lockbreaker Society’s backing could not compare to the Ten Arbiters Council’s.
However, Lu Yin was slightly puzzled. Nightqueen Yanqing and Nightking Zhenwu had clearly made their moves. He was one of the Ten Arbiters, so how could Lu Yin still be able to join the Council of Astral Academy? At this moment, Lu Yin was feeling less elated and more apprehensive, as something unexpected had happened.
Suddenly, someone called him through his gadget, and Lu Yin answered. A cold and arrogant voice came through, and Lu Yin’s expression sank when he recognized it as Nightqueen Yanqing’s. “Congratulations on entering the Council of Astral Academy.”
“You must be very baffled at how you were able to enter.” Nightqueen Yanqing’s tone was a little lofty and indignant. “You’re pretty good. You even colluded with a Daynight girl and got her to step up and testify for you.”
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat and a name suddenly appeared in his mind—Zhuo Daynight. Aside from her, there was nobody else who could testify for him. He had gone to the pirate port back then in order to save her, so she was naturally the only person who could testify and clear his name.
When he was at the Tilting Tower, Lu Yin had already considered requesting Zhuo Daynight’s help, but he had ultimately decided against it. First of all, she might not even appear since she was also a member of the Daynight clan. Secondly, he did not want to owe Zhuo Daynight any favors, as he already had made her a promise. He wasn’t sure how he could pay her back if he owed her any more.
He never expected Zhuo Daynight to spontaneously testify on his behalf and allow him to successfully join the Council of Astral Academy. What was she thinking?
“What’s your relationship with that woman?” Nightqueen Yanqing barked interrogatively.
A cold glint flashed through Lu Yin’s eyes as he responded, “It’s none of your business.”
“Is that so? Anyways, I’ll have to admit that you have your ways. But so what? That girl has betrayed my brother and been imprisoned in the Daynight clan. Here, take a look for yourself.” A video file was then sent to Lu Yin’s gadget.
Lu Yin apprehensively tapped on the video, and it was indeed Zhuo Daynight, whom he had not seen for a few months. In the video, she was wearing a prisoner’s outfit, and her face had a deathly pallor to it. She seemed to have fainted within the dark prison holding her. Old bloodstains could also be seen on her clothes.
Lu Yin’s gaze grew heated, and a flare of anger erupted from within him like never before. This fury was ten or even a hundred stronger than the humiliation he had felt after suffering under Bazeer. He was overcome by a wild impulse to destroy the entire Daynight clan.
With this surge of rage, his star energy turned unstable and even the void surrounding him warped.
At that moment, the Trialmaster lifted his gaze and spoke. “Be quiet.” The deep sound that was reminiscent of a drumbeat shocked Lu Yin back to his senses. He breathed in deeply and suppressed his star energy. “What do you want?”
At that moment, his voice was so calm that it was terrifying.
On the other end of the connection, Nightqueen Yanqing involuntarily felt a chill creep into the bottom of her heart, but she paid it no attention. “I’ve already given you a chance, but you’re not discerning enough to accept it. It seems that you really think that you can resist my Daynight clan by yourself. It doesn’t matter if you are the strongest person in the entire Astral Combat Academy; my Daynight clan can still easily wipe you out.”
“Is she still alive?” Lu Yin’s tone was icy, and his eyes hid an even deeper chill.
Nightqueen Yanqing was pleased by his question. “Of course, I’ll keep her alive properly. She has colluded with outsiders and betrayed my brother; her crimes deserve decades of torture.”
Lu Yin inhaled deeply. “I’ll give up on joining the Council of Astral Academy. Do not torture her.”
Nightqueen Yanqing snorted disdainfully. “Lu Yin, you think too much of yourself. Do you really think that my Daynight clan cares about you? To my brother, dealing with you is as easy as lifting a finger. In fact, he’s already forgotten you. However, this woman has gone against my brother’s wishes too many times, and this incident was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. You’re still not at the level where my Daynight clan would worry about you. As for the Council of Astral Academy, you can join if you wish. It doesn’t matter. It’s all just a game to my brother.” She immediately ended the call after saying her last word.
Lu Yin stood where he was, motionless for a long while. The image of Zhuo Daynight being imprisoned in a dark cell filled his mind, as well as her bloodstained clothes. It was too disturbing and so… heavy.
He did not even know where his emotions were coming from, as he had only met Zhuo Daynight three times. The first was a brief encounter while the second had been hostile. It was their third meeting that had left a deep impression on him—her helplessness, desolation, and nearly silent whispers. He remembered it all deeply. The two of them had not interacted much, but Zhuo Daynight’s suffering was all due to Lu Yin. This responsibility was too heavy to bear.
It was possible that Zhuo Daynight had only testified to repay Lu Yin for the favor of saving her life. Even still, Lu Yin felt an invisible burden weigh upon his shoulders, and he hoped that he could rescue that girl.
The Trialmaster sighed. “The Daynight clan. Once again, it’s the Daynight clan.” He looked at Lu Yin with a complicated expression.
Lu Yin was shocked and hurried towards the mentor. “Trialmaster, do you have any ideas of how I could save my friend?”
The mentor looked at Lu Yin through his old, murky eyes and there was an unprecedented seriousness in his bearing. “Little brat, tell me. What’s your relationship with that girl?”
Lu Yin was stumped. Relationship? He actually did not know what he considered her. A friend perhaps? Probably not, but was she an enemy? That was also not the case. After a moment of consideration, he replied, “We can be considered to be reluctant friends.”
“The Daynight clan does not allow its clan members to marry outsiders. It’s a law that’s been passed down since ancient times. Brat, you should know that, right?”
Lu Yin muttered, “Trialmaster, she’s just my friend, but I do want to save her.”
The mentor sighed again. “Save her? You’ll need a core elder of the Daynight clan to personally intervene. I know a Daynight elder, but what can you offer to request their help?”
Lu Yin clenched his fists and wondered what he could use to enlist the help of an elder of the Daynight clan. That person was an elder of one of the strongest clans in the universe. This was someone who Lu Yin was not even qualified to converse with.
Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something and his heart quickened. He looked at the mentor. “Trialmaster, could you please contact the Daynight elder? I do indeed have something that I can exchange.”
The Trialmaster sneered as he replied, “Little brat, the Daynight elders are all great beings who are at least at the Hunter realm. They’ve seen all sorts of treasure, so don’t attract their ridicule.”
Lu Yin seriously said, “Trialmaster, rest assured. I’m quite confident that this will move the elder to help.”
The mentor nodded. “Very well, I’ll contact him.” He then retrieved a rather ancient-looking gadget from under his buttocks.
Lu Yin withdrew a certain distance from the Trialmaster and stopped blocking the star energy to his right arm. “Don’t talk nonsense or else I’ll block you again.”
“You’re being too much. We are one body! How could you do this to me?” The Ghost Monkey was furious.
Lu Yin had an ice-cold gaze on his face. “I have no time to deal with your nonsense. Tell me, is that beast hide really related to Progenitor Wushang?”
“Of course! That’s something that I went to great trouble to obtain. Why else do you think Yao Gu triggered the decisive battle at the border and repeatedly targeted Planet Conan? All of that was just to obtain this one thing. Why are you suddenly asking me about this?” The Ghost Monkey was suspicious of Lu Yin’s motives.
“I need to use this thing to trade for a person right now. If what you say is false, then I will instantly obliterate you.”
The Ghost Monkey was momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovered and shouted, “What did you just say? Exchange it? You’re crazy! Do you know what that thing is? That’s Progenitor Wushang’s hide! Pro. Gen. I. Tor. Wu. Shang. It’s Progenitor Wushang’s... You don’t even understand what Progenitor Wushang’s name means. Exchange? Only you would think of something that harebrained. Even if you sell your entire Astral Combat Academy, it wouldn’t be worth a single hair from that hide.”
Lu Yin’s mood was heavy. “I don’t have any choice. This is all I have.”
The Ghost Monkey was desperate to change Lu Yin’s mind, “What are you trying to exchange for the hide for? An art? A battle technique? A treasure map? Just say what you need, and I can help you get it! I know where many powerhouses’ graves are. I can be of great help with robbing tombs!”
Lu Yin shook his head. Since that beast hide really did seem to be related to Progenitor Wushang based on the Ghost Monkey’s reaction, it was definitely priceless. To the Daynight clan, it greatly surpassed Zhuo Daynight in terms of value, but to Lu Yin, measuring value was not as straightforward. Zhuo Daynight was suffering because of him, and so he would do all he could to rescue her. He would even not hesitate to exchange the larger beast hide for her freedom. This was just him following his personal code of conduct.
A screen appeared in front of the Trialmaster that showed a desolate ground contrasting against a grey sky. An old man with a downcast expression appeared, his black-and-white long hair falling to his waist. He looked aged, but his skin also seemed to have a roaming brilliance. “Old Tan, how are you? You’re not dead yet?”
The Trialmaster duly replied, “How could I die before you?”
The elder sneered. “I’m much younger than you.”
The mentor walked in front of Lu Yin. “I don’t have much time to talk trash with you. This fellow’s the one who wants to talk to you this time.”
The elder appeared astonished when he looked at Lu Yin, who could feel the old man’s powerful aura even through the screen. If felt as if it could suppress everything in the endless void. He took a deep breath and bowed at the waist. “Student Lu Yin pays his respects to Senior.”
The elder sized Lu Yin up and down before turning to the Trialmaster. “So this is your grandchild? Do you have that ability as well?”
The Trialmaster ignored the Daynight elder.
Lu Yin respectfully continued, saying, “This junior is Astral-10’s student, and I shamelessly requested for Mentor to contact Senior so that I might request your help.”
The elder seemed like he could not be bothered. “My help? Little brat, do you know who I am?”
“A Daynight elder.”
The elder arrogantly replied, “I am Nightking Yuanjing, a Nightking elder! Not just some elder from the Daynight clan. Little brat, don’t be mistaken about my status.”
Lu Yin bowed again. “It’s my mistake to have to trouble Senior.”
“Alright, I don’t have the time to waste chatting with you. Since you dared to contact me, then you must be confident in being able to enlist my help. Speak, and if I’m satisfied, I’ll naturally help you.” Nightking Yuanjing had little patience.
Lu Yin opened his mouth to speak, but the Ghost Monkey’s voice suddenly rang out in his mind. “Hold on, you’re trying to make an exchange with the Nightking clan? Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I’ll give you some information that they’ll exchange anything for.”
“Hurry up. I have no time to waste talking to you,” Nightking Yuanjing said with a frown.
The Trialmaster also looked at Lu Yin, as he was very curious what Lu Yin would use to plead with a Nightking elder. There were just too few things in this universe that could actually move this old thing’s heart.
Lu Yin trembled as he asked, “I don’t know if Elder wishes to know the whereabouts of the Third Nightking.”