The sturdy ice only covered the planet’s atmosphere, but it did not affect everything within it. The interior was only filled with a freezing cold.

Old Gu De’s expression changed, and he ferociously charged into the atmosphere as he unleashed a palm strike towards the sturdy ice. The barrier cracked upon impact, but it didn’t shatter. The chilly aura spread out, and the cracked ice merged together into a pristine whole once again.

Old Gu De’s face went pale. He unleashed all of his battle techniques at once, striking out again. Multiple layers of the sturdy ice shattered this time, but the ice recovered just as quickly as before. Outside the ice, Yan Yan’s expression grew chilly as well—he was competing against Old Gu De. If he was defeated, the ice barrier would shatter, and Old Gu De would be able to escape. However, if Old Gu De was stalled here, the man would remain trapped on the planet, which was precisely Lu Yin’s objective.

“Who are you? Why are you attacking me?” Old Gu De roared.

A thin layer of frost appeared on the spacecraft’s hull as the space-exploring powerhouses dashed out to attack the sturdy ice. However, nothing they did had any effect. Only Old Gu De was able to cause any damage to the layer of ice.

Gu Er trembled within the large spacecraft as he stared at the blank expanse of white surrounding them outside.

Lu Yin quickly appeared beside Yan Yan, and he looked at Old Gu De through the layer of ice.

Old Gu De similarly looked through the ice to see Lu Yin, upon which his expression immediately twisted. “It’s you!”

A wicked smile spread across Lu Yin’s face. “Old Gu De, it’s been a while.”

Old Gu De barked, “Lu Yin, your grudge with my son is just a small thing. Is there really a need to come after us like this?”

Lu Yin laughed. “It looks like you’re still dreaming. Get him to sober up a bit more.”

Yan Yan’s expression iced over, and the coldness emanating from the shell of ice intensified even further, causing some of the cultivators who had stepped out of the spacecraft to instantly freeze into blocks of ice. Only the space-exploring powerhouses were able to withstand the chill.

Old Gu De’s expression changed. “Everyone, get back inside the spacecraft.”

The primitive planet had turned completely white by this time, and even the storms had frozen over with the rain transforming into ice pelting the ground.

A soft thump was heard from the spacecraft as various internal mechanisms froze over and were destroyed.

Old Gu De glared at Lu Yin, completely furious. “Is this because of that brat from the Sea King’s Dome?”

Lu Yin felt confused. “Come on, you chased after Qiqi so hard, and you even tried to force her to marry your son. You clearly know who she is.”

“I don't know. Gu Er sincerely likes her,” Old Gu De shouted back.

Lu Yin sneered. “Is that so?”

“Lu Yin, you don’t have a big grudge against my son, and if that brat doesn’t want to marry him, then we won’t try to force anything. Please, let us go! I’ve gathered some treasures during my years on the Astral River Ark, and I’ll give them all to you. Please, let us go. I swear that I’ll never return to the eastern weaves for the rest of my life,” Old Gu De pleaded.

When Lu Yin saw Old Gu De’s imploring attitude, he recalled the desperation that he had felt when his group had been in the Innerverse, waiting for the Astral River Ark to arrive. At that time, they had precisely calculated when it would arrive, and they knew that they would be able to break free from their pursuers and hide in the Outerverse. However, it was precisely because Old Gu De had intentionally delayed the vessel and had stopped mid voyage that the pursuers had caught up to Lu Yin and the others.

Seventy two lives had been lost because of that, and Lu Yin still clearly remembered each and every one of his fallen comrades’ faces. They had all been good to him, and none of them had looked down upon him for his status as a commoner. Each of them had been his brothers and sisters, but because of this old bastard in front of him, they had all died.

They had all died miserable deaths.

On Earth, Lu Yin had lived an ordinary life, but he often dreamt of those people, and also of Old Gu De’s disgustingly smug face.

In Lu Yin’s heart, Old Gu De was definitely one of the people who he hated the most.

At this moment, he could finally avenge his hatred. He definitely would not allow Old Gu De to die an easy death, as Lu Yin wanted to let the older man experience the agony that he had suffered through before.

“Every hour, eliminate one Explorer,” Lu Yin calmly instructed.

Yan Yan’s eyes turned even colder. Of those who were attacking his ice barrier, one Explorer’s limbs suddenly froze, and he plummeted down into the ground. He had been frozen to death.

The surrounding people were terrified, and they immediately rushed back inside the spacecraft.

Old Gu De shouted, “Lu Yin, what made you hate me? What did I do to deserve this?”

Lu Yin’s figure suddenly disappeared, as he had returned to his own spacecraft as well. He was in no hurry and he intended to take his time and slowly vent all of the resentment that he had kept bottled up for so many years.

Some people have said that tormenting an enemy is actually tormenting oneself. Lu Yin agreed with such thinking, especially since tormenting one’s enemies could become an addictive behavior. However, he could not stop himself at this moment. The hatred that he felt for Old Gu De was just too strong. He had enemies who were much stronger than him, and so, he felt no motivation to take revenge against them. He had no idea when he would actually be able to take revenge at all, and so, he would voluntarily fall into this addiction to further push and stoke his desire for revenge.

In Frostwave Weave, Zenyu Star’s space station had been sealed off in preparation to receive the representatives of major powers within the allied weaves. Both Zenyu Star and all of its surrounding regions were filled with cultivators and soldiers from the Great Yu Empire, all of them stationed here to ensure that the first Alliance Conference would proceed without incident.

The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were hidden in the background; Huo Qingshan, the blind monk, and the other Hunters had all put everything on hold so that they would be available to oversee the Alliance Conference.

Inside Zenyu Star’s space station, a group of people walked out from a vessel, led by an elder. He was wearing extravagant clothes, and he seemed quite respectable at first glance. His face also contained an excited and expectant smile.

Nearby, En Ya and Hill Auna led a group over to welcome the new arrivals.

When he saw En Ya, the elder’s smile grew even warmer, and he hurriedly walked over to politely greet her. “You must be Lady En Ya, and this must be Lord Hill Auna. We’ve communicated through calls before, and I finally get to meet you in person now, haha.”

En Ya smiled. “Welcome, Chairman Gibu. His Highness is currently in seclusion, and he is therefore unable to appear at this moment, so please forgive us.”

Gibu hurriedly replied, “The cultivation of His Highness, the Royal Regent, is of the utmost importance as His Highness’s strength is the most stable cornerstone of our alliance.”

Hill Auna smiled. “Chairman Gibu is still so full of vitality. It appears as though you’ll be able to maintain your position for a long time still.”

This was pleasant to hear, and Gibu chuckled happily. He had sided with the Great Yu Empire not only because they had blackmailed him with his dark secrets, but also because the Great Yu Empire had offered to reinstall him as chairman, which he had originally obtained by betraying his own dignity and conscience. Thus, he naturally greatly treasured his post.

During this Alliance Conference, the most important thing for the participants to discuss was the Alliance Conference treaty and how the Allied Forces would be organized. These details did not actually require the highest ranking member of each weave to personally come. After all, their personal safety was very important. However, to Gibu, the most important goal for him in this conference was to obtain some sort of definitive guarantee for his position as chairman from the Great Yu Empire. Hence, he had personally made the trip.

Hill Auna’s words were actually the guarantee that Gibu had been after, and since En Ya had not rebuffed the comment, Gibu finally felt at ease. He had not thought that he would attain his objective the moment he arrived on Zenyu Star. Now, he would be able to relax for the remainder of the conference since the upcoming discussions were none of his business. The Great Yu Empire could do whatever it pleased!

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, someone reported that the representatives from the Six-Fingered Tribe had arrived.

“Chairman Gibu, please go on ahead and rest first.” En Ya smiled and instructed some people to lead Gibu away.

Not long after Gibu left, another group appeared, and this time, the leader was a youth with a calm expression and a faint smile. He had a rather elegant mien, as he was the Six-Fingered Tribe Leader Bach Shamus’s son, Jake Shamus.

Bach Shamus was the leader of the Six-Fingered Tribe, and he typically did not travel very far away from the tribe so as to prevent any accidents from occurring. Jake Shamus was able to represent him and make decisions on behalf of the tribe, and this was the same approach that many powers were using for Alliance Conference, and only a minority of powers had sent their highest figure to participate.

The Alliance Conference did not only consist of the Vastdearth Sect, Evenground Palace, and the other major powers. There were also many other, smaller powers in the eastern weaves. After all, those top organizations were just the main guiding powers, not the only powers in their respective weaves.

This Alliance Conference had people from over a hundred affiliated powers participating, and only those from major powers merited En Ya and Hill Auna’s personal welcome. The other powers would be welcomed by other officials.

Jake Shamus had an uncommonly charismatic aura; as the Six-Fingered Tribe’s Young Leader, his bearing and choice of words made others feel even more comfortable than Gibu’s. He was neither overly subservient nor overbearing, though there was a slight trace of arrogance in his words. However, he restrained that trace when conversing with En Ya.

After Jake Shamus’s arrival, Grandtop Weave’s Nine Stacks Sect showed up next, which was actually Lu Yin’s hidden power since Tianming was his puppet. Getting the Nine Stacks Sect to join the Great Eastern Alliance had just taken a sentence on his part. For the conference this time, the Nine Stacks Sect had sent over Lan Wu, who was the Hunter that had noticed the issue with Tianming but chosen to not reveal it to the sect.

“Lady En Ya, when will His Highness come out of seclusion?” Lan Wu asked.

En Ya smiled. “I’m not sure, but it will definitely be before the Alliance Conference begins. Why? Is there any particular matter you need to discuss with His Highness?”

Lan Wu smiled. “I simply wish to extend my greetings.”

En Ya nodded and then instructed some people to escort Lan Wu out of the space station.

Lan Wu looked back, seemingly slightly apprehensive. Back when Lu Yin had offered to bring her into the Great Yu Empire to become a captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, she had rejected him. Being a captain would not be as comfortable as being the ambassador for a region. However, her thoughts had changed after the Great Eastern Alliance had been established. The Great Yu Empire was now the dominant power, and Zenyu Star was undoubtedly the heart of authority for the entire eastern weave system. Only by staying in this place could one enjoy true authority, as well as the best resources that the eastern weaves could offer.

She wished to become stronger, as otherwise, she would forever be a puppet trapped in Grandtop Weave, forever accompanying Tianming. That was not the life that she wanted.

She could only wait for the Alliance Conference to end before going to look for Lu Yin.

The space station where En Ya and Hill Auna were waiting was very quiet, as it had been reserved to specially welcome the representatives of the various dominant powers. A bit further away from them was another space station, and it was a very different story there. People were continuously arriving at that space station, and they were from all kinds of different major powers in the eastern weaves, making the space station quite busy.

En Ya and Hill Auna looked over, and they saw that the leaders of the various powers arriving at the second space station all smiled politely as they arrived.

Hill Auna sighed. “In the past, our Great Yu Empire was not that much stronger than those minor powers. It’s all due to His Majesty Undying Yushan that we were able to break into new territories and reach the heights that we have.”

En Ya faintly replied, “Undying Yushan indeed set the foundation, but the Royal Regent is the one who truly built up the Great Yu Empire to these heights.”

Hill Auna smiled. “Of course, His Majesty Undying Yushan spent his entire life, but he was unable to even unify the Frostwave Weave. His Highness the Royal Regent has established the Great Eastern Alliance, which is an incomparable miracle. If the Royal Regent could one day cease to be the substitute ruler for the empire, it would be our Great Yu Empire’s blessing.”

En Ya did not reply to him, as Hill Auna was actually expressing the Auna family’s stance with this statement. They were now completely dedicated to Lu Yin, as they had offended many government officials by fulfilling their duties, being cursed by many in the process. However, they did not care about any of that as they wanted Lu Yin to obtain complete control of the entire Great Yu Empire more than anyone else.

Hill Auna saw that En Ya did not reply, though she was also unflustered by his words. On the surface, she made no response, but he knew that she would definitely pass on his words to the Royal Regent in the future.