Lu Yin continued to act humble. “Patriarch Tanno, there’s no need to be so courteous. I’m honored to have the privilege to rescue Darkflame Continent.”

Tanno Phoenix was about to speak, but Ku Wei interrupted him, saying, “Since you are a member of the Great Eastern Alliance, the safety of the Dark Phoenix family is always on Alliance Leader Lu’s mind. Isn’t that right, Patriarch Tanno?”

Tanno Phoenix’s face twisted. If possible, he wanted to kill this wretched bastard right now.

Behind the three men, an entire group of people from the Dark Phoenix family ground their teeth as they stared at Ku Wei’s back. They were plotting to surreptitiously get rid of him.

Lu Yin glanced over at Ku Wei in appreciation. How had he never noticed that this fellow was such an amazing henchman? One sentence from Ku Wei had forced the Dark Phoenix family into a corner. If they did not agree, then it meant that they were refusing to join the Great Eastern Alliance. And given the Dark Phoenix family’s current situation, they really could not afford to make such a refusal.

Lu Yin had actually been wondering how he could bring up this issue, but Ku Wei had effortlessly succeeded in a few sentences.

Tanno Phoenix inwardly sighed. “Right. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for rescuing us. The Dark Phoenix family cannot express our gratitude towards you.”

Lu Yin smiled. “Patriarch Tanno’s words make me blush in shame. Honestly, I didn’t do much.”

Tanno Phoenix was rendered completely speechless.

Darkflame Continent was vast, and Tanno Phoenix personally led Lu Yin on a tour. During this time, Lu Yin sent En Ya a message, ordering her to quickly reach out to the Dark Phoenix family and confirm their entry into the alliance.

En Ya replied, “Your Highness, the Dark Phoenix family joining the Great Eastern Alliance might lead to the Phoenix family’s displeasure.”

Lu Yin’s gaze trembled, as he had forgotten about this detail. The Dark Phoenix family had defected from the Phoenix family, so having them join the Great Eastern Alliance might truly offend the Phoenix family.

Lu Yin was a little irritated; how could he have forgotten about such a thing? Although he was not afraid of the Phoenix family, he did not want to create enemies just because of the Dark Phoenix family.

Lu Yin originally did not have a very friendly relationship with the Dark Phoenix family, and having them join the Great Eastern Alliance was just to achieve a complete, geographical unification. Their presence would not actually provide that many benefits to the Great Eastern Alliance.

While Lu Yin was thinking, Tanno Phoenix continued to share the history of Darkflame Continent with him as Ku Wei rambled on.

Tanno Phoenix’s temper was growing short, and he wanted to incinerate Ku Wei, but the patriarch was forced to accompany this youth with a smile on his face.

“Patriarch Tanno, I heard that your clan is mortal enemies with the Phoenix family, correct? What happened?” Lu Yin asked.

Tanno Phoenix responded, “The entire universe has heard this story. The Phoenix family has the name of the golden Undying Bird while we have the black Undying Bird’s. Because of this, the Phoenix family views us as traitors and members who have fallen from grace, which is why they want to exterminate our entire clan. They wish to purify their Phoenix family.

“Hmph. In truth, there is no such thing as members who had fallen from grace during the time of our ancient forebears—regardless of if they were gold or black, both colors were considered a part of the Undying Bird’s bloodline. The division only occurred because our bloodline fell behind and was no longer able to contest the other part of the family. As a result, we were chased out of the Innerverse.”

Lu Yin instantly understood. The situation was much like how the Daynight clan had both Dayking and Nightking descendants where the Dayking descendants had fallen behind and been condemned to the Sealed Cage Technique by the Nightking descendants, reducing them to nothing more than slaves. The Dark Phoenix family had been a bit more fortunate, as they had managed to flee the Innerverse.

Upon thinking back, Lu Yin had encountered many similar situations before, including the Gasfire Alliance, which was likely facing a similar ordeal.

There were too many large clans and families, and divisions and strife were unavoidable. Some branches of a group might become too powerful and would take the lead rather than follow along, and this was something perfectly normal.

“Since you guys arrived here in the Outerverse, has the Phoenix family caused any trouble for you?” Lu Yin asked.

Tanno Phoenix answered in a gleeful tone, “They’ve tried, but my Dark Phoenix family is not so easily provoked. Also, we have an excellent relationship with Astral-9, which has left the Phoenix family slightly apprehensive.”

Lu Yin nodded. While the Astral Combat Academy might seem like a mere educational institution, it contained all sorts of hidden powerhouses, and Astral-9’s Headmaster was quite terrifying.

That night, Tanno Phoenix led the Dark Phoenix family to hold a grand reception for Lu Yin. The change in their attitude was rather rapid, as quite recently, they had openly loathed Lu Yin and maintained haughty attitudes. They had even sent troops to help fight against the Great Eastern Alliance. However, after they joined the Great Eastern Alliance, all of their former arrogance instantly vanished.

During this visit, Lu Yin also spoke with Tanno Phoenix about Taylor Phoenix’s death. Taylor Phoenix had not been killed by Lu Yin, but rather, he had been slandered by Sall Phoenix.

Tanno Phoenix solemnly apologized to Lu Yin for this matter.

Lu Yin accepted the apology. Although he had not personally killed Taylor Phoenix, the youth’s death was still related to Lu Yin, and he had not felt the slightest bit of remorse for it. In the past, Taylor Phoenix had taken the initiative to challenge Lu Yin, and he had also cooperated with Sall Phoenix to attack Lu Yin. The heir to the Dark Phoenix family had died soon after, as otherwise, Lu Yin definitely would have made moves to eliminate him.

For his clansmen, Tanno Phoenix managed to endure his loss.

The family was able to tolerate Lu Yin’s behavior, but they could not tolerate Ku Wei’s words.

When the banquet started, the young experts of the Dark Phoenix family challenged Ku Wei one after another. This thrilled him, as he quite enjoyed bullying these people. In his own words, these frogs lacked experience and were easily trampled by him.

There was a thump as another Dark Phoenix family expert was slammed against a wall, defeated.

Ku Wei laughed. He had already defeated twelve people from the Dark Phoenix family so far, and this winning streak felt very invigorating.

The people from the Dark Phoenix family all had ugly expressions. They had intended to teach Ku Wei a lesson, but instead, they had all been taught a lesson by him.

Lu Yin sipped his wine and maintained a calm expression.

Tanno Phoenix could not help himself from speaking up, “Alliance Leader Lu, where is your companion from? His strength is astounding.”

Lu Yin smiled. “Patriarch, it’s best not to compliment him. He’s already at his limit.”

“Is that so?” Tanno Phoenix’s eyes flashed as he glanced down at Goldric Phoenix.

Goldric Phoenix stood up and confronted Ku Wei. “Brother, let’s have a duel.”

Ku Wei’s brows rose as he seriously evaluated Goldric Phoenix. He knew that if someone still dared to challenge him at this time, then they had to have some hidden cards. “What’s your name?”

“Goldric Phoenix.”

Ku Wei frowned. This name sounded familiar.

Lu Yin stared at Goldric Phoenix. Wei Rong had once mentioned this person, describing him as the strongest expert of the Dark Phoenix family’s younger generation and as someone who had far surpassed Taylor Phoenix. He was even considered powerful enough to eventually be able to challenge the Ten Arbiters.

Ever since he heard that, Lu Yin had been very curious about this person’s innate gift, and it seemed that he would find out at this time.

The Dark Phoenix family roused themselves when they saw that Goldric Phoenix was about to act. They all felt that his victory was already guaranteed.

“Let’s go then.” Ku Wei continued acting casually, but his expression had hardened and become a bit more serious.

Goldric Phoenix had a solemn expression as he stepped forward. At the same time, streams of dark flames shot into the sky, their high temperature causing Ku Wei’s expression to change. This person was definitely on a completely different level compared to all of the earlier challengers.

The dark flames formed an enormous hand that crashed down towards Ku Wei. Along its path, the void distorted, and spatial cracks spread out. This first attack had already surpassed the power level of a Hunter.

Ku Wei raised a hand as he stared closely at the hand formed from dark flames as it descended. Then, his lips curled up as he moved both of his hands and changed his posture. Each time he moved, the dark flames would shrink a little.

Soon, Goldric Phoenix’s dark flames had entirely vanished.

The entire Dark Phoenix family was stunned. “He’s actually using a lockbreaking technique. This kid’s lockbreaking ability is quite impressive.”

“He’s an Intermediate Lockbreaker at the very least,” someone realized.

“So he’s actually a Lockbreaker.”

…

Goldric Phoenix was shocked, and his gaze grew sharp. An even more terrifying amount of dark flames rose out from beneath the ground to fill the sky, and they completely enveloped Ku Wei. Goldric Phoenix had fought against Lockbreakers before, and their techniques always needed time whereas his dark flames did not.

Step by step, Ku Wei retreated. The dark flames were extremely invasive in nature, and its high temperature filled the sky as the surroundings became so hot that even Lu Yin was impressed by the level of heat.

It was no wonder why Goldric Phoenix was hailed as a talent who would be able to challenge the Ten Arbiters one day. Lu Yin could see an impressive amount of rune lines on the youth, and his strength was clearly enough to be ranked among the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings.

If Ku Wei continued to only use lockbreaking methods and his own battle experience, he would definitely end up losing this fight.

“Interesting. Who knew that the Dark Phoenix family still had an expert like you.” Ku Wei grew interested. However, as he spoke, his domain surged forth and enveloped the whole area. And when his domain appeared, a giant finger fell down from above. This was his forcefield, and the finger moved towards Goldric Phoenix.

The Dark Phoenix family people felt scornful. A forcefield was a powerful means of attack, and very few in the entire universe were able to comprehend a forcefield. However, such methods were useless against the Dark Phoenix family because they could use their dark flames to burn away forcefields.

The crowd had assumed that Goldric Phoenix would be able to easily burn away Ku Wei’s forcefield, but Goldric Phoenix foolishly stood rooted in place and allowed the finger to simply strike him. His entire body was smacked underground.

Every member of the Dark Phoenix family was left dumbstruck. What had just happened? Why hadn’t Goldric Phoenix moved out of the way?

If Goldric Phoenix had not been someone from the Dark Phoenix family, then these people would have even suspected that the entire match was nothing but a farce.

Tanno Phoenix and the other members of the older generation had solemn faces, and they all stared at Ku Wei. That finger…

Underground, Goldric Phoenix had not been too badly injured, as the finger had not released too much strength after falling upon him, which was how Ku Wei was showing mercy. Goldric Phoenix knew that he had been defeated, but what the hell had just happened?

When that finger had descended, he had only been able to see the color grey, and it had felt as if everything around him had been wilting. There had been a strange sense of peace within his heart, and he had held absolutely no desire to resist the attack, which was why he had allowed the finger to land. Just what sort of power was this?

When he saw Finger Tap again, Lu Yin was just as overwhelmed as before. This truly was the Ku family’s top battle technique.

Lu Yin had only learned the utmost basics of Finger Tap, enough for him to train his finger so that it could use his Dream Finger multiple times. However, he had not been allowed to learn the true essence of Finger Tap.

Tanno Phoenix stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression. “Your Highness, is that...?”

Even if the man was less intelligent, he still would have realized that Ku Wei was not an ordinary person. Goldric Phoenix had the strength to enter the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings at the very least, but he had still been easily defeated. In fact, the win was so extreme that he had not even been able to use his innate gift.

Lu Yin indifferently answered, “His surname is Ku. Have you heard of that name before?”

Tanno Phoenix replied, “I know that name, hold on.” Then, Tanno Phoenix revealed a look of disbelief. “Ku? Could it be?”

Lu Yin smiled and nodded.

Tanno Phoenix was overwhelmed. He looked at Ku Wei once again, this time with a completely different expression. The Seven Courts’ Ku family from the Neoverse… It’s no wonder why he’s so powerful.

Goldric Phoenix emerged from the ground, and he looked over at Ku Wei, clearly shaken. “I’ve lost.”

Ku Wei arrogantly responded, “There is honor even in defeat. Not everyone is qualified for me to display my battle technique.”

Goldric Phoenix frowned. Although he had admitted defeat, he was a bit unwilling as he had not even been able to use his innate gift.

The banquet thus concluded with Ku Wei’s impressive battle results. He was very happy on this day, as he had completely dominated the Dark Phoenix family. Although he did not care much about a mere Outerverse clan, achieving a complete victory was still quite refreshing.

Lu Yin inhaled the night wind of Darkflame Continent as he stood atop a mountain peak. He could not feel the high temperature at all.

“Your Highness, in the end, the Dark Phoenix family is quite cordial, haha.” Ku Wei laughed.

Lu Yin glanced over. “You’re quite happy with yourself? Then why don’t the two of us have a spar? I'm still very curious about your Finger Tap.”

Ku Wei immediately refused. “How could I fight against Your Highness? That would be disrespectful. I, Ku Wei, was raised properly.”