Peach was delighted by Wendy’s gift, and she immediately took the snacks. Her small face beamed as she aimed a smile at Wendy Yushan. “Thank you.”

Wendy Yushan nodded in response. “I had to rush over here, so I wasn’t able to prepare much. I’ll move the production lines of your most beloved snacks to Zenyu Star.”

Many were stunned by Wendy’s declaration. It seemed a little overboard.

Even Peach shook her head. “There’s no need to go that far. A small bite of these snacks are good enough. Otherwise, I wouldn’t cherish them.”

Wendy Yushan raised her head. “That’s true. Some people don’t know how to appreciate what is dear to them.” She then stepped forward and vanished. Jue Lang and the rest were shocked; they could not sense where she had gone. Wendy was just too strong.

Bazeer’s gaze revealed his excitement, and there was even a hint of infatuation, but it was quickly suppressed. Wendy Yushan was beautiful, had a naturally heroic demeanor, and it was all accentuated by the longsword she wielded; she emanated the natural aura of a conqueror. Bazeer was a member of her throngs of admirers, but he hid his thoughts well and didn’t dare expose them. His idol was Wendy Yushan after all. She would not think twice about killing him, and he knew that he was no match for her.

Sadly, there was no telling who might draw the short stick of her anger at any given moment. Pity welled up within Bazeer as the image of a man flitted across his mind.

Within the Imperial palace’s gardens, Undying Yushan was silently observing a certain purple plant. Wendy Yushan appeared behind him with tranquil eyes and a calm face.

Undying Yushan turned around as he remarked, “You’ve lost even more manners since last time.”

Wendy Yushan disregarded her father’s snide comment and sat down. “I killed almost half of those Innerverse meddlers.”

Undying Yushan sighed. “I heard. It turns out that I can’t even fulfill my duties as a father! My daughter had to act on my behalf.”

Wendy Yushan stared at Undying Yushan. “Why didn’t you inform me earlier? If I were watching over everything, it’d be fine even if the ancestors behind them come out.”

Undying Yushan shook his head. “Showing off your abilities is not a good idea. Ten Thousand Swords Peak is not the strongest organization, and while the Ten Arbiters are powerful, the interests of all parties involved must be considered. Oftentimes, there is a gap between the law and the real world; however, this gap can bury us all.”

Wendy Yushan coldly replied, “Even if they use all of their hidden cards, I won’t be harmed.”

Undying Yushan smiled. “I know who’s behind you, but the winds of the universe are forever changing. That person is also not immortal. How can you be certain that she has no intentions on the Undying Manual? Even if the likelihood of me having it is miniscule, that probability might be enough for her to abandon you.”

Wendy Yushan snubbed, “Father, you are still too narrow-minded. Do you really think that the Undying Manual can drag out everyone’s greed? The person behind me doesn’t care about it at all, and neither do the Ten Arbiters.”

“There’s no one who can resist the allure of immortality,” Undying Yushan responded with a sigh.

“Anyone who reaches a certain level of strength will naturally come to understand that no one can truly be immortal. I dare say that, amongst the Ten Arbiters, not a single one of them wants to seize the Undying Manual. They would just have to reveal their intentions a little, and both the Great Yu Empire and myself would cease to exist.”

Undying Yushan nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. Alright, let’s not discuss this anymore. Now that you’ve shifted the focus of the conflict from me to you, what do you plan to do next?”

She arrogantly replied, “Whoever dares to give me trouble shall die.”

“It sounds like you’re very confident in your power. Do you want to spar?” Undying Yushan suggested, his lips rising ever so slightly to form the barest outline of a smile.

Wendy Yushan turned away, not accepting the invitation. While she was confident that she could defeat many powerhouses, she knew that she would be powerless against her father. Even though he had been severely injured and his power had declined significantly, he was still a powerhouse who had lived for nearly a thousand years. His battle power far exceeded that of a considerable number of people in the Innerverse, and he could not be measured by the Outerverse’s standards. Otherwise, those Innerverse powers would not have waited until they received news of Undying Yushan’s death to act.

“Father, the empire has really declined. If you hadn’t put on that act and deceived everyone at the last moment, then Jue Lang and the rest would not have been able to stop the Innerverse powerhouses. And the Yu Academy is truly too weak. I can’t even bear to look at them,” Wendy Yushan criticized, still in a snobbish tone.

Undying Yushan laughed and gazed lovingly at Wendy. This brat of his was still every bit as competitive as she had been in her younger days. If she couldn’t win in an argument against him, then she would always try to take the advantage in another aspect. She used this tactic time and time again, but it didn’t invalidate her arguments. Compared to the Innerverse, the younger generation of the Great Yu Empire truly was far too weak, apart from Schutz. Actually, there was now Little Yin as well. He was the top student in Astral-10 and had even surpassed Schutz.

“Little brat, Father did not arrange anything and very nearly died,” Undying Yushan spoke in a hushed tone.

Wendy Yushan was shocked by this reveal and scrutinized Undying Yushan carefully. Her eyes flashed as she replied, “Impossible. Your condition has improved substantially, and in your current condition, you can hold on for at least another hundred years.”

Undying Yushan forced a smile onto his face as he informed Wendy of what had actually happened. She was shocked and immediately asked, “What could his innate gift be for him to be able to nearly enhance a purple star into a billowing star?”

“Once, a die appeared with a frosty chill around it. I’m unsure of the exact details.”

Wendy Yushan fell silent. Her right thumb caressed her sword hilt as she muttered to herself, deep in thought. There were many strange innate gifts in the universe. If this King Zishan really had the ability to enhance a purple star into a billowing star, that was a very valuable ability. The billowing star was a rare treasure even in the Innerverse.

“Find out what his innate gift is.” Wendy was direct in her thoughts.

Undying Yushan looked sternly at Wendy, “He himself has stated that there are no issues with the purple star. If he doesn’t speak, then we will not force it.”

“I know that his innate gift may be special, but there’s no way that it would be that valuable, unless his innate gift really can enhance a purple star to a billowing star. Then it would be worthwhile for me to speak up for him and defuse his conflict with Bazeer.”

Undying Yushan’s eyes blazed. “His worth would only merit you speaking up and defusing the conflict? Do you know what sort of shame he endured because of Bazeer?”

Wendy couldn’t care less about Lu Yin’s shame. “I’ve already said that the strong will prey on the weak in this universe. Bazeer is strong, so he can do as he pleases. If someone needs to be blamed, then it should be that person for not knowing his place. I can only speak on his behalf due to the uniqueness of his innate gift. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t care even then. Of course, as repayment for saving your life, I’ll transfer him to one of the other academies. Astral-10 is just too lousy.”

“You can transfer him to the other academies? But you’re not even a student of the Astral Combat Academy.” Undying Yushan was doubtful of his daughter’s plans.

Wendy laughed confidently before replying, “Father, many of Ten Thousand Swords Peak’s disciples are students of the Astral Combat Academy. I’m their senior, so my words are more than enough to bring one person into an academy. It’s quite simple.”

Undying Yushan fell silent. He felt that his daughter was too arrogant, but at the same time, her words were backed up by her strength and lofty status. But the universe had a saying; do not look down upon others. The shame that Bazeer had brought to little Yin could not be dissolved with mere words. If Wendy decided to defuse the conflict with her might, then it would only lead to Little Yin becoming even more infuriated. It would be alright if he were a normal person, but if one day he became a peerless powerhouse, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Undying Yushan could only assume that this wasn’t the first time that Wendy had acted in this brazen manner. She had offended too many people to count, but no one had dared to act against her as she was protected by the Ten Arbiters’ prestige. But there was no absolute in the world, and the Ten Arbiters may not remain invincible forever.

“Little brat, listen to me. Look at it from the bottom sometimes. There are many things that cannot be seen from just a high vantage point,” he advised.

Wendy spun around and fiercely shot back, “Father, you’ve also reached certain heights before and should know that some people naturally don’t understand what living like a lowlife is like. Only by perpetually seeking ever greater heights can we ever fulfill our potential. All I need to do is continually look upwards.” She then tore the void in front of her apart, stepped in, and vanished.

Undying Yushan sighed; she was absolutely correct. He had once reached those heights, and hence held those same thoughts as well. The top twenty in the Astral Combat Rankings were not the peak, as there were still the top ten, and then the top five after that. And above them, there were still the Ten Arbiters and even more ancient and powerful ancestors after that. Although those seniors had not cultivated with formcast models, they had become unimaginably terrifying over time.

After Lu Yin left the Auna clan, he flew in his spacecraft towards the King Zishan palace. On his way back, he reviewed everything related to the Great Yu Empire. Why did Undying Yushan fabricate legends about the Zishan clan treasure? Was it really just as a plot against the various Innerverse powers? My family even set me up with the identity of King Zishan because of those legends. Just that might be reasonable, but what about Silver? He’s from the Neohuman Alliance, so why does he have such a detailed understanding of the Great Yu Empire? Is it because of the Undying Manual?

The Neohuman Alliance power was powerful, but it was also limited to acting in the shadows. Many Innerverse powers had concealed themselves specifically to deal with the Great Yu Empire and were waiting for Undying Yushan’s demise. However, the Neohuman Alliance’s influence and power in the Great Yu Empire couldn’t possibly exceed that of the Innerverse powers, so why did they know so much about the empire?

There were only two possibilities. The first was that the Neohuman Alliance was certain that the Undying Manual was in Undying Yushan’s hands, and thus had spared no effort in investigating the Great Yu Empire. Besides that, the Alliance might also have another goal.

Lu Yin was reminded of Silver’s special attention to himself and guessed that Silver must have other motives.

Also, Lu Yin’s family had specifically told him to find a way to join the newly established Great Yu Empire Youth Council. They must have some other goal besides obtaining the Undying Manual.

Lu Yin’s eyes twinkled; the Great Yu Empire must contain other secrets that he hadn’t uncovered yet.

The stately King Zishan palace appeared before him as Lu Yin’s spacecraft landed. Suddenly, the void in front of him distorted, from where a peerless beauty with an ancient longsword stepped out, nearly causing the spacecraft to explode. Lu Yin ignored the near destruction of his spacecraft, only staring at the woman: Wendy Yushan.

Wendy Yushan had stepped through the void and unintentionally run across Lu Yin. She glanced at him and a strange expression flashed across her eyes, but it vanished even quicker before her entire body vanished as well.

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed as his surroundings returned to normal. That could’ve been a dream, but that woman’s appearance was unmistakable. She was definitely Wendy Yushan. She had recognized him but had not bothered to say anything.

This was Lu Yin’s first close encounter with Wendy Yushan. She had a calm gaze that seemed to view everything as ordinary without any special display of arrogance. But this was actually the greatest arrogance, as it meant that she did not put anything or anyone in her eyes, including Lu Yin.

Lu Yin sighed. He had not expected to bump into Wendy Yushan here. Is this fate? It was impossible to know what the circumstances of their next meeting would be, and Lu Yin suddenly grew excited at that thought. He hated Wendy Yushan’s calm look and fervently wished that he could shatter that tranquility. At their next meeting, he hoped that his actions would be able to send a ripple of shock into that woman’s eyes. Or incomprehension, or maybe even regret... The Astral Combat Tournament would be the best opportunity for him to prove himself to the entire universe.