After sending Yan Yan to get treated, Xueshan Auna moved to stand behind Lu Yin, at which he then voiced his concerns. “Your Highness, do you feel comfortable making this person a captain?”

“What is there to feel uncomfortable about? He has nothing to gain by betraying me,” Lu Yin softly replied.

Xueshan Auna hesitated before responding. “This person was able to unleash an attack that was simultaneously both ice and fire, which is very strange. He came from the Royal Frost Continent but joined Firesmelt Planet. This all seems to be related to his innate gift.”

Lu Yin looked at Xueshan Auna. “Yan Yan caused your Auna family to suffer terrible losses just now, so I will compensate your family for this matter.”

Xueshan Auna hurriedly replied, “Your Highness is exaggerating. The entire Great Yu Empire belongs to you, and the Auna family has vowed to follow Your Highness to our deaths.”

Lu Yin nodded. “That’s good.”

After that, he left.

Xueshan Auna continued to stare at his family’s mansion that had been completely frozen over, his brows tightly knitted together. More and more experts were joining the Great Yu Empire; where there had once been only him, Huo Qingshan, and the Blind Monk as the Hunter realm captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, there was now also Yan Yan and that temporary captain of the Second Squadron. There were more experts in the empire, and the more people the Royal Regent was able to use, the further Xueshan Auna’s value would drop in Lu Yin’s eyes.

He had to think of a way to help his Auna family reenter the Royal Regent’s good graces.

When he returned to King Zishan's palace, Lu Yin quickly contacted Elder Lohar.

Elder Lohar’s image appeared on the screen of Lu Yin’s gadget, and he gave Lu Yin a warm smile. “Kid, what are you looking for me?”

Lu Yin respectfully replied, “Elder, ever since I started working to establish the Great Great Eastern Alliance, many have come to see this junior as an eyesore. When I went to the Lars Weave, there was an assassination attempt on my life where five Hunters were sent after me. This has caused me to become very uneasy.”

Elder Lohar laughed. “Kid, you’ve entered a battlefield with Enlighters before, but you’re still afraid of some puny Hunters?’

“Junior’s power vessels were used up and destroyed back in Ironblood Weave. Elder should know that, without them, this junior can still be captured even if I am able to withstand the attacks of Hunters.”

Elder Lohar muttered, “So what is it that you want?”

“This junior hopes that Elder can send some experts to protect me,” Lu Yin answered expectantly.

Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin with a smiling expression. “Who’s caught your eye? Could it be an Enlighter?”

“That’s naturally not the case, as the safety of Ironblood Weave is much more important than my own—how could this junior neglect the big picture?” He paused a moment before continuing, saying, “When mentioning the need for protection, this junior feels that Aden is more suitable.”

Elder Lohar instantly understood. “So you want Aden back.”

Lu Yin answered, “If another battle had broken out in Ironblood Weave, this junior definitely would not have submitted such a request. It’s just that, now that the war in Ironblood Weave has ended, there’s not much of a reason for Aden to stay at the stronghold. On top of that, Frostwave Weave isn’t far from Ironblood Weave, which is why this junior dares to make such a request. I hope that Elder can understand.”

Elder Lohar smiled. “Aden was originally brought here by you, so it’s not a problem to return him to you. Very well, I will talk to him.”

“Thank you, Elder,” Lu Yin was delighted.

After Aden returned to the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin would gain yet another captain for the Imperial Squadrons, not to mention the strongest captain since Aden was able to withstand an Enlighter’s assault.

Lu Yin planned to have Aden be the temporary captain of the Fourth Squadron, which would mean that only the Fifth and Tenth Squadrons would not have captains. Even if Lu Yin filled the positions of all thirteen captains, there were still many more positions to fill.

***

Humans had no understanding of the current universe. The Outerverse was extensive, and the entire Human Domain was enormous, but no one knew exactly where this vast territory was positioned in respect to the greater universe, as no one knew where the end of the universe was, or if there was even an end to the universe.

The Astral Wilderness was the generic term that humanity used for all the unexplored areas of the universe as those regions had no mapped routes, network signal, or technology that could help humans. Risks had to be taken to explore the unknown, and nobody knew what could appear at any given moment when exploring the Astral Wilderness.

There was a contradiction to exploring the Astral Wilderness. To maximize safety, the scope of an exploration expedition had to be huge, but once an expedition grew to that extent, it would easily attract unknown dangers. Past scholars had once concluded that powerful civilizations existed in the Astral Wilderness, some of which could possibly rival human societies or even surpass them. If humans ever came into contact with these civilizations, there could only be a disastrous outcome.

Although the Astral Wilderness was very dangerous, countless cultivators from the Human Domain would dauntlessly venture forth every year to explore that place. Some people went for the thrill of adventure while others searched for resources and wealth. Many were specifically employed to explore the Astral Wilderness, where the goal of those efforts was to no longer remain ignorant of what lay outside the realms of human society. Humans were the most afraid of the unknown, and each explorer was like a flicking candle thrust into the darkness to illuminate a little bit more of it. Those lights might burn out, but humanity would never stop sending more out.

The funds used to employ people to explore the Astral Wilderness were supplied by the combined powers of the entire Human Domain powers, just like how Ironblood Weave’s resources were supplied by the various weaves of the Outerverse. This was an order from the Hall of Honor.

On one particular day, a mid-sized spacecraft was leisurely cruising through the Astral Wilderness. Its hull was marred with countless battle scars and traces of conflicts that the vessel had survived in the past. A moment later, the spacecraft moved in the direction of a dark-yellow planet.

“Captain, it’s no good. This dark-yellow planet’s atmosphere is filled with poisonous gas, so we can’t descend.” A desperate voice was heard within the spacecraft.

“Don’t panic. Just hurry up, get control of the ship, and change course. Quickly!”

“Captain, the vessel is not functioning properly!”

“Captain, you escape! You’re an Explorer, so you can escape.”

“Captain…”

…

The spacecraft descended through the atmosphere, and the moment it was about to touch the planet’s surface, a figure appeared directly beneath the spacecraft. The person released a shout as he supported the spacecraft with his body and forcefully tried to return to outer space. However, the man had clearly been heavily injured, and the wounds on his body soon reopened as fresh blood scattered into the sky. The dark yellow poisonous gas gathered around the injuries and started seeping into the man’s body. He howled in agony and suddenly tossed the spacecraft out of the planet’s atmosphere. The man himself seemed to lose all strength, and he fell back down and soon disappeared from sight.

The people inside the spacecraft desperately watched on as the man vanished. He had succeeded in flinging the spacecraft back into the vacuum of outer space.

Even if the people on the ship had managed to avoid the hopeless situation of succumbing to the poisonous gas, the spacecraft was still out of control, and it looked like this group was trapped in outer space.

“Look over there! What’s that?” Someone in the spacecraft shouted, causing the others to look back at the dark yellow planet that they had just escaped in shock.

A colossal being emerged from the planet and swept the poisonous gas aside. The figure was then gradually exposed to the crowd’s eyes.

They saw a giant metal machine with an enormous metal claw sweep forward and seized a hold of the spacecraft. The entire thing then slowly retreated from outer space as the region returned to normalcy.

Not much later, another spacecraft appeared, though this one charged towards the dark yellow planet without any sign of hesitation.

The enormous claw reached straight out for the spacecraft again, but this time, a figure emerged from inside the vessel and confronted the mountain-like metal claws and waved a hand. His star energy formed a strange configuration that pushed the metal claw to the side. “It’s me.”

The metal claw would not budge, and a solid voice was heard in response. “You should not be here.”

The figure’s expression turned ugly. “I was left with no choice. I was being chased, and this was the only place I could run to.”

“There is someone in the Human Domain who is able to kill you?” The solid voice sounded doubtful.

The figure snorted. “The Human Domain only seeks benefits. Even if the Innerverse and Outerverse are currently separated, anything related to the Innerverse that has been left in the Outerverse is no longer very useful.”

“What about the Daynight clan?”

“I said that things aren’t useful, and the Daynight clan is actually helping to chase me down, and there are even killers from hidden powers trying to track me down. This was the only place I could escape to.”

“It looks like you are in dire straits. How can I help you?” The robust voice asked.

The figure gritted his teeth and furiously replied, “I need you guys to help me deal with the person who’s chasing me.”

“Who is it?”

“Lu Yin.”

“Lu Yin? I seem to have heard of this name before.”

“He was the Human Domain’s peerless Limiteer, and he even killed a few Enlighters,” the figure reminded the individual behind the voice.

“I recall now: a rare genius. While only a Limiteer from the Human Domain, he was able to enter our list of individuals requiring observation. He became the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest. This is the person you want us to kill?”

“It’s unacceptable for us to not kill him. That namelist landed in his hands,” the figure helplessly explained.

The solid voice fell silent for a moment and then asked, “You guys were never able to obtain that list?”

The figure hesitated, but then nodded.

“All this time, we’ve continued to overestimate you people. We never thought that you would prove to be so useless,” the solid voice commented quietly.

The figure quickly spoke up, “That’s not related to us. That name list was taken to the Sea King’s Dome, and there was no way that we could have acted against Lu Yin in that place. Shortly after that, the Innerverse and Outerverse were split apart, and the traces of power that our family had left in the Outerverse were too lacking. That’s why we are here, requesting for help.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Since the Innerverse and Outerverse are currently separated, that name list has lost its value.”

“Then what about Lu Yin? You guys won’t act?” the human figure asked urgently, sounding as if he harbored some deep-seated hatred for Lu Yin.

“We will have to ask for orders from above. You will wait here.”

The figure was left with no choice and could only enter the planet by himself.

***

Within the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin ended a court meeting and returned to King Zishan's palace where he met a very pleased-looking person: Hai Qiqi.

Ever since the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, this girl’s entire demeanor had changed, and she no longer stayed with Lu Yin within the Great Yu Empire. Instead, she was usually at the border of the Astral River, spending all of her time searching for a way to return to the Innerverse. Lu Yin contacted her at regular intervals, but he had not expected her to suddenly return.

“You didn’t mention that you were coming back,” Lu Yin said.

“I didn’t want to, but I was chased away.” Hai Qiqi looked like she was exhausted, and she spoke softly as she answered him.

Lu Yin was stunned. “Chased? By who?”

Hai Qiqi’s rune lines had increased rather drastically, and she had also broken through to the Explorer realm. With the life-saving items that she had been given by the Sea King, chasing and killing her was not something easy, and she must have been pursued by someone who was at least a Hunter.

“Some horrible uncle called Old Gu De or something. He absolutely insists on marrying me off to his son. Help me take care of him—I want to keep looking for a way to get back to the Innerverse,” Hai Qiqi said with a seething expression.

Lu Yin paused, and his expression dropped. “Who did you say? Old Gu De?”

Hai Qiqi grunted in acknowledgement and then looked at Lu Yin more carefully. “You know him?”

Lu Yin smiled, but it was a rather creepy smile. “Tell me where he is.”

Hai Qiqi sent Lu Yin some coordinates. “Deal with him quickly. I don’t know why that old bat took a fancy to me, but he insists on marrying me off to his kid. Crazy asshole.”

“Relax. I’ll be sure to let him experience despair.” Lu Yin’s eyes flashed.

He checked the location of the coordinates in a star chart. Old Gu De was someone who Lu Yin had never forgotten. If not for the old man intentionally delaying the Astral River Ark’s departure time back then, they would not have been pursued.

That paper with the seventy two names that all had the surname of Lu had been masterminded by one of the Ten Arbiters, but Old Gu De had also been an accomplice to those events.