Star Odyssey

Chapter 1942

Chapter 1942

Ce Jiu started guessing. "Could he be after Combat Doctrine? Or some resources? I’ve heard that he’s quite a money grubber."

Ce Laoyan shook his head. "Given his current status, he has countless resources at his fingertips. There’s no need to bother our Ce family over something like that. Could it be…?” Ce Laoyan started considering the Great Eastern Alliance.

The Great Eastern Alliance had already united both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and it had become powerful enough to even face the Astral Beast Domain head on. Their next step should be the Cosmic Sea, but the Cosmic Sea was already dominated by Leon’s Armada, and Lu Yin was considered part of their family. There was no need to even think about if the Great Eastern Alliance wanted to take control of the Cosmic Sea, which meant that their next goal was the Neoverse.

Was it possible that Lu Yin wanted to stir up trouble for the Ce family as a part of his plan to push into the Neoverse?

Ce Laoyan laughed. That was impossible! He had to be overthinking things. The Neoverse was nothing like the Innerverse or the Outerverse.

The only reason why the Great Eastern Alliance had been able to face off against the Astral Beast Domain head-on was because the Cosmic Sect and the Hall of Honor had both reinforced the Great Eastern Alliance. Without their help, the alliance would have completely failed.

The Neoverse was home to the Seven Courts, the Cosmis Sect, the Mavis family, Aurora Enterprises, Gods’ Origin, and many more. Which of the Neoverse’s powers was easy to deal with? The Neoverse was also home to several Semi-Progenitors, so how could the Great Eastern Alliance even dream of unifying it?

Even after considering the matter for a long time, Ce Laoyan was unable to guess at Lu Yin’s purpose in visiting them.

"Let’s not worry about him. Since he has a goal, he will definitely make it known, so we simply need to wait for him," Ce Laoyan stated confidently.

Ce Jiu asked, "What about the Yinyang Trisage Technique? Many members of our Ce family have already learned it."

There was only one answer Ce Laoyan could give. "While that battle technique is truly exquisite, it is still incomplete, and we only possess the initial portion. What of it? If he hopes to use the technique to try to stir up trouble for my Ce family, he’s grossly underestimating us."

…

Zhu San led Lu Yin to explore the Starpiece Region, which left almost the entire Ce family shocked. The entire family started talking about this matter.

Two days had already passed, but Lu Yin was still hanging around the Ce family. The family’s disciples enjoyed sparring, and Lu Yin watched many of the Ce family’s disciples’ matches.

Ce Jiu also arrived to accompany Lu Yin.

"The Ce family’s Combat Doctrine is truly impressive, given how effectively it allows one to comprehend other battle techniques. It’s no wonder why people say that the Ce family has the most extensive library of battle techniques out of the Seven Courts. That reputation appears to be well-deserved," Lu Yin voiced his admiration.

Zhu San glanced over at Ce Jiu.

Ce Jiu answered with a smile, "These people are merely show-offs, and they possess nothing that can compare to Alliance Leader Lu's Vacuum Palm. Even Envoys fear your palm strikes."

Lu Yin gave a small smile. "You’re going too far, Brother Ce. I only just became an Envoy, and yet you’re making me sound as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor, haha."

Ce Jiu said nothing and only replied with a slight smile.

The match between two members of the Ce family was in full swing in front of them. The two fighters had similar cultivation levels, and they were also both members of the Ce family. Even though they were not direct descendants, they were still quite skilled.

Suddenly, one of them raised a hand, and his fingers twisted to form an odd pattern that was pointed at the man’s opponent.

Lu Yin suddenly took a step forward and blurted out, "The Yinyang Trisage Technique?"

Ce Jiu's eyes froze. "Brother Lu, is something the matter?"

Lu Yin turned to stare at Ce Jiu with an ugly expression that barely concealed his anger. "Brother Ce, that's the Yinyang Trisage Technique. How does your Ce family have that?"

Ce Jiu frowned. "I’m not sure what the Yinyang Trisage Technique is, but that’s just one of the numerous battle techniques that my Ce family has copied."

"Who copied it?" Lu Yin loudly demanded. His agitation was starting to draw many people's attention.

Ce Jiu’s voice dropped low as he replied, "Brother Lu, while I can respect you as a guest and for your accomplishments, you are being inappropriate right now."

Lu Yin remained stern. "That Yinyang Trisage Technique belongs to a senior I know. When I was discussing cultivation and battle techniques with that senior, I asked him for advice. This is an exquisite technique that very few people in the entire universe even know of it. Can you explain how your Ce family acquired this? On top of that, you’re even spreading it around? Your Ce family needs to give me an explanation for this!"

Ce Jiu subconsciously glanced over at Zhu San. Sure enough, the young man did understand Lu Yin, and he was indeed trying to attack the Ce family with the Yinyang Trisage Technique.

"Since you’re upset about this, I will ask my father to come out and speak to you about it, Alliance Leader Lu," Ce Jiu stated rather bluntly before leading Lu Yin away to speak with Ce Laoyan.

Many members of the Ce family gathered together, and they all stared at Lu Yin and the Second Nightking when they arrived.

The atmosphere became a bit tense.

Lu Yin looked a bit uncomfortable with the situation as he stared at Ce Laoyan. "Patriarch Ce, I, Lu Yin, am not an unreasonable person. If this were my own battle technique that you had picked up, I would just forget about it, but this technique belongs to a senior. It is the result of his painstaking effort and the culmination of his entire life. He has only passed it down to his personal disciples, but now, your Ce family is openly and blatantly providing it for all of your clan members to learn. This is disrespecting that senior far too much, as this is simply stealing from him."

Ce Laoyan frowned. "Alliance Leader Lu, everyone knows that my Ce family's Combat Doctrine allows us to copy the battle techniques of our opponents. So regardless of who faces the members of my family, they should all be aware that it’s necessary to limit the use of their battle techniques as much as possible and to stick to other skills if they don’t want us to take them for our own. This is common knowledge, and the Yinyang Trisage Technique that you’re referring to is something that we copied, which means that it’s your senior's problem rather than ours. Why are you trying to bother my Ce family?"

"So does the Ce family have no intention to provide an explanation for this?" Lu Yin looked upset.

Ce Laoyan clasped his hands behind his back. "Alliance Leader Lu, you are a guest of my Ce family, and we have treated you with every courtesy thus far. However, if you decide to mistreat our hospitality, we will not be intimidated."

As he spoke, an old man appeared nearby. He was the Ce family’s elder, Ce Yue. He was an old monster with a power level of over a million, and at this time, he was holding an Immovable Chessboard power vessel and warily staring at the Second Nightking.

Everyone present from the Ce family tensed up and started radiating powerful killing intent.

Lu Yin just sneered in response. "You sure are worthy of being part of the Seven Courts! You aren’t even intimidated by a Semi-Progenitor!"

The faces of everyone from the Ce family instantly changed.

Ce Laoyan was taken aback. "A Semi-Progenitor?"

Lu Yin ignored the patriarch and focused on Ce Yue. "Senior, have you ever heard of the Yingyang Trisage Technique?"

The old man felt confused. "I haven’t."

Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, what about Jiu Chi?"

Ce Yue's expression changed drastically. "Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi?"

Ce Laoyan’s pupils instantly shrank. "Alliance Leader Lu, what are you saying?"

Lu Yin lifted his head high. "The Yinyang Trisage Technique is Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi’s unique technique that he passed on to his disciple, Qiong Xi'er. And yet, right now, your Ce family is freely and blatantly distributing it amongst yourselves. Patriarch Ce, it looks as though your family intends to cross Jiu Chi and that you’ve already made your first move."

Ce Laoyan's face twisted horribly, and Ce Yue turned to look at the patriarch. "What's going on?"

Everyone from the Ce family looked quite miserable at this moment.

Not one of them had been aware that the Yinyang Trisage Technique was something that had been personally created by a Semi-Progenitor! If they had known this, they would have never been brazen enough to spread it so freely among themselves, even under threat of death.

Ce Jiu was utterly shocked. That technique actually belonged to a Semi-Progenitor?

Not even Zhu San had known about this, as he had merely believed himself to have copied Qiong Xi’er’s techniques. Was it possible that Qiong Xi'er was actually a Semi-Progenitor’s disciple? How could that be possible? Why was she so weak if she had a Semi-Progenitor as a master?

"Alliance Leader Lu, do you really believe that you can threaten my Ce family by attributing this Yinyang Trisage Technique to Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi? How can you even prove that this battle technique belongs to the Semi-Progenitor?" Ce Laoyan sharply demanded. He had not initially been concerned with Lu Yin at all, not even when the young man had started acting up about this particular battle technique. However, if it really did belong to a Semi-Progenitor, then the situation would be very different.

A small smile appeared on Lu Yin’s face. "Go ask Xia Ji."

Ce Laoyan's heart dropped when he saw Lu Yin's confidence. Could they really have taken a Semi-Progenitor's battle technique?

Ce Yue's eyes flickered. While asking Xia Ji was indeed the most reliable way to determine the truth of this matter, it meant that Lu Yin would not be the only one holding a knife to the Ce family’s throat, and so too would the Xia family. The Seven Courts were not nearly as harmonious as they appeared from outside.

"Leave," Ce Yue ordered quietly as he pushed everyone back except for Ce Laoyan.

When he saw everyone else leave, Lu Yin knew he had already succeeded. The Ce family would never have the courage to ask Xia Ji to verify this matter. Besides, that would not even change anything, as the Yinyang Trisage Technique was indeed Jiu Chi’s battle technique, so there was no problem.

"Alliance Leader Lu, how do you want to settle this matter?" Ce Yue asked as he stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin and Ce Yue studied each other. "Senior, do you believe that the Yinyang Trisage Technique really is a Semi-Progenitor technique?"

"Let's say yes," Ce Yue said.

"Isn’t it best to have proof, Senior?" Lu Yin pressed.

Ce Yue frowned. "Despite being in seclusion most of the time, even I have heard of your meteoric rise, Alliance Leader Lu. You’ve united both the Outerverse and the Innerverse, and you are already staring at the Neoverse from a distance. You led your Great Eastern Alliance to stop the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion and passed a stellular tribulation in such a manner that you caused the true universe to boil, which attracted the attention of even the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Your accomplishments are truly impressive, and my Ce family has never treated you rudely, Alliance Leader Lu.”

"I’ve heard that you have also learned my Ce family’s Ce Secret Art. Despite that, have we even once caused any trouble for you about it during your time here in the Starpiece Region, Alliance Leader Lu?"

Lu Yin earnestly answered, "Learning the Ce Secret Art was a coincidence that I stumbled upon. Senior, if you stumbled upon the Xia family’s secret technique, or one that belonged to the Hall of Honor, would you pass it by out of fear of the Xia family or the Hall of Honor? Also, I can tell you truthfully that I did not know that the Ce Secret Art belonged to your Ce family when I learned it. Back then, I did not even qualify to interact with the Seven Courts. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of it back then.”

Ce Laoyan interrupted, saying, "Still, it’s true that you’ve learned the Ce Secret Art, is it not, Alliance Leader Lu?"

Lu Yin stared at Ce Laoyan. "I alone learned the Ce Secret Art, yet your entire Ce family is blatantly spreading and using a Semi-Progenitor's battle technique. You can come after me for learning the Ce Secret Art, as is your right. But right now, I want to deal with the matter regarding the Semi-Progenitor's battle technique."

"What is it that you want?" Ce Laoyan ground out between his teeth. In the end, the one with the bigger fist would come out on top. If Lu Yin were some nobody, how would he have the guts to say such a thing? Rather, he would not even have the courage to admit to knowing the Ce Secret Art. On the other hand, the Ce family had offended a Semi-Progenitor. If they had known of this possibility, they would have never dared to share the Yinyang Trisage Technique even internally. However, they had long since passed that point, and their only option was to try to seal Lu Yin's mouth.

Lu Yin's eyes grew cold, and then he turned back to look at Ce Yue. "Actually, as long as you and I don’t say anything and the members of your Ce family who’ve learned the technique are forbidden from using the Yinyang Trisage Technique, the Semi-Progenitor should not come after your family. Jiu Chi is a drunk, so as long as no one deliberately says anything to him, there’s no way for him to learn about this."

Ce Yue stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "For what reason would you keep such a thing from Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi, Alliance Leader Lu?"

"That’s quite simple. This junior would like to observe the Immovable Chessboard that was left behind by your family’s ancestor."

Ce Yue felt puzzled by this request. "Haven’t you already learned the secret technique? The only function of the Immovable Chessboard is that it makes it possible for some people to learn the Ce Secret Art, which makes it useless to you."

"I want you to know that this junior has absolutely no desire to hurt your Ce family. As you said, Senior, I came here already knowing your family’s secret technique, and yet none of you have caused any trouble for me because of that. Instead, the Ce family has treated this junior as a friend, and I will naturally try to not harm my friends," Lu Yin casually answered.

Ce Yue felt quite confused, as he still could not understand what Lu Yin was after.

As for Ce Laoyan, not only was he confused, but he was also stunned, as Lu Yin’s words showed that Zhu San had accurately deduced Lu Yin’s goal. Did Zhu San really have such an incredible understanding of Lu Yin? If that was the case, then Zhu San was going to be invaluable.