Chapter 275: Lu Yin vs. Han Chong
The Ming Constables’ headquarters were located in a forgettable corner of the capital. Many people knew that they were located here, but none of them had the courage to approach the building. This was partially because there were two sculptures of aggressive-looking beasts at the entrance. They weren’t real beasts, but they still somehow emanated auras that chilled one to the bone, and they were even capable of casting a terrifying illusion that could cause one to lose their wits.
Lu Yin calmly walked towards the Ming Constables’ headquarters. As he gazed at these two strange beasts carved from some unknown material, he grew increasingly surprised. Aren’t- Aren’t these two things sourceboxes?
Others might not be able to tell, but he could. These two sculptures were obviously sourceboxes, but they had somehow been unlocked only to the point where they looked like beast statues.
Lu Yin got closer and closer and inspected one of the statues up and down. He activated his Cosmic Art, which caused the two aggressive-looking beasts to change into a deep, sea-like, solid energy in his vision. Not even a third of the energy on these beasts had been unlocked.
This had to have been on purpose! Lu Yin guessed. Otherwise, how was it possible that these sourceboxes would be partially unlocked to where they looked like beasts? However, were there even Lockbreakers on the Shenwu Continent? Or had a true Lockbreaker of the greater universe visited this sealed continent and tried to unlock these sourceboxes only to run into some trouble part way through the process?
“Who is it?” a stern voice sounded out from the Ming Constables’s headquarters. Nobody appeared, but Lu Yin sensed a cloud of bloodlust surround him. If he acted even slightly oddly, he would be in trouble.
Lu Yin did not say a word and slowly took out the letter. He lifted his hand, and the letter immediately disappeared. Lu Yin patiently waited outside the building.
Quite some time later, the stern voice sounded once more. “Enter.”
Lu Yin took a deep breath and stepped into the Ming Constables. This was the place that the trialtakers feared the most. It was filled with the blood of their fellow comrades, and there were rumors that its commander was a Martial Sovereign who was comparable to a Cruiser realm cultivator. Lu Yin presently had only two options—either enter this building or die.
“Wait, this is such a cold place. Hey, where did you go?” the Ghost Monkey’s voice suddenly sounded out in his head, startling Lu Yin. However, he did not have the luxury to reply to the beast and entered the building in silence.
“What a strong sense of bloodlust! This is a great place to bury someone. Also, why does it feel dangerous to me? Wait a second, there’s someone here who’s powerful enough to threaten your life. Damn it, Lu Yin, what are you doing? Don’t you know that you should be avoiding these people?” The Ghost Monkey started ranting in an annoying manner.
Lu Yin frowned. He wanted to screen the monkey’s senses, but he really didn’t dare to do anything at this moment. All he could do was allow the monkey to keep screeching inside of his head.
The inside of the building was decorated quite simply. The entirety of the capital was jubilant due to Ming Zhaotian’s coming birthday, but none of that cheer could be sensed here. It was simply dark and gloomy.
All of a sudden, a miserable cry could be heard in the distance. Lu Yin looked up, and a cold edge appeared in his eyes. He walked a short distance forward and briskly rounded the corner. What appeared before Lu Yin was a whole line of people standing there quietly, to the point where it felt like they weren’t even breathing. There were bloodstains covering the entire ground, and there was presently a man thrashing about. Blood flowed from the man’s neck, dying the ground red.
“Foreigners come here everyday, trying to enter the Ming Constables. The blood of countless foreigners have dyed this floor red,” a stern voice explained from somewhere out of sight.
Lu Yin headed over and lined up with the rest of the people.
“Oh? Isn’t that the guy who came in with you?” the Ghost Monkey asked, surprised.
Lu Yin’s eyes turned to the side and glanced at the person who the monkey was talking about. There were three people between him and the person who the monkey had pointed out, and that person seemed unfamiliar. There was a cold look on his face, and he seemed utterly emotionless.
“Yup, that’s him. This guy can change his appearance as he pleases, but it doesn’t matter how he tries to disguise himself. I’m still able to recognize him at a glance,” the monkey said, pleased with himself.
“I’ll give you a single chance. If you’re a foreigner, step out. If you tell us everything, we promise not to kill you,” the stern voice spoke out.
Nobody stepped out.
“Fine. I hope that none of you get found out.” After those words, a wave swept past the people lining up. It was weak, but it was extremely thorough. Compared to a normal heavenly globe, it was ten times more accurate in terms of its ability to detect star energy.
Lu Yin felt glad that he had luckily thought to disperse all of his star energy and hidden away any of his items that might have ever had contact with star energy, including his cosmic ring. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to pass this test.
All of a sudden, there were signs of rejection from someone nearby. Lu Yin’s gaze grew cold, and he smacked the man who was displaying these signs. The person that the monkey had recognized attacked at the same time as well. The two of them had the quickest reactions, and before the others could even make a move, their attacks had landed. With a bang, the man was sent flying far away.
The rest of the people gaped in surprise.
Lu Yin and the man who had also attacked exchanged glances, and then they both looked at the man whom they had sent flying.
The man stood up, patted his body clean, and then looked at Lu Yin and the other man in admiration. “Not bad. The fact that you attacked me proves that you really want to kill the foreigners. You two pass. The rest of you fail, so get out.”
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and sized the man up.
The man chuckled before saying, “I’m Ming Zhaochen.” After speaking this, his appearance warped as he took on the appearance of a middle-aged man who looked somewhat similar to Ming Zhaoshu.
“Greetings, my lord.”
The other person who had attacked immediately bowed, and Lu Yin did the same. “Greetings, my lord.”
The master of the Ming Constables was Ming Zhaochen. He was of the same generation as Ming Zhaotian and Ming Zhaoshu. He was a Martial Sovereign and was the sharpest blade of the empire.
Ming Zhaochen scanned the two of them. “The Ming Constables recruits a lot of people every year, but there are very few who are truly qualified. Both power and a strong mind are necessary, but besides that, courage and flexibility are also required. The foreigners who invade our continent are extremely strong, and to them, the Shenwu Continent is merely a trial zone. All who dare to enter here are experts. What you need to do is be stronger than them.”
“Yes, my lord,” the two of them answered.
Two days later, outside the capital, Lu Yin lay on the ground with a heavenly globe in his palm that occasionally emitted undulations.
Many of the Ming Vanguards were hidden outside of the capital, and they constantly patrolled the surroundings in search of foreigners.
From Lu Yin’s point of view, this most likely did not yield many results. Most foreigners knew to switch from using star energy to martial power and would not be found through this crude method. However, this was the vanguards’ job, and they could not let their guard down.
Within the Ming Constables, the name that Lu Yin went by was “Seven.” The other person who had joined along with him went by the alias Wu Shang.
“Are you sure that this guy came to the Shenwu Continent with me?” Lu Yin asked once again.
The Ghost Monkey seemed very annoyed. “Yes, yes, yes. How many times do you want me to repeat myself? Nobody can hide from me. That goes for you as well.”
“Shut up,” Lu Yin suddenly whispered. He peered into the distance and suddenly activated his Cosmic Art. The space in the air started trembling slightly. There was a person moving about so quickly that the void itself was distorting.
To be able to do this in the Shenwu Continent, the person Lu Yin was observing had to be either an Explorer or a genius Limiteer. Lu Yin had the feeling that he was also capable of such a feat, but there were very few trialtakers who were at his level.
With a whoosh, a strong wind blew past him, and Lu Yin focused on the moving figure. It was a female, but he chased after her without any hesitation. He moved with pure physical strength and concealed his aura so that she wouldn’t discover him.
The further he traveled, the stranger Lu Yin found the situation. This girl was moving about using only her physical abilities and not any martial power, which meant that she would not attract attention either.
For someone to move around like this and even cause the void to distort instantly reminded Lu Yin of the Mavis family. If he wasn’t wrong, this girl was likely Grandini Mavis.
There were four mountains surrounding the Ming Capital, but there were quite a few other mountains around the capital.
She dodged a crowd and stepped into a little house with a thatched roof. Lu Yin paused and then slowly crept closer.
“You’re late,” someone from inside the house said.
“I had too much to deal with, so it couldn’t be helped. At least I’m here, unlike a certain someone else.”
“It doesn’t matter. On the day of the emperor’s birthday, the Darkmist Weave will launch an attack. All the experts who are at the Explorer realm and above on this continent will have their hands full. This includes the four protectors atop the mountains. Our mission is to attack the Tower of Resonating Light.”
On the roof, Lu Yin calmed himself and looked down.
There were fewer than ten people inside the small room. Once he heard the term “Explorer,” Lu Yin had confirmed that these people were definitely trialtakers.
“Are you sure that the Tower of Resonating Light is one of the five points?” the last girl to arrive asked.
Lu Yin merely caught a glimpse of each of the participants as he did not dare to stare too hard at anyone. Experts like them would definitely be able to sense someone staring at them, which was why he couldn’t confirm if the woman whom he had tailed was really Grandini Mavis.
“I’m 90% certain. Our sect has had people lying low here for the past millennia. One of our ancestors even protected the Tower of Resonating Light centuries ago, so the information should be true.”
“Good. I don’t want to help only to find out that it was all for nothing.”
At that moment, Lu Yin’s expression changed. Someone else was here.
The house fell quiet, and everyone stared outside.
This new person made no attempt to hide their approach and boldly walked straight inside.
“Oh my, isn’t it the scholar? How did you find the time to join us here?” the girl mockingly asked.
The person who had just entered the house was Han Chong. “If the manager of the Bank of Wuyun doesn’t mind freeing up some time to come here, then a mere scholar like me should be able to do the same.”
“I didn’t think that Han Chong, who’s one of the top four of the Astral Combat Tournament, would become a scholar in the Shenwu Empire. That alone shows that your results will be quite something,” someone spoke enviously.
The girl disdainfully countered, “What’s so special about someone from the Erudite Flowzone becoming a scholar?”
“Exactly. Let's get back to the point. But before that, we need to clean up a little.” After saying that, Han Chong looked up at the roof.
Lu Yin’s eyes widened, and he tried to use Flash to get away. The house crumbled as shockwaves spread in all directions. Han Chong glanced around and then focused on the place where Lu Yin had been before vanishing. With a simple wave of his hand, he used martial power to conjure an image of vast mountains and rivers. Nobody could escape from it.
Lu Yin was rather shocked when he saw that unique battle technique appear in the void. This was Han Chong’s ability.
“Who is it?!” With a shout, the girl punched at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin turned around and kicked out. With a boom, a violent shockwave spread out from their collision, damaging the mountains and pulverizing the ground into dust. The two of them retreated at the same time, and Lu Yin used his left hand to bring out Emperor Giant’s third eye. After activating his Cosmic Art, he stared at what Han Chong had drawn and then attacked. The martial power was easily dispelled, allowing Lu Yin to dart away.
Han Chong was shocked to see his battle technique being dispelled with such ease. Although he hadn’t gone all out, his technique should still have been able to stop even an Explorer, but it had not been able to stop that person. He had to be a Lockbreaker!
The girl had been forced back by Lu Yin’s kick as well. In her fury, she wanted to chase after him, but Han Chong stopped her. “Don’t bother. You won’t catch up.”
The girl was rather annoyed and looked at Han Chong while clenching her fists, feeling surprised. That person had blocked her punch and also dispelled Han Chong’s battle technique, which meant that he had to be very powerful. He wasn’t even an Explorer yet, but he was already had the ability to match up against them.
The rest charged out. “How did it go, Han Chong?”
Han Chong shook his head in dismay. “He’s very powerful, and I didn’t manage to get him.”
“What should we do? He definitely knows about our plan now,” someone lamented, but none of them blamed Han Chong. Amongst those present, he and Grandini were the strongest. If even they couldn’t stop that person, then the rest of them could say nothing.
Han Chong calmly said, “Don’t worry. Let’s continue.”
“But we don’t know who it is. What if he’s from the Ming Constables?” someone asked in a wondering tone.
Han Chong decisively replied, “He’s definitely a trialtaker.”
“I think so too. The way he attacked was completely unlike a native’s attacks,” Grandini added.
The rest exchanged looks and could only sigh. “Let’s try to confirm it then.”