"Me?" Lu Yin's heart trembled at Duque's words, "Me?"
Duque nodded, "That's right, the fourth one is you. You have the right to become the emperor of the Great Yu Empire."
Lu Yin blinked, "Stop joking, Royal Brother. I'm just an idle prince, not a member of the Yushan family. How could I have the right? Please don't speak nonsense."
Duque smiled at Lu Yin, "I'm not speaking nonsense. Do you know what my father said to the Undying Zishan before the Undying Duo ventured into the Innerverse?"
He paused, "If we don't die this time, we'll split the empire equally. The Great Yu Empire belongs to both the Yushan family and the Zishan family."
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and met Duque's gaze. He smiled and picked up some food, "It's not bad."
Duque Yushan retracted his gaze, "Eat more if it's delicious. The servants are insensible, I apologize on their behalf."
Lu Yin knew he was talking about Sicar, but he didn't mind, "Royal Brother, when will Astral-10 descend? Do you have any definite news?"
Duque shook his head, "I don't. There's only one person in the Great Yu Empire who knows, and that's Fifth Sister, your fiancée in name."
Lu Yin rolled his eyes. He knew about Wendy Yushan, but fiancée?
She wouldn't even look him in the eye. She didn't even place the Great Yu Empire in her eyes.
Duque threw a cosmic ring on the table and stood up, "As your royal brother, this is a greeting gift. I hope you don't mind, I'll take my leave."
Lu Yin's eyes lit up; this was good stuff. He trusted that Duque wouldn't be lacking.
Duque smiled and was about to leave when he suddenly said, "Rumor has it that the Zishan family has a treasure trove. Why don't you take a look, Royal Brother? You might find something unexpected."
Lu Yin held the cosmic ring in one hand, his eyes twinkling. Treasure trove?
What did Duque mean?
Did he want him to find it?
What a joke! Undying Yushan hadn't mentioned a single word about the treasure, and it was obvious that he didn't want anyone else to get their hands on it. If Lu Yin went to look for it, wouldn't that just be courting death? Undying Yushan was trying to trick Lu Yin into thinking that he was greedy for money.
As he ate, Lu Yin glanced at his cosmic ring, and his eyes lit up. There was a ring armor inside; Duke had to be at least a Melder's armor. It was good stuff, and he was quite generous with it, but it was a little too shady.
However, he didn't expect the Zishan Family to have the right to inherit the throne. Did Sicar suppress him because of this?
Impossible. Even if he was qualified, it did not mean that he would succeed. How could he compete with the Crown Prince and the Second Prince?
They had been operating in the Empire for hundreds of years, and no one would take him seriously. So why did Sicar keep targeting him?
Was it because of the Zishan Clan?
Duke apologized to him on behalf of Sicar. It was obvious that Sicar had acted on his own, or Duke wasn't the only one behind Sicar.
"Bronsen," Lu Yin said.
A figure walked out of the void behind him. It was Bronsen. "Your Highness."
"Have you heard of the Zishan Clan's treasure?"
Bronsen lowered his voice, "I've heard of it, but it was hundreds of years ago. No one has mentioned it in recent years."
"Do you know anything about Sicar?
Does he have any grudges with the Zishan Clan? "Lu Yin asked again.
Bronsen shook his head, "No."
Lu Yin muttered to himself. The Great Yu Empire's waters were deep, especially with Undying Yushan's old age. There were rumors that his old injuries had relapsed, and he didn't have much longer to live. How would this battle for the throne end?
However, this had nothing to do with Lu Yin for now. He might be in the Astral Combat Academy when the time came.
After sitting for a while, Lu Yin left the tavern and returned to King Zishan's palace.
There were many books in the palace, but there were no battle techniques. The Zishan Clan must have taken them away. Lu Yin focused on finding books on breaking through to the Melder realm.
Breaking through to the Melder realm was a turning point for cultivators. A person's future could be determined by their Melder realm. There were many books on this topic, but Lu Yin didn't understand what it meant.
All he knew was that the path to becoming stronger was through realms and battle techniques. What else was there?
"Bronsen, have you been to the Innerverse?" Lu Yin asked.
Bronsen shook his head, "No."
The Innerverse was far stronger than the Outerverse. He had been there before, but he had always been stuck in one place. He didn't know much about the Innerverse, much less about the Melder realm.
Should he ask Undying Yushan?
Lu Yin shook his head. The Emperor might have taken care of him a little, but he wouldn't have allowed Lu Yin to look for him for everything. Crown Prince Dorren Yushan seemed gentle, but he was just as scheming as Duke Yushan. Who else could it be?
Mira?
It was best not to contact her. Her value would decrease if he did.
"Are you thinking about how to break through to the Melder realm, Your Highness?" Bronsen asked, rarely taking the initiative to speak.
Lu Yin shook his head, "Let nature take its course. I'm thinking about how to become a Melder."
Bronsen muttered, "In the Great Yu Empire, powerhouses rely on battle techniques. However, I've heard that there's an extremely powerful force called battle force in the Innerverse."
Lu Yin's eyes lit up. He had heard of battle force before. Those who loved to fight had to have integrity. Battle force originated from a person's heart, and it originated from the very foundation of the human body. It could be used to attack, defend, break through limits, crush the heavens, and tear apart the heavens.
It was an incomprehensible force that anyone could possess, but not everyone could activate. Lu Yin had heard of it several times in the Innerverse, but unfortunately, there was no way to cultivate battle force in the Outerverse. It was a secret even in the Innerverse, and was even more secretive than formcast models.
Bronsen's ability to hear about battle force was clearly related to his status, but that was all. He knew nothing about battle force.
Lu Yin looked up at the sky and the three rings of land. His eyes flashed; how could he have forgotten about the Skybeast Claw?
Learning the first twenty forms of the Skybeast Claw required the approval of the five hallmasters. Thinking about it, Lu Yin took out his gadget to contact Gerlaine and ask for her help in getting Gerbach to let him learn the Skybeast Claw, but then he stopped himself. Given Gerlaine's personality, it would be good enough if she didn't cause trouble for him.
Helpless, he could only take the initiative to request the five hallmasters to learn the first twenty forms of the Skybeast Claw as a member of Yu Academy.
Tianming was the first to agree; he had agreed back in the formcast pool. He was quite easy to talk to.
The second to agree was Luo Keang.
The third to agree was Huo Zhong.
Huo Zhong was from the Huo family, and Lu Yin hadn't expected him to agree. He had assumed that the Huo family would treat him with hostility because of Huo Xiaoling.
It was a pity that Gerbach and Schutz didn't agree, but that was to be expected. He was just trying his luck, and it would be good enough if three of them agreed.
The problem was how to get the other two to agree.
It was at this time that Lu Yin received a notification that Gerbach wanted to meet him.
Gerbach wanted to meet him? Lu Yin was surprised.
Gerlaine must have told on him, or else Gerbach wouldn't want to meet him.
That's fine, I was just worrying about how to get him to agree. I'll know what he's thinking.
Lu Yin didn't waste any time and headed to the first ring in the middle of the night. Cultivators didn't know the difference between day and night, and it was normal for them to not sleep for several days straight.
Gerbach's hall was rather far from the formcast pool, and it took him a full nine hours to reach it from King Zishan's palace. The sky was already bright, and that was with the speed of the latest aircraft. It would take a normal person a few days to get there.
There was a large lake in the first ring that could be considered an ocean. It was a deep blue color that could be seen even from Zenyu Star, far larger than Earth. At the center of the ocean was Gerbach's hall.
Huge towers were stacked on top of each other, and there were people flying over from time to time. Creatures roamed the sea and occasionally attacked the towers, but they were instantly annihilated.
There were space-exploring powerhouses overseeing this place.
Lu Yin sat in his aircraft and flew straight to the tower, looking down to see Yu Academy students hunting creatures on the surface of the sea.
At the top of the tower, within a spacious stone house, a youth opened his eyes and looked outside with a grin.
Bronsen was stopped outside the tower, but Lu Yin was a member of Yu Academy and could enter.
The tower was extremely tall, piercing through the clouds. There were many Yu Academy students coming and going, and all of them looked at Lu Yin curiously.
Yu Academy was a place where the elites of the Great Yu Empire's younger generation gathered. Every one of its members wasn't simple, and they would all be competitors in the future.
Lu Yin walked to the center of the tower and looked up. The stone stairs spiraled upwards, and one could only climb them and not fly. That was the rule.
---
It was time to ask for a reward!
Thank you for your support, brothers!