After arranging for Yan Yan to be treated, Xueshan Auna stood behind Lu Yin and asked worriedly, "Your Highness, are you confident that this person will be the captain?"
"What's there to be worried about? What benefits can he gain by betraying me?" Lu Yin asked.
Xueshan Auna hesitated. "This person can use both ice and fire attacks at the same time, which is very strange. He was born on the Royal Frost Continent and joined Firesmelt Planet. It's all related to his innate gift."
Lu Yin looked at Xueshan Auna. "Yan Yan has caused your Auna family great losses this time. I will compensate you for this debt."
Xueshan Auna hurriedly replied, "Your Highness is too serious. The entire Great Yu Empire belongs to Your Highness, and the Auna family swears to follow Your Highness to the death."
Lu Yin nodded. "That's good." He then left.
Xueshan Auna looked at the still-chilly family mansion and frowned. There were more and more experts in the empire, and in the past, only he, Huo Qingshan, and the Blind Monk had been Hunter realm captains. Now, Yan Yan and the acting captain of the Second Squad were also Hunters. The more experts there were, the more people the Royal Regent could use, and Xueshan Auna's value would plummet.
He had to think of a way to get the Auna family into the Royal Regent's good graces as soon as possible.
When he returned to King Zishan's palace, Lu Yin immediately contacted Elder Lohar.
Elder Lohar's image appeared on the screen, and he smiled at Lu Yin in a very amiable manner. "Kid, why are you looking for me?"
Lu Yin respectfully replied, "Elder, because of the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance, many people don't see eye to eye with me. When I went to Lars Weave, I was assassinated by five Hunters, which made me feel extremely uneasy."
Elder Lohar laughed. "Kid, you've fought against Enlighters before, so why are you afraid of mere Hunters?"
"I've already used up all of my power vessels in Ironblood Weave. Elder, you should know that without them, even if I can defend against a Hunter's attack, I might still be captured."
Elder Lohar muttered, "What do you want?"
"I would like to ask Elder to send an expert to protect me," Lu Yin said expectantly.
Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin with a smile. "Who do you like?
It can't be an Enlighter, right? "
"Of course not. Ironblood Weave's safety is far more important than this junior's. How could this junior neglect one thing and neglect the other?" Lu Yin paused for a moment before continuing. "When it comes to protection, this junior feels that Aden is more suitable."
Elder Lohar understood. "So you want Aden back."
Lu Yin replied, "If there had been a war in Ironblood Weave, this junior would definitely not have made such a request. But now that the war in Ironblood Weave has ended, there isn't much use for Aden to remain at the fort. Besides, Frostwave Weave is very close to Ironblood Weave, which is why this junior dared to make such a request.
Elder Lohar smiled. "Aden was brought here by you in the first place, so there's no harm in returning him to you. Alright, I'll talk to him."
"Many thanks, Elder!" Lu Yin was overjoyed.
Once Aden came to the Great Yu Empire, he would gain another captain, and he would be the strongest captain. Aden alone was equivalent to an Enlighter.
Lu Yin planned to make Aden the acting captain of the Fourth Imperial Squadron, which meant that only the Fifth and Tenth Squadrons of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were without captains. Once the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were filled up, there would be more people available.
Humans currently did not have any concept of the universe. The Outerverse was huge, and so was the Human Domain. However, no one knew what kind of place such a huge place was in the universe. This was because no one knew where the end of the universe was, or if there was an end to it at all.
The Astral Wilderness was a general term used by humans for all the places that had yet to be explored. There were no routes, no signals, and no technology that could help humans. If one wanted to explore it, they could only take risks, as no one knew what would appear in the next moment.
There was a contradiction in exploring the Astral Wilderness. If one wanted to be safe, then they had to expand their exploration range. However, doing so would easily lead to unknown dangers. Some scholars had once asserted that there were powerful civilizations in the Astral Wilderness that could rival or even surpass human society. If humans came into contact with such a civilization, then the consequences would be catastrophic.
Although the Astral Wilderness was very dangerous, countless people from the Human Domain still ventured forth to explore it every year. Some did it for the thrill of the adventure, while others did it to find resources and make a fortune. However, most people were hired to explore the Astral Wilderness. Their goal was to learn more about the universe outside of human society. What humans feared the most was the unknown darkness. Those who were hired to explore the Astral Wilderness were like lamps thrown into the darkness. They would be extinguished, but they would never be extinguished.
The cost of hiring people to explore the Astral Wilderness was borne by the entire Human Domain, just like how all of Ironblood Weave's resources were shouldered by the various weaves. This was an order from the Hall of Honor.
On this day, a medium-sized spacecraft was slowly cruising through the Astral Wilderness. Its surface was covered in scars from battle, and not long after, the spacecraft crashed towards a dark yellow planet.
"Captain, this isn't good. The atmosphere of this dark yellow planet is filled with poisonous gas. We can't enter it." A voice filled with despair rang out from within the spacecraft.
"Don't panic. Quickly steer the spacecraft and change directions. Hurry!"
"Captain, the spacecraft has malfunctioned."
"Captain, you should escape. You're an Explorer, so you can escape."
"Captain …"
…
When the spacecraft penetrated the atmosphere and entered the planet's surface, a figure appeared directly below the spacecraft. He roared as he tried to lift the spacecraft and return to outer space, but it was obvious that this person had been heavily injured. The wounds on his body quickly ruptured, and fresh blood splattered across the sky. The dark yellow poisonous gas entered his body through his wounds, and the person howled in agony as he hurled the spacecraft out of the atmosphere. His body seemed to have lost all strength as he fell and completely disappeared.
Everyone in the spacecraft watched in despair as the person disappeared.
The spacecraft was then forcefully tossed into outer space by that person.
Even though they had managed to avoid the poisonous gas, the spacecraft had malfunctioned, and everyone was still likely to be trapped in outer space.
"Look, what's that?" someone in the spacecraft cried out in alarm. The others looked over and stared at the dark yellow planet in shock.
A colossal object appeared from the planet and pushed away the poisonous gas, gradually revealing itself to everyone.
What they saw was a giant metal machine with a large metal claw reaching out and grabbing the spacecraft. It then disappeared into outer space once more, and soon, outer space returned to normal.
Not long after, another spacecraft appeared and charged into the dark yellow planet without hesitation.
The giant metal claw viciously slammed into the spacecraft, and a figure rushed out from the spacecraft. Facing the mountainous metal claw, the figure waved a single hand, causing a strange combination of star energy to push the metal claw to the side. "It's me."
The metal claw stopped moving, and a hard voice said, "You shouldn't have come here."
The figure's expression turned ugly. "I had no choice. I was being chased, so I could only escape here."
"There's someone in the Human Domain who can chase after you?" the hard voice questioned.
The figure snorted. "The Human Domain only cares about benefits. Besides, the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, so any relationship between the Innerverse and the Outerverse is useless in the Innerverse."
"What about the Daynight clan?"
"It's useless, and the Daynight clan is also chasing after me. Even the assassins from the dark powers are chasing after me. I could only escape here."
"It seems like you're in a desperate situation. How can we help you?" the hard voice asked.
The figure gritted his teeth. "I want you to help me get rid of the person who's chasing after me."
"Who?"
"Lu Yin."
"Lu Yin?
I think I've heard that name before. "
"He's an unequaled Limiteer in the Human Domain, and he's killed quite a few Enlighters."
"I remember now. He's one of the few Limiteers in the Human Domain who was able to enter our observation list. He was the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest. You want us to kill him?"
"We have no choice. That list is in his hands," the figure said helplessly.
The hard voice fell silent for a moment. "You didn't manage to get a hold of the list?"
The figure hesitated, but then nodded.
"I've always overestimated you. I didn't expect you to be so useless," the hard voice said indifferently.
The figure hurriedly replied, "It has nothing to do with us. That list was taken to the Sea King's Dome, and we can't do anything to Lu Yin there. After that, the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, and our family's power in the Outerverse is too weak. That's why we're here to ask for reinforcements."
"It doesn't matter. The Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, so the list has no value."
"What about Lu Yin?
Will you take action? "the figure asked anxiously, clearly harboring a deep hatred for Lu Yin.
"We'll have to ask for instructions from the higher-ups. Just wait here."
The figure had no choice but to return to the planet's interior.
In the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin ended a court session and returned to King Zishan's palace. There, he saw a very unexpected person: Hai Qiqi.
Ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, the girl's temperament had changed. She no longer stayed in the Great Yu Empire and had instead run off to the Astral River to find a way to enter the Innerverse. Lu Yin had contacted her once in a while, but he had not expected her to suddenly return.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"
"I didn't want to come back either. Someone was chasing me," Hai Qiqi said with a tired expression.
Lu Yin was shocked. "Someone was chasing you?
Who? "
Hai Qiqi's rune lines had greatly increased, and she had already broken through to the Explorer realm. Coupled with the life-saving item that the Sea King had given her, it was not easy to chase her down. It had to be a Hunter.
"A wretched uncle called Old Gu De or something. He wants me to marry his son. Help me deal with him, and I'll continue looking for a way to enter the Innerverse," Hai Qiqi said hatefully.
Lu Yin paused, and his face darkened. "Who are you talking about?
Old Gu De? "
Hai Qiqi grunted and then looked at Lu Yin. "Is he someone you know?"
Lu Yin smiled, but it was a cold smile. "Tell me his location."
Hai Qiqi marked the location. "Deal with him as soon as possible. I don't know what he sees in me, but he wants me to marry his son. He's crazy."
"Don't worry, I'll let him taste despair." Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he looked at the location on the star chart. Old Gu De … He had never forgotten this person. If not for the old man deliberately delaying the Astral River Ark's arrival, they would not have been caught. There was a piece of paper with the surname Lu and seventy-two lives. One of the Ten Arbiters was the mastermind, and Old Gu De was an accomplice.