Star Odyssey

"What do you want to do now?" You Fang asked.

Lu Yin sighed. "I just want to take Zi Jing away with me. I don't want to deal with anything else in this universe, nor do I care about whatever cultivation technology they’re researching. I don’t even care about He Ran. I will just take Zi Jing with me back to the Voidforce Universe. There, I have Brother Xu Heng and Sister Xu Leng, as well as Xu Wuji and Senior Xu Wuwei. I simply want to help the Voidforce Universe eliminate spies. That’s all I care about."

"But you can't take Zi Jing away," You Fang stated bluntly.

Lu Yin frowned, and his eyes darted about. He appeared dazed. buddy.(c)om

You Fang and You Lele glanced at each other and then moved closer to Xuan Qi. "If you want to get Zi Jing away from this place, we can help you."

Lu Yin’s eyes locked onto You Fang. "I don't trust He Ran, and I don’t trust you either."

You Fang said, "What I’m suggesting won’t cost you anything."

"Just because you can't see the cost doesn't mean that there isn’t one," Lu Yin calmly retorted.

You Fang replied, "Without my help, you will never be able to take Zi Jing away."

Lu Yin smiled. "You just told me that Zi Jing is actually working for the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. While I still worry about her, as long as her cultivation technology research is successful, she will become the next You family. Why should I try to interfere with that? Even if her research isn’t successful, she will still go free one day.”

You Lele rolled her eyes. This guy was starting to react faster. It seemed that he might actually be getting smarter.

You Fang was briefly stunned. If Xuan Qi was willing to wait, then they could say nothing to convince him otherwise.

"He Ran sabotaged you. Are you willing to just let that go?" You Fang felt frustrated.

Lu Yin replied, "Didn't you say that, by demanding to see Zi Jing, I forced He Ran to pay a steep price? We can just call it even here."

You Lele sneered. They had already said everything that needed to be said, and yet this guy was using their own words against them. It was absurd.

You Fang shot a glare at You Lele before turning back to Xuan Qi. "If Zi Jing does become the next You family, then you will never be able to be with her."

Lu Yin arched a brow, and You Fang explained, "I know you don't believe me, but just think about things for a moment. Do you really think that my You family would be allowed to move to the Voidforce Universe?"

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. This was certainly true.

"Given that Zi Jing is researching something as important as a brand new cultivation technology, do you think that the ruler of this universe will ever let her go? Once she successfully completes her research, she will be granted a peerless status in the Transcendent Universe, but she will also be forbidden from ever leaving. This is simply the reality of the situation. You will never be able to take her away, not even if you become a peak powerhouse. The only way you will ever be able to take her away is as a corpse," You Fang stated.

Lu Yin considered the man’s words.

"The choice is yours—do you want Zi Jing alive, or do you want to take a corpse back with you?" With that, You Fang left along with You Lele. They intended to give Xuan Qi some time to think about things.

However, Lu Yin did not actually need any time to consider his situation. Of course he wanted to cooperate with the You family, but he could not do so in the current situation. He needed to first seize the initiative. The more that You Fang was forced to persuade Xuan Qi, the more important that person would become in You Fang's mind. This would play an important role in their future collaborations.

Lu Yin put on a show of needing a great deal of time to think things over before he went to find You Fang. "I want to take Zi Jing away, but why should I trust you? You might just sell me out the moment I switch sides."

You Fang smiled. "What sides are you switching? Do you have any enemies in my Transcendent Universe?"

Lu Yin replied, "This is like a game to you, and your family is constantly playing games with others. A normal person like me can never hope to beat you, so I need to know that I’m protected."

You Fang glanced over at You Lele.

The girl asked, "What sort of guarantee do you want?"

This placed Lu Yin in a difficult position. "I didn't think about that."

You Fang nodded. "Very well, I’ll give you some reassurance—you should be worried about He Ran. If you agree to cooperate with me, regardless of whether it’s because of my family’s position or your own goals, He Ran will be an obstacle to us. It makes sense for you to be concerned about He Ran. So to reassure you, I will ensure that you won’t have to worry about He Ran any longer. What do you think of Bai Qian?"

Lu Yin stared at You Fang, somewhat stunned by the direction the conversation was going in. "What do you mean?"

You Fang clasped his hands behind his back and drew himself up in a very confident manner. "He Ran's greatest opponent is Bai Qian. While it appears as though Bai Qian is already out of the competition, If my You family and I throw our full support behind Bai Qian, that will instantly change things. With Bai Qian on your side as well, will that reassure you? Will you trust us then?"

Both the You family and Lu Yin were trying to both gain the other’s trust, while also trying to restrict the other party.

It was impossible for He Ran to cooperate with anyone who genuinely supported Bai Qian, let alone the You family.

As for You Fang, he also needed assurance that Xuan Qi was genuinely cooperating with his family, rather than just using them. This meant that Xuan Qi also needed to support Bai Qian, which would bind them together.

Lu Yin was speechless. He immediately doubted Bai Qian’s ability to orchestrate all of this. No matter how smart the woman might be, there was no way she could influence the You family. This basically meant that You Fang’s proposal was simply a coincidence, but it was also a coincidence that perfectly matched Lu Yin’s own desires of seeing the You family support Bai Qian.

When Lu Yin spoke to Bai Qian on Earth, they had discussed the situation in the Transcendent Universe. There, Bai Qian had even mentioned that, if she could obtain the You family’s support, she would have no reason to fear He Ran. At this moment, Lu Yin was seeing that exact situation start to manifest, and the strangest part was, He Ran was helping to make it happen. There was nothing that could truly stay unchanging in the universe, and this sudden turn of events made Lu Yin want to lament at how reality actually functioned.

"You want me to support Bai Qian?" Lu Yin hesitated.

You Fang nodded. "You’re worried about our trustworthiness, but we also struggle to trust you. If He Ran is being guided by a powerhouse and everything that has happened is part of a plan to get you close to my You family, then we will be stuck between a rock and a hard place. This leaves me with no choice but to support Bai Qian. There’s no other option, as only Bai Qian can eliminate both of our doubts.

"You will need to openly support Bai Qian, and my You family will do the same. We will also have to be thorough in this move. As soon as we announce our support of Bai Qian, at least a third of the Ruling Council will support our decision."

Lu Yin remained silent, but You Lele let out a sarcastic laugh. "You’re a grown man, and He Ran has already attacked you, so what are you still afraid of? Don’t you want to save your woman? Or do you think that He Ran can help you? She has been lying to you from the very beginning, and it will be absolutely impossible for you to ever be with Zi Jing after she finishes her research, unless you join the Transcendent Universe."

You Fang interjected, "He Ran already attacked you once without warning, and she is blatantly lying to you. With all of this, why do you still hesitate?"

Lu Yin stared at the father and daughter. "You need me to openly support Bai Qian, right?"

You Fang smiled. "Ah, so you're worried about Bai Qian? You don’t need to worry about that. My family and I have been carefully observing this woman for some time. She has no background and few connections. The people that she has won over to her side have all already been eliminated by He Ran. Tu Ke is probably a mole or something. The bottom line is that Bai Qian has no power in the Transcendent Universe, and she also is not a powerhouse herself. She is, however, an excellent puppet, which makes her a much better option than He Ran Ying."

You Lele jumped in, "I have gotten to know Bai Qian a bit. The truth is, the woman is simply too arrogant, and no one wants to help her. We don’t actually want to support her either, but it’s better for us if she replaces He Ran. At the very least, it’s better to have someone like Bai Qian in power whom we don’t have to worry about, rather than He Ran who will readily ambush us.”

Lu Yin said, "I understand."

"However, for the moment, Bai Qian has a problem that needs to be dealt with," You Fang stated. "Have you heard of the perfect Junior Sovereign?"

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Are you talking about the perfect person from the Cyclic Universe? When I was in the Sixverse Academy, I heard them mention the Junior Sovereign. There were a few people who compared me to him."contemporary romance

You Fang's expression grew solemn. "The Junior Sovereign has become enthralled with Bai Qian, which is really no different from saying that he is secretly helping He Ran. This is the true threat that we need to be on our guard against."

Lu Yin suddenly had a flash of inspiration—could there be a connection between Bai Qian’s scheduled meeting with Tu Ke and He Shu, Shao Qingfeng, and the Junior Sovereign?

"While the Junior Sovereign is not part of the Transcendent Universe, he still has great influence here. He Ran's younger brother, He Shu, has been the Junior Sovereign’s follower for some time, as have Shao Qingfeng and a large number of descendents of powerful organizations from across the entire Sixverse Association. The Junior Sovereign is clearly infatuated with Bai Qian, and that is a problem,” You Fang explained.

Lu Yin was surprised by this information. "Both He Ran and Bai Qian are highly valued by the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. Does that not matter to the Junior Sovereign?"

You Fang shook his head. "It’s possible that the ruler intends to use Bai Qian to gain something from the Junior Sovereign. After all, he is the Great Sovereign’s disciple and will eventually become one of the Three Sovereigns of the Cyclic Universe. To get closer to such a person, sacrificing Bai Qian is an easy decision."

"Does this mean that, by supporting Bai Qian, we’ll be making an enemy of the Junior Sovereign? Is your You family looking to take a loss with this?" Lu Yin felt quite confused.

You Fang replied, "It doesn’t matter. The Junior Sovereign is cooperating with He Ran to sabotage Bai Qian. It is also impossible for him to get closer to my You family, as we seek to stabilize the Transcendent Universe. We are simply destined to not see eye to eye. Even so, what of it? Even if the Junior Sovereign does eventually become one of the Three Sovereigns, he still will not be able to do anything to my You family. Not even all Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages combined can control the entire Sixverse Association."

Lu Yin understood. The You family simply had too clear a view of the overall situation. All that could be said was that He Ran was unfortunate to have run into such an intelligent family of people.

"It would be better for you if I stayed close to He Ran and maintained a good relationship with her."

You Fang and You Lele laughed in unison before simultaneously smirking at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, you still aren’t seeing things clearly, even after all of this? You want to play both sides and keep everyone happy, but that simply isn’t realistic."

Lu Yin said, "What I mean to say is that I have other ways to get you to trust me."

"Oh? Do tell," You Fang said with interest. "First of all, let me remind you that you don’t know nearly as much about the Transcendent Universe as I do. Also, don’t bother with any of your little tricks, as they won’t work."

Lu Yin glanced over at the surveillance system’s interface and then walked over to it. He stood in the center and started searching for something.

Neither You Fang nor You Lele were in any sort of hurry, so they simply watched as Xuan Qi searched.

After a short while, Lu Yin's eyes lit up and he announced, "I found it!"

As he spoke, he zoomed in on a specific location that he pointed to. "Are you familiar with this place?"

You Fang and You Lele both stared at the location indicated by Lu Yin. "It’s an abandoned mine. There was an accident there, which is why it was discontinued. The entire region is filled with toxic byproducts from the chemical processing. It’s a forbidden region."

"Is that all?" Lu Yin asked.

You Fang glanced over at You Lele, who shook her head. "It's nothing special. There are many similar places that are dangerous to visit in the Transcendent Universe."

Lu Yin said, "Then, what if I told you that this is the research center for the Energy Research Group that Zi Jing is part of? Would that change your thoughts about this place?"

Both father and daughter were stunned. "There?"

The Energy Research Group seemed rather ordinary, but it was actually a very mysterious group. In the past, things had been far more transparent, but after Zi Jing had joined, the entire research team had become shrouded in secrecy. After she had fled from the Transcendent Universe before the research had been completed, the Energy Research Group had been publicly disbanded. However, the truth was that it had only been an act to serve as a distraction while they had waited for Zi Jing’s return.

When Zi Jing had returned a few years ago, the Energy Research Group had seamlessly started to work together again, in an attempt to compensate for their lost time when Zi Jing had been missing. More recently, they had attracted the attention of the ruler of the universe, who had taken the research group to a parallel universe where time flowed at an accelerated rate.

Ever since Zi Jing’s return, You Fang had not been able to determine even the location of the research group, let alone any information about the cultivation technology they were researching.

He had spent two years searching for the Energy Research Group, but they had been hidden just too well. This was not possible for He Ran to accomplish, which meant that the ruler of the Transcendent Universe was the one concealing the research team. You Fang was shocked to learn something about the Energy Research Group through Xuan Qi.

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