Lu Yin exited the secret room and unscreened the Ghost Monkey, after which he instantly heard it angrily cursing.

He had cultivated for half a year in the Timestop Space, but to the outside world, just a fleeting moment had passed.

Gavin had only just made contact with the stunning Madam Nalan on Lu Yin’s behalf.

As soon as she learned that Lu Yin wanted to buy sourceboxes, she sold three of them to Gavin, all of which were at the five star Discerning Elementary level. The average price was 300 star essence for a sourcebox at that level, which totaled up to 900 star essence.

For a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox, it wasn’t a hefty price, and it could even be considered a little low; after all, it was the most reduced price that Madam Nalan could give for a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox. As far as the Great Yu Empire’s treasury was concerned, 900 star essence was equivalent to about 90 million star crystals, which was a huge expense. Despite the heavy financial pressure, Gavin still completed the purchase.

Madam Nalan did not shirk away from this transaction. If she helped another party too often, there was a chance that it would become a habit. She had been in the business world for a long time, and she was well aware of when she should help someone out of charity and when she should accept their money.

After buying three sourceboxes from the Nalan family, Gavin weighed the remaining funds in the treasury and decided that he could not buy any more sourceboxes without affecting the empire’s finances.

At this moment, Gavin received a message from Lu Yin, and so, he hurried over to King Zishan's palace. He felt that this summons was strange; he had only just left, so why was he being summoned back again already? He hoped Lu Yin had not suddenly changed his mind about the sourceboxes since Gavin had already paid for them.

“Your Highness, your subject has already purchased three five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes from the Nalan family for a total of 900 star essence, which is about 90 million star crystals,” Gavin immediately reported the transaction to Lu Yin the moment he saw the Royal Regent, as he was truly afraid that Lu Yin might have changed his mind about this matter.

Lu Yin acknowledged the purchase with a grunt and quickly retrieved 900 star essence from his cosmic ring and passed them over to Gavin. “These sourceboxes are for my personal use, so there’s no need to use the treasury’s resources.”

Gavin accepted the funds, as the Empire was indeed almost completely broke.

The average Discerning Elementary sourcebox usually sold for at least ten star essence, and that was just the starting price for a sourcebox. As the sourcebox’s grade increased, the price would actually multiply. A five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox was worth at least 300 star essence, and the Nalan family had sold three of them to Lu Yin at a very reasonable price.

“Your Highness, should we continue to purchase more?” Gavin asked.

Lu Yin thought about the idea. “Look for sellers, and we’ll see if we should buy more.”

“Yes.”

“You can leave for now. I’ll be heading to Sourcepeak Planet for a while, so arrange a spacecraft for me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

***

While this was happening, a luxurious mansion on Zenyu Star had been surrounded by the Ninth Squadron. There were many people watching the situation unfold since they all knew that this mansion belonged to a certain influential official of the empire, and the onlookers seemed to be enjoying the man’s misfortune.

“Rocky Auna, how audacious! You actually dare to raid my mansion! I will report this to the top!” an elder screamed at Rocky Auna as he stared furiously at the captain.

Everyone in the mansion had been detained by the Ninth Squadron, and they were all glaring angrily at all their captors.

Rocky Auna could only sigh to himself. The Auna family was about to step onto a path of no return. But if they did not do this, they would gradually fade away to nothing. Thus, they could only stake everything on this gamble and hope that His Highness would protect them.

“Apologies, my lord. You are under suspicion of colluding with merchants, corrupt behavior, and accepting bribes. The evidence is absolute. Take him away,” Rocky Auna ordered.

“Rocky, I’m being framed! I wish to see the Royal Regent! I wish to see the Royal Regent!” the old man shrieked, but his voice gradually faded into the distance.

Many outside the mansion excitedly watched everything take place.

Rocky Auna’s eyes narrowed, and then he waved a hand. The mansion was sealed off as the soldiers hurried on to the next residence.

In the short period of a single day, the Ninth Squadron raided four relatively influential families on Zenyu Star. The merchant organizations related to these families quickly stopped their collaborative activities, and almost all of these activities happened to be connected to the Nalan family’s joint ventures with the empire.

A middle-aged man from the Nalan family who was responsible for the trade on Zenyu Star received the news, and his expression quickly changed. He immediately flipped through the related agreements with these specific merchant organizations, and he instantly discovered that they were all related to basic resources and necessities such as food and clothing. These collaborations were not too important, but they were still able to influence the common people’s livelihoods. What’s more, these types of joint ventures were able to spread extensively, and they were how the Nalan family’s symbol had spread all across Zenyu Star so easily and quickly.

The middle-aged man wiped away the sweat that had beaded up on his forehead and immediately had the various business ventures stopped before he then requested to meet with Finance Minister Gavin.

In the Auna family’s estate, Xueshan Auna was sitting in his office with his eyes closed, deep in thought. That night, Rocky Auna arrived to meet with him. “Patriarch, it’s finished.”

Xueshan Auna opened his eyes and raised a pen. He then struck away four names that had been written on a piece of paper, which were the four families that had been captured during the day.

Rocky Auna watched him, bewildered by the action. “Patriarch, what is this?”

Xueshan Auna looked at the paper with a complex expression on his face. There were many names written on the paper, and almost half of them had already been struck away. “This is a list of His Majesty Undying Yushan’s councillors from when he was in power. Take a look.”

Rocky Auna looked over the list, and his face went pale. “The Royal Regent has removed half of them.”

Xueshan Auna raised his head and sighed. “Each new chief will select his own aides. The Royal Regent’s methods are decisive and ruthless, and he will not allow any of his dealings to have any openings since he has a supreme power that can suppress all others. The Empire has already completely fallen under his control, and the Empire’s authority no longer rests solely in the hands of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, as it has been divided into the four ministries and King Zishan's palace as well. You must remember, from this day forward, that our Auna family only listens to His Highness, the Royal Regent.”

“I understand, Patriarch,” Rocky Auna answered solemnly. He felt a slight chill when he thought of the list of names on that slip of paper.

***

Within the Great Yu Empire’s imperial palace, there was a massive courtyard. In the past, Undying Yushan had often summoned Lu Yin to this courtyard for meetings. However, after the intense battle that had taken place on Zenyu Star, the courtyard had become rather desolate.

When Lu Yin arrived at the courtyard, he quickly ordered for people to seal off the area. He then looked at the three sealed cases in the center of the courtyard. Each one was a different size, and they had been laid out with a large distance between each one. Each case was made out of Spiritual Thread, and they contained the three recently purchased five star Discerning Elementary level sourceboxes.

Aside from their star rating, the other greatest difference between sourceboxes was whether they were harmful or harmless. Not only were harmless sourceboxes uncommon, but they were also extremely expensive. Although the possibility of a harmless sourcebox containing a treasure inside was reduced, such sourceboxes guaranteed the safety of any Lockbreaker who attempted to unlock them. This allowed the Lockbreaker to raise their own experience, which was of immense value all by itself.

The Nalan family had provided him with a harmless sourcebox for winning the Astral Combat Tournament, and it had been a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. It was still in Lu Yin’s cosmic ring as he had not attempted to unlock it yet; he was planning on first unlocking these three sourceboxes before he attempted that Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

He walked to the closest sourcebox and then reached out to open the Spiritual Thread case. A howl suddenly roared out without any warning, startling Lu Yin. Gavin had told him that one particular sourcebox would release a beast’s roar that had the power to affect one’s mind. Lu Yin had mentally prepared himself, but he had still been startled. The instance he heard the roar, he seemed to see a boundless beast reclining in space howling at him.

He shook his head and refocused his mind. There was only a beast-shaped stone laying within the Spiritual Thread case, and although it seemed normal, it was actually the sourcebox.

The beast’s roar reappeared in Lu Yin’s ears as he pressed a hand against the Spiritual Thread case. The case responded with a thumping noise, as if it was shattering apart, before an even fiercer roar burst forth from within the sourcebox. It was powerful enough to freeze space and even form a giant beast that swatted at Lu Yin.

There was a thump as the ground quivered. A deep claw imprint had suddenly appeared.

Lu Yin was shocked, as this sourcebox’s danger was actually able to take on a physical form. He was also certain that whatever was sealed inside the sourcebox was related to the beast that had appeared. Anything that could become a sourcebox had existed for countless ages, and the time required to become one was at least hundreds of thousands of years. If the item in this source box was able to retain such might even after that much time, then this beast had definitely been a terrifying existence when it was alive.

However, it was of no threat to Lu Yin. He had checked and seen that these three sourceboxes’ rune lines could not threaten him.

Lu Yin raised a hand, and a gale swept out, causing the newly-formed beast to dissipate. As the image disappeared, the roar also grew softer.

Lu Yin then walked over to the sourcebox and unleashed his domain. His eyes went wide as fifty stars began orbiting his figure. If someone saw him at this moment, they would be astounded as Lu Yin looked like he was the center of a small universe with all these stars revolving around him.

After some observation, Lu Yin decided to start unlocking the sourcebox from its center; there was less energy in that part, making it relatively easier to unlock.

The Intricacy Realm implied a qualitative change in his degree of star energy control, and Lu Yin was able to resolve the sourcebox’s energy much more smoothly than before. His technique was no longer as crude as when he had been on the Savage Ape Planet. If he had possessed this degree of control at that time, then he would not have been looked down upon by Casanova.

Once a lockbreaking session stepped onto the right track, it became a dull affair, especially when the Lockbreaker knew that the sourcebox posed no threat to them.

Time passed in this dull manner during Lu Yin’s lockbreaking session.

From outside the courtyard, Kayze occasionally looked over, and he seemed rather shocked. He hadn’t known that Lu Yin was such an incredible Lockbreaker, as he was unlocking a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox. Once it was successfully unlocked, wouldn’t the Royal Regent be able to challenge the Perceptive Intermediate level? Not only was this person terrifying in his combat talent, but even his lockbreaking talent was exceptional.

Lu Yin had not unlocked any five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox before, as this was his first time attempting one. The complex energy composition made him feel dizzy, and he recalled his first lockbreaking experience which had taken an entire twenty seven hours to finish. With his current abilities, it would take him at most an hour to successfully unlock that same sourcebox.

Lu Yin estimated that he would need at least fifteen hours to finish unlocking this five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox.

Maintaining peak concentration for fifteen hours was not easy, as he had to devote his full attention to the task at hand and could not relax for even a single moment.

As the sky turned from black to white, Lu Yin was still focused on the beast-shaped sourcebox in front of him. Then, there was a pop—the energy seal that had formed the surface of the sourcebox completely vanished, and a scent reeking of blood surged forth. Lu Yin’s expression changed, and he immediately sealed off the area around him and retreated several steps before staring at the beast corpse that had fallen out of the sourcebox.

It was actually the same beast whose image he had seen in the air before he had started lockbreaking, as this sourcebox had actually been sealing the creature’s corpse. Well, half of it anyways.

The fact that the creature had been sealed within a sourcebox was proof that the beast had been amazingly powerful when it had been alive. Lu Yin slowly approached the body, as this sort of powerful creature could be very useful just in terms of its flesh, blood, and bones.

“Seventh Bro, be careful! Don’t spoil it. This was a powerful astral beast, and it was definitely much more ferocious than whatever Elder Lohar you met,” the monkey excitedly cautioned him.

Lu Yin carefully approached the corpse when, suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the courtyard. It caused the remaining half of the corpse to dissipate into dust that floated into the sky, and even the scent of blood disappeared.

The Ghost Monkey wailed, “Oh, by Monkey’s treasured blood! That was the blood of a powerful astral beast, and now it’s gone just like that!”

Lu Yin also felt that it was a pity, as any powerhouse’s blood was something that was very valuable.

“Seventh Bro, hurry up and unlock the rest! Let’s see what other treasures are inside,” the monkey urged Lu Yin.