Star Odyssey

Chapter 1912: Xi Shuang

After Lu Yin faced Progenitor Chen's Inverse Step, he did not want to miss out on the opportunity to learn the movement technique, no matter what it took.

At the moment, Lu Yin’s only movement techniques were his original technique that relied on his physical strength and the Ce Secret Art. He really was lacking a movement technique, and Inverse Step fit his needs perfectly despite the slim chance of finding it.

There was a bang as a small, nearby auction house exploded. Several figures flew out and landed on the street. A fight instantly erupted after they landed.

Qian Zou was surprised. "Is someone really daring enough to start a fight in the middle of the street in Skyraiser City? They must have some impressive backing."

Lu Yin glanced at the people fighting in the street. There were two distinctive groups: one of three people and the other of six. While the numbers were not equal, the two groups’ strengths were evenly matched. The smaller group consisted of older cultivators.

"Beat him! I’ll take responsibility if you kill him!" A young man with a beautiful face and jade-like skin emerged from the broken remains of the auction house. Actually, although the youth was dressed as a man, a discerning eye would easily see that she was a woman, and an attractive one at that.

A man who was part of the smaller group pushed his two companions aside as seven-lined battle force shrouded his body. He threw a punch at the crossdressing woman. The woman remained indifferent to the attack, as someone eagerly blocked the attack, and more than one at that.

Boom!

A young man who had moved to protect the youth was blasted away by a single punch. It was unusual for any member of the younger generation to have mastered seven lines of battle force. One of the people spat out blood and lost consciousness after taking just one punch, and another pulled the disguised youth back before turning to glare at the attacker. "Do you know who she is? If you hurt her, even ten of your lives wouldn’t be enough to pay for it!"

The attacker sneered. "In that case, do you know who I am? I'm not ashamed to say it."

The fighting was fierce, but no one fled from the area. Instead, they gathered around and excitedly commented on the fight while watching. It was highly unusual for such a fight to break out in Skyraiser City, as fighting was banned. The city guards were already on their way.

In fact, the guards had arrived while the two sides were talking, proving their quick response time. They were led by a man with a scarred face with deep lines on it, though his eyes were even fiercer. Still, there was no sign of any anger. "Skyraiser City does not allow any fighting! Don't you know the rules?"

As he spoke, the guard captain glared at everyone involved in the scuffle.

Qian Zou spoke up, "Seventh Bro, that man’s the captain of Skyraiser City’s guards. He’s known as Uncle Cut, and the rumors say that the knife scar on his face was left by City Master Qing. The city master didn’t kill Uncle Cut after beating him, but instead forced him to serve Skyraiser City."

Lu Yin took a sip of tea. This man had a power level of over 400,000, which would have made him a nearly invincible powerhouse in the Outerverse. Even in the Innerverse, he could have become the top expert of a minor flowzone, much like Northgate Taisui. In fact, Uncle Cut’s strength was very similar to Northgate Taisu’s.

One of the men involved in the fight spoke up, “We know the rules. The fine is 200 times the cost of the damage incurred. We are willing to pay half of that fee."

"You’ll pay it all," the young woman disguised as a man stated flatly.

The man became furious and shot a glare at the youth. "You’re the ones who attacked first! We’re only willing to bear half the fine because we don’t want to cause any trouble. Don't try to make things difficult! My Red Prism World is not an easy target!"

Many people started talking. The Red Prism World?

Lu Yin was also surprised. The Red Prism World? That was one of the 3,000 hidden worlds located on Mt. Microcosms. Lu Yin had heard of it before. There were only a few hidden worlds that were powerful enough to have Envoys, but the Light World, Jasper World, and Red Prism World were three that did. They were strong enough that even Lu Yin had taken note of them.

Lu Yin had long since been wary of the Honor Zone’s 3,000 hidden worlds. Of them, there were some that were very weak and could be completely wiped out by a single drop of Vitality Poison, but there were others that were terrifyingly powerful. For example, when Lu Yin had been escorted across the Honor Zone by Judicial Commissioner Mu En, they had stumbled upon a hidden world that not even Mu En dared to touch. Lu Yin had looked into the matter a bit after that, but there were absolutely no records of that hidden world.

While the 3,000 hidden worlds were located within the Honor Zone, it seemed like their people could act independently outside.

After becoming an overseer, Lu Yin had investigated the 3,000 hidden worlds once more, but he had discovered that some of the information was incredibly dated. It had quickly become clear to him that even the Hall of Honor struggled to fully account for the situation in the 3,000 hidden worlds.

Some of the hidden worlds had been gradually growing weaker and weaker, but others might have grown powerful beyond anyone’s expectations.

Still, regardless of any of the changes that may have occurred, from what could be gleaned from the Hall of Honor’s records, there were no more than ten Envoys within the 3,000 hidden worlds.

"Are you followers of Master Yan from the Red Prism World?" Uncle Cut was also surprised at where the men came from, and he regarded them a bit more seriously despite their unimpressive strength.

The man answered politely, "We are disciples of Master Yan. We are here in Skyraiser City to find some defensive power vessels for our master."

Someone sneered. “So you’re Master Chen’s minions. No wonder you’re so arrogant."

It was the youth disguised as a man who had spoken up.

All three of Master Yan’s disciples’ expressions changed when they heard this comment. She clearly knew who Master Yan was, yet she still spoke in such a manner. Clearly, her background was not simple. "And you are?"

An injured person quickly spoke up. "She is Miss Xi Shuang."

Uncle Cut and Master Yan's disciples were all stunned. "Xi Shuang? The granddaughter of the general of the Hall of Honor’s Expeditionary Forces?"

Some distance away, Qian Zou sneered. "They’re all big shots. Given the size of the universe, there aren’t many places where all of these people can meet, but Skyraiser City is certainly one of them."

Lu Yin stared at Xi Shuang. So she was Xi Gu's granddaughter? That was interesting.

Both parties had clearly identified themselves, and it was impossible for them to continue fighting. Skyraiser City, Red Prism World, and the Expeditionary Forces all had their own powerful Envoys supporting them. It was not long before the entire matter would dissipate.

Lu Yin stood up. "Let’s go."

"Where are we going?" Qian Zou was curious.

"Follow me," Lu Yin indifferently ordered. His eyes never left Xi Shuang once.

The Hall of Honor’s Expeditionary Forces had once helped Cong Ying when he tried to deal with the colossal giants who followed Lu Yin. If not for the fact that Chen Huang had experienced a breakthrough to become an Envoy, the colossal giants would have been completely exterminated, which would have been a tragic loss for Lu Yin. Even though the matter had led to Cong Ying losing his seat as an overseer, Xi Gu had faced no consequences at all. Lu Yin had always remembered this matter, and now, he had just run into Xu Gu’s granddaughter. Lu Yin was determined to speak to the girl no matter what.

Skyraiser City had many interesting sights, and despite the crowds, it was a scenic place.

Lu Yin and Qian Zou followed Xi Shuang and her group for a long time as they toured the scenic hotspots of Skyraiser City. When it finally fell dark, they followed Xi Shuang to Azure Mansion.

Lu Yin was left speechless as he stared at the Azure Mansion in front of him. Why had the woman stopped at this place?

Qian Zou's eyes were positively blazing. His opinion of Xi Shuang had soared. This woman was really elegant!

"Seventh Bro, they're going in," Qian Zou spoke up to remind Lu Yin and urge him forward.action

Lu Yin looked calm as he slowly walked into Azure Mansion.

Azure Mansion was not a place that sold physical pleasures, but was rather a place of mental relaxation. This was the reason why countless people visited the place.

In addition to countless other attractions, the women working at Azure Mansion were all extraordinary beauties. Even the lowest maid was a rare beauty whom people would stare at.

Xi Shuang was greeted by the branch’s madam the moment she entered. Xi Shuang’s identity had already been made public, and this news had naturally spread to Azure Mansion as well. Actually, it was possible that Azure Mansion had known who she was before anything had even happened.

"Young Master Xi, I’ve heard of you for a long time." The madam treated Xi Shuang no differently than she would a man. There was no trace of surprise at seeing a woman visit Azure Mansion.

Xi Shuang was very satisfied with such treatment. "You are?"

"This lowly one is Qing Yun,1 the madam of the Azure Mansion’s northern branch. I came out to greet Young Master Xi. I wonder, have any of our girls taken your fancy? I would be happy to make any arrangements necessary." Qing Yun laughed softly. She was also a beautiful woman, and although the years were starting to show, she retained a certain charm. Many people would actually find the madam more appealing than some of the younger women.

Xi Shuang raised her head high. "When visiting Azure Mansion, everyone naturally hopes to see the Flower Queen. She’s the only one this young master is interested in seeing."

Qing Yun faced a dilemma. "Young Master Xi, our Flower Queen is currently attending to Young Master Qing Yu, and I really can't interfere. Why don’t I make an appointment for you tomorrow? She will be reserved exclusively for you tomorrow."

Xi Shuang remained unfazed. "I’m not interested in having her attend to me—I just want to see how beautiful this Flower Queen is. Let her come out for this young master to see."

Qing Yun was truly struggling. "Young Master Xi, this-"

Suddenly a woman quickly approached Qing Yun and whispered a message to her. Qing Yun was shocked, and anger flickered across her eyes. She immediately ignored Xi Shuang and quickly turned to walk deeper into Azure Mansion.

Xi Shuang was quite intrigued, and she followed along. Of course, Lu Yin was right behind them all.

They soon arrived in one of Azure Mansion’s courtyards, and they could hear a panicked voice shout from within, "Young Master Qing, I do not sell my body here in Azure Mansion! Please, don't do this!"

"You only sell your craft and not your body? Bah! You skank! You pretend to be all innocent to this young master, but your eyes light up whenever someone like Lu Yin or Shang Qing is mentioned. If they were here, you’d have already stripped and served yourself to them! Are you saying that this young master is any worse than them? Get over here!"

Madam Qing Yun angrily charged into the courtyard and locked Qing Yu down with a wave of her hand as she glared at him. "Young Master Qing, you should be well aware of my Azure Mansion’s rules! I can respect your position, so I can send her with you if you pay her redemption fee and marry her, but if you intend to use force, you will have to leave!"

Quite a bit of noise had been made, which had drawn the attention of many people to the courtyard.

Qing Yu had clearly drunk too much, and he answered with a sneer, "What of your Azure Mansion’s girls? They're just a bunch of sluts. Since you’ve come to Skyraiser City today, you can forget about leaving! If you want to leave, everyone in your Azure Mansion can come serve me! I’ll strip you all naked, hahahaha!"

Qing Yun was enraged, and she clenched her fists. "Young Master Qing, you’ve had too much to drink."

Qing Yu taunted the madam, "What? Are you able to get that Envoy supporting you to come out? Don’t think that I don’t know that Bu Laoweng is the one controlling Azure Mansion. Right now, that old fart’s so scared of Lu Yin that he doesn’t dare to let out a single fart! Your Azure Mansion doesn’t even have any Envoys supporting it! You’re nothing but a bunch of sluts who want to act as refined and pure as before, but if I tell you to strip, then you don’t have a choice!"

Xi Shuang frowned as she stared at Qing Yu. "Your mouth is so revolting. Just like all other men. Disgusting."

Flower Queen Luo Mei raced behind Qing Yun and then glared at Qing Yu.

Many people had heard the young man’s words, and suddenly, the eyes that looked at Azure Mansion’s girls had a different glint to them. In the past, Azure Mansion had been considered a relatively powerful force in the Neoverse. This was because Bu Laoweng had been a very influential overseer whom no one had dared to offend. This was why, regardless of the number of guests, their strength, or background, no one dared to act up in an Azure Mansion.

However, things had changed. Bu Laoweng’s influence had been stripped away, and the Envoy who worked with him had not appeared in a long time, which meant that he must have been killed by Lu Yin. This meant that there was no longer any reason to act restrained around Azure Mansion.

"Everyone, Azure Mansion’s rules are going to change, starting today! It's bullshit for a brothel to not sell flesh, so in the future, all the women in Azure Mansion will be stripped by this young master. Don't you agree?" Qing Yu shouted. He was feeling incredibly empowered and greedy at this moment.

Many people began to laugh wildly. "That’s right, the young master is right! We should strip upon entering this place from now on."

"Strip before reception, hahaha!"

[1] Here was have both Qing Yu (擎钰), who's the son of the city master, and Qing Yun (晴云), who's the madam of the northern Azure Mansion. Though both are "Qing," they are not the same characters in Chinese. ☜