There was a boom, and the estate by the sea suddenly vanished. With a steel rod in his hand, the blind monk viciously charged towards Xun Qianye, who raised a palm . He was a top level Hunter whereas the blind monk had just barely become a Hunter based on his power level. Due to this difference in strength, the monk was suppressed by Xun Qianye’s star energy, which caused him to retreat back about a thousand meters.

All of a sudden, a dazzling white light beam was reflected by the tip of a sharp weapon that scattered bits of blood as it flashed about. Xun Qianye hurriedly took a step back as he gritted his teeth and stared in front of him, where Phantom Sting had just appeared.

Two Hunters moved together while the Xun family only had one Hunter: Xun Qianye. The next strongest individual in the family was merely a Cruiser.

“Lu Yin, are you really not going to hand it over?” Xun Qianye snarled angrily.

Lu Yin’s brows furrowed together. He could sense that something was off, and it seemed that the little piece of paper was more important than he had initially imagined. Even at this crucial juncture, Xue Qianye had no thought of fleeing; instead, he was delivering a threat. Lu Yin felt that there was more to this matter and that Xun Qianye was not lying. “That gun is fake, but the item inside of it is real.”

Xun Qianye continued to dodge the torrent of attacks launched at him by the blind monk and Phantom Sting, but he suffered numerous injuries from the two attackers. As soon as he heard Lu Yin’s words, he clenched the paper tightly as his expression turned cold. “Give me the real gun!”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t think that I can’t kill you!”

As he shouted, he rushed forward with reckless abandon while Xun Qianye yelled back at him, “Lu Yin, you have chosen death! Don’t blame me for delivering it to you!” As he spoke, Xun Qianye pulled out some unknown item out from his cosmic ring, and the star energy around him suddenly froze. It then formed into chains that caused the blind monk, Phantom Sting, and even Lu Yin to retreat. The next moment, Xun Qianye vanished.

Li Yin immediately started to scan all about him, and his heart sank. He could no longer see Xun Qianye’s rune lines anywhere. The man had escaped.

“Capture all the members of the Xun family!” Lu Yin cried.

Very quickly, all of the Xun family members that were on the planet were captured. There were more than seventy of them. Among them there were three Cruisers and fifteen Explorers with the rest being Limiteers.

Lu Yin interrogated them about Xun Qianye’s whereabouts, but all of them were completely clueless. Desperate, Lu Yin sent all of them back to the Great Yu Empire to undergo further interrogation.

This entire matter felt extremely fishy, and it was possible that this incident would cause trouble in the future, but Lu Yin did not care. The Xun family could not hold a candle to the Daynight clan. Besides, now that the Outerverse had been cut off from the rest of the Human Domain, the worst that Xun Qianye could do was find some Enlighters to assist him. Such a thing did not worry Lu Yin, as even if Xun Qianye was able to enlist the help of powerhouses who had a power level of 300,000 or above, Lu Yin had Elder Lohar and Mister Mu to protect him. As long as the Outerverse remained isolated, he had nothing to fear.

However, it was still imperative that Xun Qianye be found.

Lu Yin contacted the Limiteer Mistchild and ordered her to get Mafioso Planet to use all of its resources to track Xun Qianye down.

After resolving the matter with the Xun family, Lu Yin did not immediately return to the Great Yu Empire. Instead, he went to visit Shenwu Continent’s space station.

After En Ya had delivered the enhanced natural treasures to Ming Zhaoshu, she had not contacted Lu Yin again. Thus, he had decided that it would be best for him to personally go to the continent and take a look at the current situation.

When he arrived at Shenwu Continent’s space station, Madam Meilan met with him. “I was not wrong. The Xun family is indeed finished.”

Lu Yin let out a short laugh. “Thank you so much for offering me information on the Xun family.”

“There is no need to thank me, Student Lu. Elder Qiuyu has instructed us members of the Daynight clan to no longer view you as our enemy. In fact, we are hoping that you will not make trouble for us in return,” Madam Meilan said with a laugh.

Lu Yin broke out into laughter. “No one in the universe dares to mess with the Daynight clan. On the other hand, I do have a matter that I need your help with.”

“Please tell me what it is,” Madam Meilan said.

“Xuan Qianye has escaped, and I would like to ask for your help to find out where he went,” Lu Yin said.

Madam Meilan smiled and nodded. “That is no problem. I will reach out to the contacts that our Daynight clansmen have established throughout the Outerverse to get this information for you. I must ask though, what will I get in return?”

“What do you want, madam?” Lu Yin asked.

Madam Meilan pondered for a moment. “I cannot think of anything for the moment. I will have to give this matter serious consideration after I have assisted you in discovering Xun Qianye’s whereabouts.”

Lu Yin smiled and nodded. Soon after that, with the help of Huo Qingshan, he returned to Shenwu Continent.

***

Within the Shenwu Empire, in Shanhai City, Ming Zhaoshu was in his study in the Reverent King’s Residence and looking into a mirror. He caressed his forehead and thereafter threw the mirror to the floor. His body had aged once again. He had initially expected that consuming all those rare ingredients would restore his life force to the point of allowing him to persevere on for another year, but now, it seemed that he had no more than half a year left to live. In other words, he would die in half a year.

Ming Zhaoshu clenched both fists tightly before slowly releasing them. He had finally resigned himself to his inevitable fate.

“Father, I am here.” Ming Yan’s voice traveled to him from outside the study.

Ming Zhaoshu gloomily responded, “Come in.”

After a considerable amount of time passed, Ming Yan stepped out of the study with an utterly exhausted expression. Ever since she had learned that Ming Zhaoshu did not have long left to live, she had worked hard to learn and handle all of the administrative affairs in order to not disappoint her father. As for the agony and pain that she felt in her heart, she could only bottle it up and keep it to herself. The only thing she could do to relieve the pain inside of her was to occasionally retreat to her room and sob.

In those moments, she missed Lu Yin all the more. She wanted to do nothing more than to rely on his support.

“Princess, please enjoy your meal.” A maid placed a tray of food down on the desk.

Ming Yan waved the maid off with a flick of her wrist. She was in no mood to eat as she hazily looked through the window and at the sky before grabbing some documents that were lying on her dressing table. She hated bureaucratic work, but she had no choice except to take care of it.

As she picked up a document to open it, a hand suddenly appeared in front of her to snatch the paper away from her hand. “You need to eat before you work.”

Ming Yan’s body trembled, and she looked to the side, where a familiar figure had appeared.

Lu Yin set the document aside as he cupped Ming Yan’s face with his hand. Then, he gently said, “You’ve lost so much weight over such a short amount of time.”

Ming Yan’s eyes turned red as she stared at Lu Yin with a blank face. A stream of tears suddenly fell from her face, and she collapsed into his embrace, sobbing softly. She felt all of the anguish, helplessness, and despair that had recently been plaguing her melt away.

Lu Yin hugged Ming Yan’s soft body and did not utter a single word in response. He merely continued to hold her silently.

It didn’t take Ming Yan long to fall asleep, and Lu Yin could tell that she had fallen into a deep slumber.

Lu Yin put her in bed, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and walked out of the room. He then made his way straight to Ming Zhaoshu’s study.

Upon seeing Lu Yin, Tang Si hastily bowed to him.

After opening the study door, Lu Yin walked right in without any hesitation.

Ming Zhaoshu stared intently at him. “I had guessed that you would be here soon.”

Lu Yin closed the door and sat down in a chair beside the desk. “It looks like the things I sent you didn’t do what they were supposed to.”

Ming Zhaoshu laughed bitterly, in a semi-mocking manner. Then, he said, “I spent so many years biding my time without a son just so that I could fight for power and force my brother and the prince to their deaths, but this is my end. The Shenwu Empire has no heir! Little Seven, do you not think that this is a cruel joke? Hahahaha!”

Lu Yin calmly observed Ming Zhaoshu. “Are all of Ming Zhaotian’s heirs dead?”

Ming Zhaoshu shut his eyes and fell silent.

Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. Ming Zhaoshu was such a vicious man that he had made sure to kill all the Shenwu Empire’s potential heirs. He had initially wanted a son, but he had not been able to have one to stay inconspicuous. This could be considered as his retribution!

“Yan’er does not have what it takes to inherit the Shenwu Empire,” Lu Yin commented.

Ming Zhaoshu’s eyes snapped wide open. “So what? She is the only heir to the Shenwu Empire. There is no one else aside from her! She must carry on the Shenwu Emperor’s family line.”

“I don’t care about some small place like the Shenwu Empire. I want her to lead a life that she desires and not end up being ruined by some so-called family obligation. Wendy Yushan is about to hand over the Great Yu Empire to me, so what reason do you have not to hand over the Shenwu Empire to an outsider?” Lu Yin spoke angrily, as Ming Yan’s current plight had saddened him.

Ming Zhaoshu stood up. “This is Shenwu Continent, not the outside universe! Even though the universe has introduced its culture to us during these recent years, our ideology remains the same: the Shenwu Empire must be inherited by someone from the Ming family. If this does not occur, then chaos will reign, and the people will suffer.

“That is just a selfish excuse on your part,” Lu Yin snorted.

“Whatever it may be, Yan’er is still my daughter, as well as the only heir to the Shenwu Empire. She has to shoulder this responsibility.” Ming Zhaoshu said firmly.

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, and he stared straight into Ming Zhaoshu’s eyes.

“Handing the Shenwu Empire to me would be the same,” Lu Yin said indifferently.

Ming Zhaoshu shook a finger. “Do you intend to take the Shenwu Empire by force?”

“So what if I do?” Lu Yin responded coldly.

Ming Zhaoshu laughed heartily. “Before the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance, you might have possibly been able to do this. It’s true that the destruction of Shenwu Continent would have no impact on you. However, the Shenwu Empire has already joined the Great Eastern Alliance, so if you try to take control of the Shenwu Empire by force, then who else would dare to join your alliance? Little Seven, you are in way over your head!”

“For the sake of Yan'er, I am willing to adjust my strategy,” Lu Yin replied unsympathetically.

Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. He had not been angered by Lu Yin’s words, and if anything, he felt a tinge of gratefulness. “I understand how you feel about Yan'er, and I am very happy that you are willing to give up the Great Eastern Alliance for her sake. However, inheriting the Shenwu Empire is her destiny. If you take the Shenwu Empire by force and cause unrest to shake this land, it will result in thousands of casualties. When that happens, do you think that she will be able to forgive herself? Being the kind-hearted woman that she is, would she agree to such a thing?”

Lu Yin felt helpless, and he could not respond.

“Little Seven, man proposes, but ultimately, heaven disposes. Many people say that human wisdom can overcome what the heavens have in store, but why not look at it in reverse? The heavens provide an alternative option. They often make fools of us, but this is not something that you nor I can control. I have accomplished everything that I can, but I am a dying man. You can conquer and pillage everything, but you will never be able to truly capture another’s heart. The more that you do, the greater the possibility that Yan'er will become disappointed in you or in herself. Do you understand what I am saying?” Ming Zhaoshu slowly explained.

Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu and asked, “How much longer do you have to live?”

A flicker of pain darted across Ming Zhaoshu’s eyes. “Half a year at most.”

Lu Yin did not know how to feel, as he really did not wish for Ming Yan to take on so many responsibilities. All he wanted was for Ming Yan to be able to lead a carefree life; that would be enough for him. However, everyone had their own manner of thought.

Ming Zhaoshu had lived a long life and always been planning for the long run. Ming Yan having a status as the Shenwu Empress when she married Lu Yin would be the best option, as a mere pretty face was destined to be cast aside. Human love was always sweet at the beginning, but it needed commitment and effort from both parties for it to last, and romantic love had a very short shelf-life if there was nothing else supporting it.

This was what was known as a well-suited match. Ming Zhaoshu would rather have Ming Yan handle the stress of inheriting the empire than allow her to suffer from heartbreak.

However, he could not tell Lu Yin all this. Whether it was Lu Yin or Ming Yan, neither of them had enough experience in love or life, and they would not be able to understand his intentions.

Lu Yin left the room, not knowing how to dissuade Ming Zhaoshu. The emperor’s resolve was unshakeable, and Lu Yin wanted to talk to Ming Yan to see how she felt about things. If Ming Yan did not want to inherit the Shenwu Empire, then Lu Yin would act as he wished regardless of Ming Zhaoshu’s intentions. He would take control of everything.

Ming Yan slept for an entire day as Lu Yin sat beside her.

When Ming Yan opened her eyes and saw Lu Yin, she felt her heart melt. The unfamiliar feelings that she once held towards him in the past had completely disappeared. She once again felt that sense of closeness to him that she had in the beginning.

When he saw Ming Yan wake up, Lu Yin hurriedly brought her a bowl of porridge. He helped her up into a position where she was half sitting and half held by him. He then told her, “Open your mouth.”

Ming Yan’s beautiful face flushed red, and she meekly answered, “Big brother Lu, I’ll eat on my own.”

“No, after sleeping for so long and not eating anything, you don’t have the energy. Be a good girl and let me feed you. Open wide.”

“Alright.”

…