Star Odyssey

Chapter 1640: Reunion

"I just received some information that concerns you, Madam Hong. I wanted to share it with you and see if it might be of help." Qing Tan's voice was perfectly calm.

Madam Hong's eyes flashed. "Go on."

"One of the Hall of Honor’s nine overseers is from the Sword Sect. His name is Liu Ran, and just now, I overheard him speaking to someone in the Sword Sect. They sent someone to Flying Horse Manor to take away the Sea King and some giants," Qing Tan reported.

Madam Hong's eyes went wide and then grew extremely cold. She glanced over at the scars on the planet that had been left by a sword. "You said the Sword Sect, correct?"

"That’s right."

"Why?" Madam Hong was far from stupid, and it was impossible for her to simply believe Qing Tan’s words without question. Madam Hong had a clear grasp on the Fifth Mainland’s current political situation, and there was no motive for the Sword Sect to rescue either the Sea King or the colossal giants.

Qing Tan solemnly replied, "That’s one of the reasons why I reached out to you, Madam Hong. According to the conversation that I overheard, it was said that the Sword Sect wants something from the Sea King. Something that’s supposed to be related to him opening the Upper Three Gates back then."

Madam Hong frowned. It was true, the Sea King was indeed the person who had broken the Upper Three Gates open, which had caused the Fifth Mainland’s sky to change and was also the impetus for the Sixth Mainland to invade the Fifth Mainland.

"The Sea King knows many things, and there are also certain things that only he possesses. The Sword Sect has been keeping an eye on Flying Horse Manor for a long time, and when Madam Hong moved out, they immediately made their move and grabbed the Sea King."

"What about the giants?"

"I don't know anything about that. I’m guessing that they were taken away at the same time out of convenience. Madam Hong, I called you because I want to know what the Sea King possesses that is so important. You’ve held him captive for so long that you must have some idea."

Madam Hong shrugged. "The Sea King is a resilient man. He was willing to risk the Fifth Mainland’s complete destruction in order to open the Upper Three Gates, and his courage is beyond belief. How could I have broken him? However, I never expected the Sword Sect to have been keeping an eye on my Flying Horse Manor."

She had initially believed that Lu Yin had attacked her Flying Horse Manor, but it looked like that was not necessarily the case. After all, Qing Tan had no reason to lie to Madam Hong.

"Since Madam Hong doesn't know about this, then I won't keep asking. However, I do feel the need to remind Madam Hong that the Sword Sect is a power that controls one of the Fifth Mainland’s eight great flowzones. Even if Madam Hong wishes to get revenge, it will be necessary to use a more subtle approach. I hope that no conflicts with the Fifth Mainland erupt at this time, as Master wishes to take things slowly," Qing Tan specifically reminded Madam Hong.

Madam Hong ended the call and let out a disdainful snort as she stared in the direction of the Innerverse. “The Sword Sect? They’re courting death."

The Sword Sect might be a monster to many others, but Madam Hong was unconcerned. Her strength surpassed the level of the Innerverse. From what she knew of the Sword Sect, no one there was her opponent.

She would not let this matter go without a fight. Those thieves had dared to kill Hong Ying and had even stolen from Flying Horse Manor! She would force them to pay the price.

In the Neoverse, atop Mt. Microcosms, Qing Tan lowered her gadget, feeling completely helpless. She had just lied to Madam Hong, which meant that she had basically betrayed the Sixth Mainland itself. Even though she had been forced to do so, she was already convinced that she would be forced to repeat such actions many more times in the future.

"Miss Qing Tan, that was well done. Thank you," Lu Yin said with clear relief. He had no desire to have Madam Hong already chasing after him, which was why he had come up with a plan to frame everything onto the Sword Sect. After all, the Sword Sect was becoming increasingly influential in recent days.

"Alliance Leader Lu, if you hope to keep forcing me to do your bidding, I'd rather die," Qing Tan solemnly declared.

Lu Yin smiled. "Of course not. Just do a few more tasks for me, and then Miss Qing Tan will be allowed to leave."

Qing Tan sneered. "If I leave, how will Alliance Leader Lu maintain control of Old Man San Shang? Or are you planning to give him his freedom as well?"

"Naturally, there's no need for Miss Qing Tan to worry about such things." Lu Yin simply hung up on the woman.

Lu Yin and his party had already arrived at Chaos Flowzone, but they continued on traveling east without stopping.

As they traveled, the Sea King used his gadget to get caught up on the recent events of the Fifth Mainland. Most surprising was the news concerning Lu Yin.

The youth had united the Outerverse, laid waste to Daynight Flowzone, become the champion of ZENITH, destroyed the Blaze Realm, and done much more. One after another, each of the events that he learned about shocked the Sea King. How long had he been held captive? It had only been a few years, so why had so much happened? Also, just how had Lu Yin pulled off all of these accomplishments?

The more the Sea King learned, the more amazed he was. The information regarding Lu Yin was simply too incredible.

Anyone who learned of Lu Yin's legendary experiences would find them unbelievable.

Despite his shock, the Sea King did not speak to Lu Yin. Instead, he remained silent and merely waited for when he would be reunited with his people from the Sea King’s Dome.

As they passed through Giant Consortium’s territory, Lu Yin did not drop off the colossal giants. They were going to become a part of the Great Eastern Alliance anyways, so they needed to be relocated.

Chen Huang had no opinion on the matter. After he had absorbed Ku Wei's blood to increase his strength, he had indeed become an Envoy, but just like all of the other colossal giants, the tribe leader’s attitude towards Ku Wei had undergone a fundamental change.

Ku Wei was very proud. After all, he now controlled an Envoy, and certainly not an ordinary Envoy at that.

Several days later, due to the help of Liu Ye and Fei Hua’s strength speeding up their travels, the group finally boarded the Astral River Ark and made their way to the Outerverse. They were already very close to the Great Yu Empire.

"You control this Astral River Ark, correct?" the Sea King asked as he stared at the Astral River flowing by with a complicated expression.

Lu Yin stood rather close to the Sea King, and answered, "Just a bit."

The Sea King laughed. "You’ve become the lord of the Outerverse, and you even managed to take down Daynight Flowzone. I learned that there was also a recent war that completely changed the balance of the Cosmic Sea. Things have changed too much, and you no longer need any of my help at all."

Lu Yin looked over at the Sea King. "I would like to cooperate with the Sea King."

The Sea King shook his head and sighed, "There is no Sea King anymore."

During his years in captivity, despite his determination to die rather than give in, the Sea King’s mentality had changed.

"What about Highsage Leon?" the Sea King asked.

"He’s not doing bad. Just becoming more and more oppressive."

"Really?" The Sea King recalled his fight with Highsage Leon in the Starfall Sea. It had only happened a few years before, and yet it felt as though a long, long time had already passed.

The Sea King had not expected to return to his people so suddenly.

When the various elders and people saw the Sea King, they could not believe their eyes.

Hai Qiqi remained frozen in place.

The Sea King let out a long breath. "I'm back."

The very next moment, Hai Qiqi's eyes had become bloodshot, and she leaped into the Sea King’s arms. "Dad!"

Everyone from the Sea King’s Dome bowed low. "We welcome the return of the Sea King."

"We welcome the return of the Sea King."

…

During this unique and heartfelt reunion, Lu Yin left the people from the Sea King's Dome alone and did not show himself.

Ku Wei remained atop Chen Huang's shoulder and pouted as he thought of the Ku family. After a while, he shook his head. He had no family there anymore.

Lu Yin watched the Sea King reunite with his loved ones, and Lu Yin was hit by a barrage of complicated emotions; if the Lu family was one day able to return, would he see this same scene?

He longed to reunite with his real family and to see them again.

A full hour passed before Hai Qiqi released the Sea King, though tears still streamed down her face.

Hai Dashao stood where he was, though a previously unseen relaxation could be seen on his face.

The people of the Sea King’s Dome had always believed that the Sea King was alive, and they had also wanted to find him. However, they had been helpless to do anything. If the Sea King never returned, the Sea King’s Dome would never feel complete.

As he looked out at the emotional expressions on the faces of Hai Qiqi and various others, the Sea King smiled. "It’s alright. I'm back."

"Dad, don't ever leave Qiqi again, okay?" Hai Qiqi cried.action

The Sea King's expression grew soft as he wiped away Hai Qiqi's tears. "I understand. Dad won't leave."

…

Despite the time that the reunion took up and more for everyone to calm down, it was not actually very long. However, after seeing Hai Qiqi, the Sea King started to feel a great deal of guilt towards his daughter.

Hai Qiqi was not like Hai Dashao. She had not built up a lot of life experience and had not been mentally and emotionally prepared for the pain of losing her father. She had been overprotected.

After seeing Hai Qiqi's painful and also excited face, the Sea King comforted her yet again before saying something to Elder Tong and a few others. After that, he went and found Lu Yin.

"You were the one who lifted the Sea King's trident," the Sea King said as soon as he saw Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was taken aback, as he had not expected the older man to bring up that old matter back at the Sea King’s Dome. It felt like something that had taken place ages ago. "Do you remember?"

The Sea King looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. "Can you answer me honestly? Do you have any desire to marry Qiqi?"

Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Senior, I told you back then that I did not want to pull out the Sea King's trident."

The Sea King frowned. It was true, Lu Yin genuinely had not wanted to pull out the Sea King's trident at the time, but when that had happened, the Sea King had not cared about Lu Yin’s opinion at all; he had simply forced the youth to become his son-in-law. Lu Yin had not been able to escape at that time, and no one had been able to stop the Sea King either. However, at present, the Sea King could not act like before. Even if he ignored everything else behind Lu Yin, just Liu Ye and Fei Hua’s presence was not something that the Sea King could handle.

That was not even considering the other untouchable powerhouses that also backed Lu Yin.

"It seems that you really don't want to marry Qiqi. If that’s the case, then everything from the past can be considered to be erased. I, the Sea King, helped you, and you also saved Qiqi and I. There is no debt at all between you and I, the Sea King," the Sea King solemnly stated. "As for Qiqi, I will find someone suitable for her."

Lu Yin nodded. "I'm sorry, Senior. I do care for Qiqi, but not in that manner. I see her as a sister or as a friend."

The Sea King gazed into the distance. "The universe is changing too fast if even I, the Sea King, need the power of your Great Eastern Alliance in order to survive. If there is anything that you need us to do in the future, let me know, though I may not be able to help."

Without the Starfall Sea, the Sea King and the others had no home to return to. They could not return to the Starfall Sea and while the Sea King’s strength was enough for him to conquer an entire flowzone, even one of the eight great flowzones, like the Great Eastern Alliance, the Sea King was seen as an outsider. Making a move against any of the flowzones could make the Sea King or the Great Eastern Alliance an enemy of the entire Innerverse.

The Sea King was also exhausted. The moment he laid eyes on Hai Qiqi, he had realized that he could not abandon her again. He wanted to quietly spend time with Hai Qiqi and the rest of his family.

Lu Yin was able to see the exhaustion in the Sea King's eyes. There were many people who were not afraid of death, but after experiencing a life and death scenario, their mentality would change. The present Sea King was not the same as the Sea King of the past, but more of a father. He was a patriarch who wanted to protect his family.

"I hope that the Sea King can remain missing and that no one will be able to find him," Lu Yin commented.

The Sea King froze for a moment, but then he nodded. "Yes, I will cooperate with you. I haven’t returned."

"Thank you." Lu Yin felt truly grateful.

The Sea King was also very grateful towards Lu Yin.

Hai Qiqi went and made a point of finding Lu Yin to say a few words of thanks of her own. It was a rare conversation with Hai Qiqi when Lu Yin did not have to deal with her vicious tongue, and it left him somewhat flabbergasted.

Everyone from the Sea King’s Dome left with the Sea King while Liu Ye, Fei Hua, Lu Yin, and the giants continued on to Zenyu Star.

Shortly after Lu Yin arrived, a report spread through the Outerverse and into the Innerverse.

The Sea King was in the hands of the Sword Sect.