Star Odyssey

Chapter 1558: Lifelong Endeavor

An image of Wang Wen appeared on the gadget’s display. He looked sleepy.

"It looks like you've been quite busy," Lu Yin commented.

Wang Wen leisurely stretched. "Well, it has been two years. I thought that you’d take longer to return."

Lu Yin shrugged. "I couldn’t stay there forever."

"I get it. So things went well." Wang Wen looked very sympathetic.

"What do you know?" Lu Yin was rather surprised at Wang Wen’s reaction. How did the man know if the trip to the Perennial World had been successful or not?

Wang Wen smiled as he stared at Lu Yin. "Given your abilities, Chesspiece Bro, you’d have either racked up great achievements there or have lived like a mouse in the streets.."

Lu Yin pursed his lips. "You’ve guessed right, but it was really more like a mouse living the street."

Wang Wen was startled, and his eyes went wide, showing clear interest. "Tell me."

Lu Yin replied, "I can't speak about this. I didn’t return in the manner I wanted to, so I called you to get your help."

"How big are we talking about?" Wang Wen asked, his eyes excited.

Lu Yin thought for a bit and then lifted both of his hands. He indicated five with his right hand while indicating six with his left.

Wang Wen was shocked. "A war comparable to the one between the Fifth Mainland and the Sixth Mainland?"

Lu Yin shook his head. Suddenly, he smacked his hands together and clenched them both into fists.

Wang Wen's eyes narrowed. "Understood. This will be a lifelong endeavor."

"I can’t waste any time," Lu Yin said.

Wang Wen shrugged. "You want both mainlands, but do you really trust me that much?"

Lu Yin shrugged back. "Is there anyone else besides you who can help me? Of course, you won’t be the only one, as someone else will definitely help me with this as well."

"If anyone heard our conversation, they would absolutely think that we’re nuts."

"So what?"

"It doesn't actually matter. Crazy is crazy. We will view the universe as a game. Regardless of if someone is an ordinary human or a powerful Progenitor, they can’t escape their fate of becoming chess pieces. It’s up to you and I to become the players of this game."

Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. If you’re confident, then go for it. For now, I want to know about the Great Eastern Alliance’s situation."

Wang Wen used his star energy to simulate some water. He washed his face and roused himself from his drowsiness. "The Great Eastern Alliance is still doing okay for the moment. How should I say it…"

Half an hour later, Lu Yin ended his call with Wang Wen. He then opened a star chart and sank deep into thought.

Two years ago, ZENITH had just been about to start. At that time, Lu Yin had just conquered the Blaze Realm, and then with Wang Wen’s advice, decided to abandon the Blaze Realm. The Great Eastern Alliance had then moved to Fennel Flowzone, which was a place that was easy to defend, but difficult to attack from.

After the passage of two years, the expected results had manifested.

The Great Eastern Alliance had done well in Fennel Flowzone, and the Divine Venom Dynasty was almost completely unconcerned with their neighbors. Not even the Sixth Mainland had been able to attack the Divine Venom Dynasty, which meant that they were utterly unconcerned about the Great Eastern Alliance. However, tensions were rising in Blazing Mist Flowzone after two years of peace.

Neither the Ross Empire nor the sylvan dragons were stupid. Even though the Great Eastern Alliance had left their flowzone, the two powers knew that they could not do much to the alliance. However, two years had already gone by, and the Great Eastern Alliance had actually remained within Fennel Flowzone, keeping their promise. Thus, friction had started developing between the two strongest powers of Blazing Mist Flowzone, in no small part due to Wei Rong's efforts.

In essence, both powers were still restraining themselves because the Great Eastern Alliance had not initiated any hostilities, but war was on the horizon.

The Blaze Realm was a delicious piece of fat, and both powers wanted to swallow it whole.

The Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons were not even the only ones eyeing the Blaze Realm, as all the neighboring flowzones’ powers were doing the same, as were some of the top powers from the eight great flowzones.

Given the duration of their call, it was impossible for Lu Yin and Wang Wen to have discussed much regarding the universe, and Wang Wen had only mentioned a few details. However, he had made one thing very clear: the Sixth Mainland had already taken control of nearly one third of the Outerverse, and that was just thanks to Lu Yin.

When the Sixth Mainland had attacked the Fifth Mainland, the Innerverse had been the primary target. The Outerverse had also been attacked, but that invasion had been completely stopped at Endless Weave.

This meant that the people of the Outerverse did not hate the Sixth Mainland as much as the people of the Innerverse. Although many people were reluctant to leave their homes, they still recognized the Sixth Mainland’s sovereignty.

In truth, the Sixth Mainland was not run by tyrants, and their takeover had proceeded smoothly.

If the Sixth Mainland had tried to move into the Innerverse instead of the Outerverse, they would not have been able to seize even a tenth of the Innerverse over the course of two years.

A cause would always have an effect, and it was impossible for Lu Yin to not have predicted this outcome.action

Next on Lu Yin’s list was Wei Rong.

While Wang Wen excelled at controlling the overall situation, Wei Rong was gifted at plotting and subterfuge, and he could use such methods to incredible effect.

"I greet Your Highness." Wei Rong was much more formal than Wang Wen, though that was in part because he owed his life to Lu Yin. There was no avoiding the fact that Wei Rong had been forced to join the Great Eastern Alliance, which was different from Wang Wen’s path.

Lu Yin and Wang Wen were friends while Lu Yin and Wei Rong were master and servant.

"I've already spoken with Wang Wen, so what do you need to tell me?" Lu Yin asked.

Wei Rong replied, "Over the past two years, this subordinate and Qiong Xi'er have united and taken control of many of the Innerverse’s underground forces, and our intelligence network is also equal to what we have in the Outerverse."

Lu Yin nodded. An intelligence network was incredibly useful.

"Because of the support from the highest levels of the Hall of Honor and Your Highness’s disappearance, our Great Eastern Alliance is no longer an object of jealousy for the Innerverse’s major forces. We have gradually established trade relations with the eight great flowzones, though the greatest change is the establishment of Continental Shipping.

"Continental Shipping is a subsidiary created by our Great Eastern Alliance, and it was formed from a combination of Endless Borders, Brightstar Corp., Leon’s Armada, and Aurora Enterprises. It is a transportation corporation that spans both the Innerverse, the Outerverse, and the Cosmic Sea, and it currently has the greatest number of routes throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse. In fact, it has actually become the largest transportation company in the entire universe…"

Lu Yin had never expected Wei Rong and the others to accomplish such a thing. It was also clear that setting up a transportation company had not been Wei Rong's idea, but rather Qiong Xi'er’s.

Endless Borders simply possessed too many routes through space. Lu Yin had bought a few by using a bit of coercion and proper incentive. Later, through a matter of coincidence, he had joined Endless Borders and managed to gain a clearer picture of the organization.

The routes through the Innerverse should have come from Brightstar Corp.

The largest transportation company in the universe had been established by a combination of groups that possessed the greatest number of space routes, and it also had the protection of Leon’s Armada, making it a safe and efficient company. With the addition of Aurora Enterprises, even basic needs like transportation craft were taken care of. The entire company was neatly self sufficient, which had created a monstrous company.

Wei Rong confidently stated, "Your Highness, the existence of Continental Shipping means that our Great Eastern Alliance can deploy the greatest number of troops throughout the universe in the shortest amount of time. Our efficiency greatly eclipses that of the eight great flowzones, as well as the Cosmic Sea’s Four Pirate Crews."

Lu Yin asked, "Who’s currently overseeing Continental Shipping?"

"Qiong Xi'er," Wei Rong replied.

Lu Yin started thinking. Qiong Xier gave people the impression that she manipulated financial markets and she was able to easily double a company’s profits. Thus, having her head Continental Shipping would give others the idea that the company had been established for profit and not for militaristic logistics.

Lu Yin spent less than half an hour speaking with Wei Rong. There was not a great deal to report, but Lu Yin was more concerned about sussing out whether or not Wei Rong had any lingering grudges or conflicts. Unfortunately, Lu Yin was not able to determine anything from their conversation.

Fortunately, he still had a bit of room to maneuver.

From the conversation with Wei Rong, Lu Yin also learned of a new enemy: Cong Ying, one of the Hall of Honor’s nine overseers. Lu Yin had only ever heard of the man before, and he had never expected the man to become an enemy of the Great Eastern Alliance.

The overseer had taken advantage of his relationship with the Sword Sect and the Daynight clan’s overseer to do his best to cause trouble for Continental Shipping. Arch-Elder Zen and the Chief Justice had both voiced their support for the Great Eastern Alliance, but neither of them would pay attention to something as small as Continental Shipping. This was also without considering the jurisdiction and authority of the nine overseers, who were responsible for representing the interests of the Human Domain’s common folk. Strictly speaking, not even Arch-Elder Zen should interfere too much with the overseers’ tasks.

Lu Yin happened to be on Honor Mountain, so he felt that it might be possible to meet with Overseer Cong Ying and try to uncover why the man seemed to have a vendetta against the Great Eastern Alliance.

Lu Yin continued making calls, and the next person he contacted was En Ya. She was the primary architect behind the Great Eastern Alliance’s establishment, and while Lu Yin relied more on Wang Wen and Wei Rong, he had always greatly valued En Ya.

Her report closely mirrored what Lu Yin had heard from Wang Wen and the others. She was currently focused on running the Great Eastern Alliance in the absence of its Alliance Leader. Over the course of just two years, due to the support from Leon’s Armada and others, the Great Eastern Alliance had suffered no major internal problems.

Lu Yin had originally struggled to unite the Outerverse, but in recent times, none of the members wanted to leave. The Sixth Mainland had already taken over a third of the Outerverse, and while ordinary people could adapt to the Sixth Mainland’s rule, the change in power had not been kind to the organizations that stood at the top of the Outerverse. Millions City had actually relocated to Frostwave Weave.

Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered Aegis and their cloakstone, and he immediately brought it up with En Ya. Lu Yin had taken over Aegis long ago and made it a power subordinate to the Hall of Honor, but all of its administrational duties had been given over to En Ya. She was also able to use Lu Yin’s authority to browse through all of Aegis’s information, and she was the person who was the most familiar with the organization.

"Aegis has not changed much. However, with the Sixth Mainland taking over the Outervese, Aegis’s territory will eventually be taken over as well. Your Highness, do you want them to move to Frostwave Weave as well?" En Ya asked.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Yin ended the call with En Ya to directly call Starfox.

Starfox was currently flying in a spaceship through a weave in the center of the Outerverse, and he was gazing out at the stars when his gadget suddenly beeped. He looked down and saw that an unknown caller was trying to contact him.

After Starfox accepted the call, the image of Lu Yin appeared on the display.

The old assassin’s eyes immediately changed when he saw Lu Yin, and it was as though he had seen a ghost.

"It’s been a long time, Starfox." Lu Yin casually greeted the older man with a smile.

Starfox was stunned. "You- you made it back alive?"

"What? You didn’t expect that?" Lu Yin retorted.

Starfox replied, "It's not that it’s unexpected, but just that it's just so sudden."

"How is Aegis doing?" Lu Yin asked.

Starfox suddenly looked quite stressed. "I’m not very optimistic about things. We’re being targeted."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. "The Sixth Mainland?"

Starfox nodded. "Of the Outerverse’s top four corporations, Amethyst Exchange’s headquarters and Skylush Planet have both moved to Frostwave Weave. The Nalan family was already based in the west, and Endless Borders has also worked with your Great Eastern Alliance to create Continental Shipping. Thus, their headquarters has also moved to Frostwave Weave. Only my Aegis is in a more difficult position."

"You can also move your headquarters to Frostwave Weave. I can provide you with a place," Lu Yin offered.

Starfox’s voice dropped low, "We have been operating out of our current headquarters for too long, and we are unable to leave so simply."

Lu Yin stared at Starfox, and the man’s eyes flickered.

Lu Yin looked away and smiled. "Then do as you wish. Though, tell me, who’s targeting you?"

Starfox's eyes turned hard. "The Di family."

Lu Yin was surprised. "The Bloodburn Realm’s Di family?"

Starfox nodded. "We’ve investigated the Sixth Mainland, and we have learned that the Di family are also involved in the assassination business. The bloodlines that they cultivate are quite suitable for such a profession. For example, their Realmling, Di Fa, has the Demonfox bloodline, and it allows him to phase through any physical object. He’s a born assassin."