Star Odyssey

Chapter 2204: Burial

"Young Master, it's really you! Young Master, your old servant worked so hard to wait for you!" the old man wailed.

Lu Yin tightly embraced the old man, but his eyes turned frigid. "I'm back. You don't need to worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you again, and I won’t let anyone who hurt you, who hurt those loyal to the Lu family, or who betrayed us escape!"

The old man grew excited. "Don't let them go! You absolutely can’t! Lu Zhuo, it was that bastard Lu Zhuo who betrayed your family! Also, that woman Bai Xian’er betrayed you! Young Master, you can’t let them get away with this! You can’t let the four ruling powers get away with this! Young Master, everything will be fine now that you’re back."

Lu Yin solemnly stated, "Lu Zhuo’s dead. I killed him myself"

The old man’s head snapped up in shock, and then he started to laugh loudly. "He’s dead?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Dead."

The old man started to laugh crazily once more. "That’s good! He’s dead! That’s wonderful! He thought that he’d be safe by joining the Celestial Frost Sect, but I told him that the young master would kill him one day! Cough, cough, cough, cough."

Blood sprayed from the old man's mouth, and Lu Yin quickly hugged him again. "Don't get too worked up! I'll find a way to save you!"

The old man waved Lu Yin away. "Young Master, you can't save this old man. Still, waiting all these years was worth it. I never said anything! I never betrayed the Lu family in any way."

"I know! I know that you wouldn’t betray us! You’re a part of my Lu family and always will be!" Lu Yin cried.

The old man laughed even while panting to breathe. "Young Master, your servant is leaving now. Take care of yourself, and even if you can't get revenge, you must stay safe! Nothing is worth more than your life. Young master, you have to take care of yourself."

Lu Yin’s eyes were practically glowing red by this point. This loyal old man’s greatest wish on his deathbed lay beyond even revenge for the entire Lu family. Instead, he wanted Lu Yin to stay safe and take good care of himself.

"Smile, Young Master. Food- Food- Food Paradise is on the top of Mount Mei in the Higher Realm. I- I saw it fall there. Young Master, you need to go there, as there are still some of the things that you hid there, and they’ll help you protect yourself. This oh- oh- old man never told anyone…” The old man tried to keep talking, but he could only occasionally get some words out.

Lu Yin held the old man tightly, clenching his fists as he watched the old man die, listening to the old servant’s mutterings until he finally passed away in Lu Yin’s embrace.

At this moment, Lu Yin's hatred for the four ruling powers rose to unprecedented heights. The people who had loved and cared for him were being slowly eliminated, but he would make sure to eventually collect on this growing debt.

Lu Yin’s communication crystal trembled, and he answered the call.

"Prof. Hao Yu, has the sourcebox array been dismantled?" Bai Weiwei asked.

Lu Yin was supposed to have returned to the academy, but he had stopped halfway back. The excuse that he had given was that he had set up a sourcebox array in the wastelands where he had been keeping watch for the fugitive and that he needed to return and dismantle it before it captured and killed someone.

"I wasn’t able to. It was already destroyed before I got there," Lu Yin replied.

Bai Weiwei was surprised. "Someone destroyed your sourcebox array? Who?"

"I don't know," Lu Yin replied. "Why are you calling?"

Bai Weiwei said, "It suddenly occurred to me that if you hadn’t already dismantled the sourcebox array, you could just stay there a bit longer and allow me to study it, but since it’s already been destroyed, there’s no point."

"It's the same as the defensive sourcebox array that I set up before. If you want to study it, I can help you set it up," Lu Yin offered before quickly ending the call. He looked back down at the old man still in his arms, and then he personally carried the old man’s corpse into Zenith Mountain.

"Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust… I still can’t remember your name." Lu Yin stared at the old man's body. He had frozen the body instead of burying it, and just looking at it aroused various emotions. "I’ll only bury you after I remember your name. I’ll offer a sacrifice from the blood of our enemies."

He then left Zenith Mountain and continued on his way towards the academy.action

At this same time, inside Virtue Archives, Xia Ziheng was confronting Headmaster Wen atop the headmaster’s own pillar.

"I won’t pursue the fact that you did not join me to chase after Kui Luo right away. I’m only here because I want to meet all the members of Virtue Archives’ faculty. That’s no issue, right?" Xia Ziheng bluntly demanded. He had quickly gone to Virtue Archives after quickly treating his injuries. Only the four ruling powers and Virtue Archives had known about the old man, so clearly, news of the fugitive had leaked since someone had appeared to save him. Virtue Archives’ instructors were the first suspects.

Headmaster Wen indifferently replied, "This academy is a place of study, not your Star Alliance. You have no business coming here and making accusations. If you doubt my staff, then you can forget about speaking to me again in the future. To put it bluntly, Virtue Archives will not give in to the brazen demands of someone like you who doesn’t have the qualifications."

Xia Ziheng's eyes flashed with a cold light, but Headmaster Wen showed no sign of weakness or backing down.

Finally, Xia Ziheng nodded. "Very well. I’ll be reporting this incident to my ancestor, and he will handle things from here. Last time we spoke, I told you that Yu Hao must be included among the students’ chaperones to the Higher Realm for their training experience with my four ruling powers. I hope that you don’t disappoint me."

Headmaster Wen frowned. "I already told you back then that the chaperones will be determined by the students’ vote. If you’re that concerned about it, just send people to take the entrance exam and join Virtue Archives. That should not be a challenge for your Xia family."

Xia Ziheng stared at Headmaster Wen. "Again and again, you deny my requests. Wen Lai, you’d better remember this day."

Headmaster Wen calmly took his seat and picked up his teacup. "Be careful on your way out. I won’t see you off."

"I’m not going anywhere yet. Call Yu Hao here to see me." Xia Ziheng also sat down.

This was not a request that Headmaster Wen could refuse. Xia Zhiheng was Semi-Progenitor, and it was only natural for him to want to meet with this particular instructor. As long as Yu Hao was not attacked, there was nothing that Headmaster Wen could do about this matter. No matter what, there was no denying that, technically, Xia Ziheng could be considered Yu Hao's relative.

At the same time that Lu Yin returned to the academy, he received a message from the headmaster, telling Lu Yin to report for a meeting with Xia Ziheng.

Xia Ziheng? Lu Yin looked up, his hands clenched into fists. He slowly relaxed them, took a deep breath, and then made a point of altering his state of mind. He was no longer Lu Xiaoxuan, but Yu Hao.

Lu Yin did not travel quickly, instead slowly walking across the academy. It started to rain, and the water fell on him.

Some of the students noticed him, and they hurried over to offer an umbrella. It was a given that an Envoy could easily block rain from falling on them, and realistically, no cultivator actually needed an umbrella. It was just that some people enjoyed using them.

"Thank you," Lu Yin said with a smile. Yu Hao's handsome face combined with the haziness of the drizzling rain created a scene that almost made the girl offering the umbrella faint.

In the headmaster’s garden, Xia Ziheng was forced to wait for a long time before Lu Yin finally arrived. The man could not help but glance over at Headmaster Wen.

Headmaster Wen blandly said, "What's the rush? He’s already on his way."

Xia Ziheng's finger twitched, and ripples spread through the void. They would quickly encompass all of Virtue Archives, but Headmaster Wen instantly stopped the ripples. "There are other students and instructors here in Virtue Archives, and all of them are entitled to their own secrets. Don’t you find it inappropriate to take such actions?"

Xia Ziheng blatantly ignored the headmaster, and in less than a second, the power of a Semi-Progenitor covered half of the academy. The man instantly noticed Lu Yin walking towards the center of the academy, clearly going as slowly as possible. Was this Yu Hao’s demonstration of his dissatisfaction? Whatever. Xia Zhiheng decided to simply wait. Given the status of Grandmaster Gu Yan, it was not unreasonable for Xia Zhiheng to wait a bit.

Headmaster Wen already knew that Lu Yin was walking across the academy, and he was secretly amused by the young man’s antics. It was only too clear that Yu Hao was upset with the Xia family, though not everyone would be bold enough to force a Semi-Progenitor to wait. Yu Hao was doing so extremely deliberately.

After the two old men waited for a very long time, Lu Yin finally arrived at the base of the stone pillar, and he slowly announced his presence. "Hao Yu requests to see the headmaster."

Headmaster Wen took a sip of his tea when he heard Lu Yin. He set the cup back down and then casually said, "Come up."

Lu Yin stepped forward and started to slowly climb up the headmaster’s stone pillar.

Xia Ziheng glanced over at Headmaster Wen. "You should leave, or else I'll take him somewhere else to speak with him."

"I need to ensure the safety of my academy’s instructors," Headmaster Wen replied.

Xia Ziheng stared at the old man. "Wen Lai, you already know what will happen to Virtue Archives soon. Don’t push me too far!"

Headmaster Wen was not bothered by the threat. "I do know, but that's also a matter for the four ruling powers, which has nothing to do with you, Xia Ziheng. What? Do you really believe that you can represent the entirety of the four ruling powers?"

Xia Ziheng took a deep breath, but he did not argue any further.

By this time, Lu Yin had arrived just outside the garden, and he looked at Xia Ziheng over the top of the gate to the garden.

Xia Ziheng saw the hatred and killing intent that filled Lu Yin's eyes, and he frowned slightly. Still, this much was within the Semi-Progenitor’s expectations.

Xia Ziheng had made the trip to the Yinxian District not only because of the old man from the Lu family, but also to meet with Yu Hao. Xia Ziheng wanted to confirm that Yu Hao was indeed not an imposter before the ceremony to worship the ancestors. After all, an imposter would turn their family into the same laughing stock as dozens of years before.

Lu Xiaoxuan had impersonated Long Qi, and he had toyed with the entire White Dragon Clan. Because of that scandal, Long Laogui had been sent to the rear battlefield for the next 10,000 years. As for Xia Ziheng, he would not escape unscathed if he made the same mistake.

The Semi-Progenitor stared at Lu Yin, but he was unable to see any flaws or issues. This person was not an imposter, but the real Yu Hao.

Xia Ziheng was a Semi-Progenitor, so who could maintain a disguise in front of him? Unless the other person was also a Semi-Progenitor or some absolutely freakishly powerful peak Envoy, it was impossible. Besides, both of those options were practically impossible.

"Headmaster." When Lu Yin entered the garden, he made a point of ignoring Xia Ziheng, instead offering a bow to Headmaster Wen.

The old man smiled. "I hope that I didn’t disturb your training."

"There was no problem."

Headmaster Wen nodded and then pointed over at Xia Ziheng. "Do you know him?"

Xia Ziheng had appeared, and both Wu Taibai and Bai Weiwei had revealed to Lu Yin that they knew about his identity as Yu Hao. It only made sense for Headmaster Wen to be aware of the matter as well, so Lu Yin made no attempt to hide anything. "I know him. He’s the Xia family’s Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng."

Xia Ziheng stared back at Lu Yin. "What is the proper way for you to refer to me?"

No matter what branch of the family they came from, all descendants of the Xia family should refer to Xia Ziheng as Ancestor Ziheng. This was not only because of his status within the family, but also because he was a Semi-Progenitor. This was an honor given to those who reached such heights of power, and they were shown respect by even the members of the main family.

Lu Yin calmly stared back at Xia Ziheng. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng."

Xia Ziheng frowned. "You should refer to me as ‘ancestor.’"

Lu Yin put on a show of surprise. "You’ve become a Progenitor? Congratulations!"

Headmaster Wen chuckled.

Xia Ziheng's eyes grew cold, and he reflexively let out a bit of a Semi-Progenitor’s pressure, only to be stopped by Headmaster Wen. "And you asked me to leave? If I were not here, Prof. Hao Yu would have been badly injured just now."

Lu Yin stared at Xia Ziheng, no sign of fear to be seen. "Why? Does Semi-Progenitor Ziheng want to attack me? Have you overestimated yourself and underestimated me and Virtue Archives? What right do you have to do whatever you want in this academy?"

The reaction infuriated Xia Ziheng. "Yu Hao, how dare you speak to me in such a tone!"

Lu Yin sneered. "I am Hao Yu. Yu Hao died long ago, and his story’s already become famous throughout the entire Perennial World."

Xia Ziheng's eyes flickered as he stared into Lu Yin's face. "As long as you are not dead, you can never rid yourself of your identity of Yu Hao, let alone the fact that you are a son-in-law to my Xia family."

Lu Yin looked over at Headmaster Wen. "Headmaster, did you call me here to meet with such a useless person? If there is nothing important that you need, then I’ll take my leave now. I have class in a few days, and I need to prepare for it."

Headmaster Wen nodded. "That's fine. You-"

Xia Ziheng interrupted, "Yu Hao, there’s a relationship between you and Xia Zhitong. Do you really think that my Xia family will allow you to ignore that and roam wherever you wish?"

Lu Yin looked back at Xia Ziheng. "What do you want? For me to stay with your family? If it’s because of my relationship with Xia Zhitong, then your Xia family’s going to have their hands full, given all the people who’ve had ‘relationships’ with her."