The figure's hair stood on end, and when he turned around, he saw Ban Jiu's gloomy expression. "Cap- Captain?"
Ban Jiu exerted some force, and the figure howled as his shoulder was crushed. He was pressed to the ground and looked at Ban Jiu in fear. "Captain, spare me."
"According to the rules of the Technology Department, cosmic rings are not allowed in. I knew that something was wrong when you brought one in so late at night. I thought that you just wanted to steal something, but I didn't expect you to want to destroy the androids. Tell me, who ordered you to come here?" Ban Jiu asked in an icy tone.
The figure lowered his head, his eyes filled with despair.
"What, you don't want to talk?
You know how the Twelfth Squadron works, "Ban Jiu said slowly.
The figure trembled as he thought of something. "No one ordered it. The Royal Regent ordered the Ninth Squadron to eradicate my family. I … I wanted revenge, so I did this."
Ban Jiu remembered that this person had a powerful background and was a relative of one of the Empire's powerful officials. It was because of this official that he had been able to join the Twelfth Squadron, but that official had been killed by the Ninth Squadron a few days ago.
"Is that all?" Ban Jiu crouched down and asked coldly.
The person looked at Ban Jiu in fear. "Captain, I know your methods. There's nothing that you can't pry open, and I don't dare to hide anything. I only ask for a quick death."
Ban Jiu narrowed his eyes as a breeze blew, causing his white coat to flutter.
Beads of sweat dripped from the man's forehead. "Captain, I've worked hard in the Twelfth Squadron, and I only ask for a quick death. Please grant me my wish."
Ban Jiu stood up and looked down at the man from above. He slowly raised his hand and slapped down, causing the man's forehead to crack and die.
"Looks like it's time to clean up the Twelfth Squadron," Ban Jiu muttered to himself. If not for his vigilance today, all of his hard work would have been over. He would not be able to accept it, and he would not be able to answer to the Royal Regent. With the Royal Regent's attitude towards some of the Empire's families, these people who had joined the Twelfth Squadron because of their family background were not reliable.
On the Shenwu Continent, after Lu Yin had left, Ming Yan had made up her mind to handle government affairs. After so many days of studying, her temperament had quietly changed.
Sometimes, it wasn't that people didn't have the ability, it was just that they weren't forced to a certain extent.
Rebellions had broken out all over the Shenwu Empire, and Ming Yan had dealt with them rather mercifully. However, this had led to a second rebellion, and Ming Zhaoshu had personally taken action to suppress this second rebellion, which had been caused by Ming Yan's benevolence. He had killed 20,000 people, which had shocked the entire continent and caused the entire continent to panic.
Ming Yan had witnessed the massacre, and the impact on her was unimaginable. It was also because of that incident that she became much more decisive in handling matters. Her gaze, mentality, and temperament had all changed. The way she looked at Ming Zhaoshu had also changed.
Ming Zhaoshu looked at the memorial that Ming Yan had brought to him. The memorial was written with the imperial order to kill without mercy. Ming Zhaoshu looked at Ming Yan and met her eyes. In the past, Ming Yan's gaze had been filled with gentleness, benevolence, and apprehension. But now, that apprehension had disappeared, and so had the benevolence. There was a hint of determination in her eyes, and also a hint of unfamiliarity.
Ming Zhaoshu's heart ached, as he had single-handedly contributed to Ming Yan's change. Because of this, he had killed 20,000 people. These 20,000 people had become a barrier that would forever stand between the father and daughter pair.
However, Ming Zhaoshu did not regret his actions. His life force was rapidly depleting, and it would not be long before he died. The war-torn Shenwu Empire needed an iron-blooded monarch, not a benevolent one. The universe was cruel, and the Ming Yan of the past was not suited for survival.
"Yan 'er, do you blame Father?" Ming Zhaoshu could not help but ask.
Ming Yan's body trembled, and she slowly shook her head. "I'm tired and want to rest."
Ming Zhaoshu nodded. "Go, don't think too much."
Ming Yan left the study and looked up. The bright sunlight was dazzling, but she liked it. Ever since she had witnessed the massacre of 20,000 people, she had not dared to sleep at night. She always felt as if those 20,000 people were staring at her. Their resentment and hatred had transformed into an inner demon that seemed to want to drag her down into a bottomless abyss.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Ming Yan muttered to herself. She curled up on her bed and faced the sunlight as tears streamed down her face.
In the study, Ming Zhaoshu sighed. "Yan 'er, Father has let you down."
Outer space was dark, but it was still illuminated by the stars.
Lu Yin sat in his spacecraft and drank fruit juice that was a specialty of the Lars Weave.
"I just received news that the route has changed again, and we'll have to travel another day," Aden said as he walked over.
Lu Yin was helpless. "Is it still because of the sudden increase in energy?"
Aden nodded. "The Astral River has expanded, and it has separated the Innerverse and Outerverse. There are also many places in the Outerverse where the energy has skyrocketed, and the eastern and western weaves have practically been cut off. Fortunately, Sourcepeak Weave is in the middle, or else we might not have been able to reach it."
"Have you been to Sourcepeak Planet before?" Lu Yin asked.
Aden shook his head. "Nope."
"I wonder what kind of place it is. Will there be many sourceboxes there?" Lu Yin looked forward to it. He quite liked lockbreaking, as it was like exploring a mystery. Every sourcebox could contain an ancient item, and it felt like crossing time to make a transaction with an ancient being. It was very interesting, but of course, it was also very dangerous.
Aden looked at Lu Yin. "Actually, I really admire you. Not only are you strong at such a young age, but you can also lockbreak. You're an all-rounder."
Lu Yin smiled. "You flatter me."
"You're very similar to Undying Yushan," Aden said as he looked at the sky with a nostalgic expression.
Lu Yin's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Aden. "What did you say?
I'm very similar to Undying Yushan? "
Aden nodded. "Undying Yushan was just like you. He had an extremely high innate talent for both cultivation and lockbreaking. You're practically a carbon copy of him."
Lu Yin frowned. "Undying Yushan can lockbreak?
Who told you that? "
Aden laughed. "I don't need anyone to tell me. I can tell. Although he didn't intentionally reveal it, a Lockbreaker's control of star energy is different. I can recognize that feeling right away."
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Undying Yushan could lockbreak?
No one had ever told him that before, but it didn't matter. He was already dead, so what else was there to say?
Up ahead, a spacecraft was heading in their direction.
Lu Yin's expression changed when he saw the spacecraft. "Be careful."
Aden was on high alert. "Enemies?"
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed as he stared at the spacecraft in front of them. He could see three enormous rune lines within it, and the weakest one was comparable to Xueshan Auna's. This meant that there were three Hunters in those three spacecraft, and the strongest one had rune lines comparable to a peak Hunter like Kong Shi, which was not much weaker than Aden's.
That spacecraft brushed past Lu Yin's spacecraft, and suddenly, the three rune lines rushed over. Lu Yin's eyes went wide. "Attack!"
Aden subconsciously formed a thunder shield in front of the spacecraft, and the three attacks landed on the shield. Although they were unable to break through the shield's defenses, they were still able to push Lu Yin's spacecraft back by ten thousand meters.
Lu Yin put on his universal armor and stepped out of the spacecraft. Aden appeared in outer space at the same time and looked ahead solemnly. The three Hunters did not say a word as they continued to attack. Their attacks were accompanied by strange innate gifts and powerful battle techniques that caused the void to shatter into pieces. A black hole then formed that tried to swallow the spacecraft.
Fortunately, Lu Yin had already ordered the spacecraft to escape at maximum speed.
Aden growled, "Thunder Mountain Technique." The moment he spoke, his thunder shield flickered and thunder rumbled. There was a loud crack as a shockwave spread out, shocking the three Hunters. This was the first time they had encountered such a terrifying Hunter, and his power was not much weaker than an Enlighter's.
Although Aden's attacks were not at the level of an Enlighter's, his defenses were definitely top-notch, and he could withstand an Enlighter's attacks.
The thunder shield expanded infinitely, and it enveloped the heavens as Aden pushed it towards the three Hunters.
The three exchanged glances, and one of them said, "You guys hold him back." He then tore through the void and disappeared.
In front of the thunder shield, the two Hunters attacked at the same time, but they did not use any battle techniques. They had already tried, but they could not break through the shield no matter what they did. It was the same whether they used battle techniques or not. They raised their hands and blocked the thunder shield.
Aden was behind the thunder shield, and his face changed the moment he collided with the two Hunters. He could feel the star energy in his thunder shield rapidly depleting, and it felt like his battle technique was being disintegrated. Or rather, they were lockbreaking. These two were Lockbreakers. Oh no!
There's another one! Aden turned around. "Be careful."
Lu Yin looked to his right, as he had already seen a Hunter tearing through the void towards him. It was the strongest peak Hunter, and he had sent a palm towards Lu Yin from a distance. It was clearly a very ordinary attack, but for some reason, Lu Yin felt an extreme sense of danger. This sense of danger was due to the fact that he was not wearing his universal armor, but now that he was wearing it, he was not afraid at all.
Lu Yin stepped forward and raised his hand at the peak Hunter at the same time.
The two palms collided, and Lu Yin immediately pulled his hand back. The star energy that he had condensed in his palm suddenly disappeared. This was disintegration. "You're a Lockbreaker."
Lockbreakers had a unique way of fighting, as they could use their lockbreaking techniques to disintegrate other people's battle techniques. Any battle technique, technique, or even innate gift needed star energy to activate, and once the star energy was disintegrated, their power would be greatly reduced.
This was one of the reasons why Lockbreakers had such a high status in the universe. All Lockbreakers were powerhouses of the same level, and this was common knowledge.
Lu Yin himself was a Lockbreaker, and he had even reached the level of being able to unlock Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes. However, this Lockbreaker's speed at disintegrating star energy had caught him off guard. This Lockbreaker was at least Three Stars or even Four Stars Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.
Lu Yin's domain had also been seen through by this assassin, and it was completely useless.
Lu Yin retreated, as he was not in any danger with his universal armor. However, he was also helpless against this assassin. Against a Lockbreaker of this level, even his Dream Finger would be weakened. Furthermore, his opponent had not used any battle techniques, so he could not use the Yu Secret Art.
The assassin pressed forward and grabbed at Lu Yin. He had also sensed the defenses of the universal armor, and he did not intend to kill Lu Yin. Instead, he wanted to capture him.
Lu Yin snorted. Since star energy was ineffective, then he would use pure physical strength. "Hundredfold Shockwave Palm!" There was a thump, and Lu Yin did not use any star energy as he sent a palm strike towards the assassin. The assassin had not expected Lu Yin's physical strength to be so terrifying, and his arm was instantly broken. He looked at Lu Yin in shock.