The last to arrive at King Zishan's palace was Bei Hong and his son, Bei Qing. Lu Yin summoned both of them.
"Bei Hong greets Your Highness."
"Bei Qing greets Your Highness."
Lu Yin raised a hand. "No need for formalities. Please take a seat."
Bei Hong bowed again and sat down nearby. Bei Qing stood behind Bei Hong and occasionally glanced at Lu Yin, as if they had met before.
Zhao Ran brewed a cup of tea and looked at Bei Hong curiously. Many guests had come today, but she had prepared enough tea for a few more waves.
"How long have you known the Reverent King?" Lu Yin asked casually.
Bei Hong respectfully replied, "I've known the Reverent King since I was young, and we even participated in the court examination together."
Lu Yin was shocked. "The Reverent King participated in the court examination?"
Bei Hong smiled. "Yes, the Reverent King's literary talent is admirable, but unfortunately, he failed the court examination."
"It looks like Sir Bei has a close relationship with the Reverent King," Lu Yin commented.
Bei Hong's expression changed. "The Reverent King has been biding his time these past few years, and so have I. Whether it's in the open or in the dark, I've never interacted with the Reverent King, and I've never said anything good about the Reverent King. If not for that, I would not have survived until now."
"It looks like Sir Bei contributed greatly to the Reverent King's army," Lu Yin said.
Bei Hong lowered his head and did not respond. Of course, he did not refute either, as he did not know what Lu Yin meant. He had no confidence in this person, and every time he talked about this person with the Reverent King, the Reverent King had warned him to be careful.
Lu Yin looked at Bei Qing and smiled. "It looks like Sir Bei Qing has remembered me."
Bei Hong looked back.
Bei Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he bowed respectfully. "Back when the Demon Hunters Society was chasing down the traitor Elder Hammer, there was a misunderstanding with Your Highness. Please forgive us."
Lu Yin laughed. "My whereabouts were indeed suspicious at that time, so I don't blame you. Besides, I injured all of you. How are you?
Are you alright? "
"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern," Bei Qing replied.
Lu Yin looked at Bei Hong. "What is Sir Bei's current position in Shenwu Continent?"
Bei Hong replied, "I'm still the Minister of Military Affairs."
Lu Yin nodded and stared into Bei Hong's eyes. "Does that mean that Princess Ming Yan will have to rely on Sir Bei in the future?"
Bei Hong replied, "Your Highness is exceptionally intelligent, and I will do my best."
Lu Yin retracted his gaze, as Bei Hong was not surprised at all that Ming Yan would be in power in the future. It seemed that Ming Zhaoshu truly trusted Bei Hong, as he had even told Bei Hong about this matter. "Sir Bei, you should be aware of my relationship with Ming Yan. Regardless of whether it's for public or private reasons, I do not wish for Shenwu Continent to descend into chaos. I hope that you will do your best to assist Ming Yan, and I will definitely reward you generously in the future. After this Alliance Conference, Sir Bei Qing can stay behind, and I will give him a bright future."
Bei Hong was shocked. "Your Highness, this …" Bei Qing stepped forward and said loudly, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. Bei Qing is willing to serve Your Highness."
Bei Hong turned around and glared at Bei Qing, wanting to say something.
Lu Yin smiled. "Alright. Although the older officials are steady in handling matters, they still lack vigor. That's why I like to use the younger ones. As long as Sir Bei Qing has the ability, I will definitely not mistreat you in the future."
Ever since he had left Shenwu Continent and seen the flourishing and mystical universe, he had wanted to stay behind, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
Bei Hong sighed and bowed deeply. "I'll have to trouble you, Your Highness."
Lu Yin nodded and smiled as he watched the two leave.
Ming Yan needed capable people to help her take control of Shenwu Continent in the future. Since Ming Zhaoshu trusted Bei Hong so much, it proved that this person was capable. Lu Yin naturally had to control this person. He was not Ming Zhaoshu, and he would not trust someone without reason. Thus, Bei Qing had to stay behind.
Of course, Bei Qing's own abilities were not bad, and he was completely different from when Lu Yin had first met him. The fact that he had joined the Demon Hunters Society to hunt down the remnants of the sect proved that he had changed. Lu Yin could see a desire in Bei Qing's eyes, and he liked this type of person. Only with a goal would there be motivation.
When they returned to the National Academy, Bei Hong angrily reprimanded Bei Qing. "Do you know what you're doing?
Do you know how dangerous it is to follow Lu Yin?
That person is very scheming, and he has offended too many people. His methods are ruthless, and following him will only result in death. "
"Then why are there still so many people following him?" Bei Qing retorted.
Bei Hong opened his mouth, but he could not say anything. This was the truth.
"Father, Lu Yin was able to control the Great Yu Empire and establish the Great Eastern Alliance, which means that he definitely has his own abilities. His methods aren't important, as you told me that following him is at least safer than roaming the universe alone. In any case, I don't want to return to the Shenwu Continent," Bei Qing said.
Bei Hong was exhausted.
"Also, you saw the situation tonight. Do we have any room to refute?" Bei Qing asked.
Bei Hong sighed. "Since you're following him, you must be careful and think about everything. You have to be even more cautious when dealing with him than when dealing with the Reverent King."
"I understand, Father. Right, what did His Highness mean by that?
What did he mean by assisting the princess?
Will the Shenwu Empire be handed over to Ming Yan?
That's impossible. His Majesty is still young, and he will definitely have a son. "
Bei Hong glared at him. "Do your own thing and don't ask too much."
Bei Hong regretted answering too quickly. If he had pretended not to know, then his son would not have been detained in the Great Yu Empire. He had been tricked by Lu Yin. Although Lu Yin was young, he was very smart.
He had spent an entire day receiving important people from various weaves, and the remaining powers did not even need to be summoned, as they did not have the qualifications to meet with him.
It was time for Lu Yin to visit Felynn and the others on Planet Hydrotink. He could not just leave them alone, and he also needed to give some of the chips to Felynn. Most importantly, Lu Yin wanted to investigate the inner workings of the primeval surnames.
The primeval surnames had always been ostracized, and the Ten Arbiters had used a piece of paper to expel them. No one could refute that. The primeval surnames had a miserable status in the universe, and the Lockbreaker Society had explicitly stated that they were not allowed to recruit people with the primeval surnames who did not meet the requirements. Perhaps Lu Yin would be able to find out something from them.
On Planet Hydrotink, Felynn was organizing the current list of Lockbreakers when her gadget beeped. She took a look and saw that Lu Yin had arrived.
Soon after, Lu Yin appeared on Planet Hydrotink. The planet was lush with greenery, and the sea was vast. The air was very fresh, and it had always been a tourist planet. Now that it had become the headquarters of the Lockbreaker Society, its status had changed from a tourist planet to one of the most important planets in the entire Outerverse.
The prices of goods on the planet had not been high, but now, they had increased by several times, and there were no signs of them stopping. Countless merchants flocked to the planet, and if not for the temporary restrictions on foreign population, the planet would have been overcrowded.
Even with the restrictions on foreign population, the planet was still surrounded by spaceships, and there were people stationed on all of the surrounding planets. Planet Hydrotink had become a second Zenyu Star, and it was even more famous than Zenyu Star.
Lu Yin stood in the air above the sea and saw that the number of rune lines at the bottom of the sea was not small. These were the rune lines of a Limiteer sea beast. There were Limiteer sea beasts on Planet Hydrotink, and while they were dangerous to the natives, they were not that dangerous to Lockbreakers.
Felynn appeared next to Lu Yin. "I thought that you would be here after the Alliance Conference."
Lu Yin smiled. "The Lockbreaker Society has taken over, and as the host, I naturally had to pay a visit. Also, I have something to give to you." He then passed a cosmic ring to Felynn. "Inside are some Lockbreakers' lifetime lockbreaking experiences. This is one of the conditions that I promised you."
Felynn accepted the ring. She knew that these chips must have come from the Hall of Insight, but they had been unable to protect the Hall of Insight, which had allowed outsiders to take advantage of them.
"Senior Li's lockbreaking experiences must be disseminated. This is one of the conditions that I promised you. I hope that you won't forget about it."
Felynn fell silent for a moment before asking, "What do you need the Lockbreaker Society to do for you?"
"I haven't thought about it yet, but we'll talk about it later. You guys have already helped me," Lu Yin said. He then looked at Felynn. "There's something that I'm very curious about, and I hope that you can enlighten me."
Felynn nodded. "Go ahead."
Lu Yin thought about it and then asked seriously, "Why does the universe reject primeval surnames?"
Felynn was surprised that Lu Yin would ask such a question, but then she remembered that the person in front of her was surnamed Lu, which was a primeval surname. "I don't know."
Lu Yin stared into Felynn's eyes.
Felynn did not avoid his gaze and instead met his gaze. She answered seriously, "This is a rule that has been passed down since ancient times. Anyone with a primeval surname must obtain a legal status, or else they will be ostracized and hunted down. No organization under the Hall of Honor can accept anyone with an illegal primeval surname, and violators will be killed without mercy. This is not a rule set by the Lockbreaker Society, but by the Hall of Honor."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "The Hall of Honor?"
Felynn nodded. "Even President Geoffrey might not be able to answer your question, as it's been too long. There are many powerful sects in the universe that have inheritances from ancient times, and all of them have records of rejecting primeval surnames no matter how long ago they were. It's as if this rule has been passed down since the beginning of humanity. No one can explain why, but it has to be done.
"And to be honest, no one has been able to accurately pinpoint what the primeval surnames are. The only ones that we know are Lu, Liu, Wang, Xia, and Bai. We don't know the rest."
"Does the Lockbreaker Society have any records on this?" Lu Yin asked.
Felynn replied, "As I said before, all of the powerful sects have records, but there are no records that can explain why. Also, our society's ancient records disappeared along with the Hall of Insight."
Lu Yin felt a wave of pity and sighed. Why were the primeval surnames rejected? Did they not belong to this universe?
It seemed that if he wanted to learn more, he would have to start from Jupiter. However, with his current strength, he could not break through Jupiter's defenses.
"Wei Rong won't let you off," Felynn suddenly said.
Lu Yin looked at her and found it rather funny. "Are you trying to sow discord?"
Felynn looked away. "You know Wei Rong's character better than I do. He used the internal conflicts within our society to collapse Sourcepeak Planet and gather a group of Lockbreakers. However, your gains are even greater than his, and you're even borrowing his path. He won't be satisfied, and the Great Eastern Alliance borders Armament Weave, so he won't be at ease."
Lu Yin sized up Felynn. "You've become smarter."
Felynn frowned, but she did not refute him. She had indeed been naive in the past, as she had believed that Wei Rong had sincerely helped her become the president and that he had only wanted to gain her favor.