Even though Elder Lohar was certain that the Astral Beast Domain would not invade again, the stronghold's defenses had not been lowered for safety's sake. The news had also not spread, so only a few people knew about it.
After resting for two days, Lu Yin sat on the top of a shattered cliff and looked at the corpses in the distance. He did not know why Elder Lohar was so certain that the Astral Beast Domain would not attack, but from what the monkey had said, there should not be any power that could make the Astral Beast Domain so fearful. Had the old man fallen for a trap?
Footsteps sounded behind him, but Lu Yin did not need to turn around. He could see a woman in red approaching through his domain. It was the same woman that he had saved while saving Wang Wen. She looked very seductive and was probably a disciple of the Blaze Realm.
An alluring fragrance wafted into his nose, and Lu Yin frowned.
"Brother Lu, can I sit here?"
Lilyrose stood behind Lu Yin and smiled at him. A gentle breeze blew past, and her red dress brushed against Lu Yin's arm.
Lu Yin nodded. "Up to you."
Lilyrose did not mind the dust on the ground, and she just sat beside Lu Yin and tilted her head to look at him.
Lu Yin felt that this was strange, and he met her gaze. This woman had a charm that made one's heart flutter. Unlike Mila or Madam Nalan, this was a seductive charm that combined with her red dress could easily arouse a man's inner desires. "Why are you looking at me?"
Lilyrose smiled and licked her lips. "Brother Lu, thank you for saving my life."
Lu Yin looked back. "You're welcome. I would have saved anyone else."
"I know, but Brother Lu still saved me, so I can't help but be grateful." Lilyrose moved closer to Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, let's have a drink."
It was obvious that a beautiful woman wanted to drink with someone. Although Lu Yin did not have much experience in love, and his feelings for Ming Yan had been impulsive, he was not stupid. This woman was trying to seduce him.
Lu Yin stood up. "I still have things to do, so I'll be leaving." He did not like this type of woman, especially when she purposely acted seductively.
Lilyrose watched him leave and smiled. "Brother Lu's contributions in this war cannot go unnoticed. Are you interested in joining the Blaze Realm?"
Lu Yin did not stop walking. "The Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, and I might not be able to return to the Blaze Realm in this lifetime. Think about something more practical."
"So, Brother Lu, have you thought about how to deal with the future crisis?" Lilyrose asked loudly.
He stopped and turned to look at Lilyrose. "Danger?"
Lilyrose smiled. "Brother Lu's spear is broken."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "Are you threatening me?"
Lilyrose covered her mouth and giggled. "Of course not! Why would I threaten my savior? But many people know that Brother Lu's sword was shattered. Even though Brother Lu has become an Explorer and has the universal armor's defense, he still doesn't have the power to deal with an Enlighter's attack. An Enlighter's power is more than enough to deal with Brother Lu. I know that Brother Lu has many enemies."
He did not elaborate, but the meaning was clear. The greatest threat came from the Fire Domain, from Huo Houye.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "I didn't kill Karthika with a spear." He then left.
Lilyrose was astonished. It wasn't a gun? That couldn't be, right? Did this person have other methods to deal with Enlighters?
She did not know that Wendy Yushan had injured Scholar Newmoon in San Dios, or else she would not have been so astonished.
Lilyrose reminded Lu Yin that he could not use external forces, but he had to have them. He had to find a way to obtain a weapon that could threaten an Enlighter, or else he would be forced into a passive position against a powerhouse like Huo Houye.
He was not so naive as to think that he was invincible with his universal armor.
For a month, Lu Yin continuously updated his sourcebox's danger zone, and he did not encounter any Astral Beast Domain invasions.
On this day, Elder Lohar went out and only returned the next day. When he came back, he brought with him a piece of exciting news. He had destroyed the energy crack in the Primal Zone.
This news shocked all of Ironblood Weave, and as the astral beasts retreated, the weave's signal gradually recovered. Elder Lohar's news quickly spread, and the entire weave cheered.
The destruction of the energy crack meant that the Primal Zone could no longer receive any reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire. It also meant that the war was truly over. Otherwise, the Astral Beast Domain would not have allowed Elder Lohar to destroy the energy crack so easily. After all, there was still a Void Thunderbeast guarding the crack.
Lu Yin turned on his communicator, and Wendy Yushan's figure appeared on his screen. It had been a while since he had last seen her, and she had lost a lot of weight. "We survived."
Lu Yin rubbed his head. "Yeah, we survived."
In the beginning, they had not had much of an understanding of Ironblood Weave. All they knew was that it was a black hole of death, but they did not know how terrifying it was. However, as more and more battles occurred, they gradually understood what Ironblood Weave was and what it was. It was the frontlines of humanity's bloody battles, and even Enlighters would face death here.
Lu Yin had faced several life-threatening situations, and if not for his good luck, he would have been finished.
Of all the people from the Great Yu Empire who had sent reinforcements to Ironblood Weave, only Lu Yin, Wendy Yushan, Huo Qingshan, and Aden had survived. Everyone else had died.
Their situation was still relatively good, as all of the reinforcements from Lars Weave, Northcastle Weave, and several other weaves had all died, and not a single one had survived.
On the day that Ironblood Weave confirmed the end of the war, Lu Yin had been cultivating for six years, which was also one year since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated.
Ironblood Weave only had five strongholds left, as Ironblood Fort and the three middle strongholds had all been destroyed. Elder Lohar used the name of the Hall of Honor to order the eastern weaves to send resources to Ironblood Weave and to rebuild the former strongholds. Topmist, Nightqueen Qiuyu, Granny Chan, Huo Houye, and the rest of the Enlighters who had been sent as reinforcements had all stayed behind to help rebuild the strongholds.
As for Lu Yin and the rest, they were allowed to leave.
During the final battle, Lu Yin had made outstanding contributions, and most importantly, he had saved Wang Wen. Elder Lohar had decided to give him two Honor Points, which was equivalent to 40,000 Ironblood Points. He had also given him an additional 20,000 Ironblood Points in recognition of his performance on and off the battlefield. With the Ironblood Points that Kong Shi had given him, Lu Yin now had a total of 70,000 Ironblood Points. Lu Yin had originally wanted to exchange all of these points for star essence, but he had been dissuaded by Aden.
Aden's origins were very mysterious, and Lu Yin had not asked about them.
When Lu Yin had visited Aden, he had unintentionally mentioned that he wanted to exchange all of his Honor Points. Aden had suggested that since Lu Yin already had four Honor Points, he might as well exchange them for two more to raise his total to six.
"Six Honor Points and four Honor Points are fundamentally different," Aden said solemnly.
Lu Yin did not understand. "What do you mean?"
Aden looked at Lu Yin seriously. "You don't think that the Hall of Honor has no one in the Outerverse, do you?"
Lu Yin shook his head. "That's impossible. Most people don't know about their existence, but their authority affects the entire Outerverse."
"That's right. Although I don't really understand the Hall of Honor's influence on the Outerverse, I do know that six Honor Points can exempt you from certain crimes to a certain extent. You can also … borrow authority."
Lu Yin was even more confused. "What do you mean by 'borrow authority'?"
"To a certain extent, you can speak on behalf of the Hall of Honor. It's just like when people argue, where one side stands on the moral high ground and speaks in a convincing manner. With six Honor Points, you'll stand on the Hall of Honor's high ground. As long as the Hall of Honor doesn't fall, you'll have a lot of hidden authority in the Outerverse," Aden explained.
Lu Yin understood that this was an advantage that the Hall of Honor had bestowed upon him. He remembered that En Ya had once told him that the Hall of Honor would create a personal gadget that matched his status after he reached six Honor Points, which would grant him many special privileges. From the looks of it, borrowing authority was a hidden benefit, and it did not mean that he could give orders on behalf of the Hall of Honor. However, standing on the Hall of Honor's side was equivalent to gaining a huge backer.
But now that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, Lu Yin had no idea how much influence the Hall of Honor still had in the Outerverse.
"Don't underestimate the Hall of Honor. They have powerhouses that influence the entire human race," Aden said solemnly.
"How do you know?" Lu Yin was puzzled.
Aden fell silent and did not answer.
Lu Yin apologized. "Sorry, I asked too much."
Aden went to rest, and Lu Yin walked out. Honor Points, star essence, the Hall of Honor, borrowing authority … Lu Yin was at a loss as to how much power this borrowing authority had. If the Outerverse's various weaves did not care about the Hall of Honor because of the Innerverse's isolation, then this borrowing authority would be useless.
After thinking about it for a long time, Lu Yin made up his mind to exchange for Honor Points. Sigmund's crimes were something that even Undying Yushan could not pardon, or rather, he did not dare to pardon him. Even if the Hall of Honor's influence in the Outerverse gradually declined, it would still take some time for that to happen. Based on the reinforcements he had received, Elder Lohar's words still held absolute authority over the various weaves. As long as Lu Yin made good use of this borrowing authority during this period, he would not lose out.
And even if he did lose out, so what? He had gained it for free in the first place, and he already had 160,000 star essence, which was quite a lot.
To exchange for Honor Points, he had to go through Elder Lohar. This was Lu Yin's second meeting with Elder Lohar, but this time, it was a private meeting.
"Two Honor Points and 40,000 Ironblood Points. Not bad, kid." Elder Lohar admired Lu Yin and gave him two Honor Points. "Someone will go to the Great Yu Empire to find you and give you a new gadget. I hope that you can make good use of this new status."
Lu Yin respectfully replied, "Yes, Senior. Rest assured that this junior will not bring shame to the Hall of Honor."
Although having Honor Points did not equate to joining the Hall of Honor, it was still equivalent to half a member.
The more Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin, the more he liked him. With the Innerverse and Outerverse's isolation, no one wanted to exchange for Honor Points anymore, as they all felt that it was useless. Only this kid still valued the Hall of Honor.
"It's a pity that the Innerverse and Outerverse are separated. Otherwise, with your innate gift, you would definitely be able to obtain a position."
Lu Yin was puzzled. "Position?
What position? "
Elder Lohar waved a hand. "Forget it, it's a foregone conclusion. Unless the Innerverse and Outerverse is restored before you turn forty, you won't be able to obtain that position. What a pity."