Chapter 1916: Reasonable Madmen

City Master Qing had not expected Lu Yin to be the person who was protecting Azure Mansion. This was not an opponent that even Gods' Origin could deal with. Even if his status as one of the Hall of Honor’s overseers was ignored, the Great Eastern Alliance already had more Envoys than Gods' Origin, let alone a lone powerhouse like City Master Qing. On top of that, Lu Yin was supported by the Cosmic Sect, Eversky Island, and the Hall of Honor. Dozens of Envoys had fought in the Outerverse war, and there had even been six monsters with power levels of over a million. Even the Neoverse had been shaken when they had learned of Lu Yin’s influence.

Gods' Origin was powerful, and it was a giant even in the Neoverse, but they could not compare to the Great Eastern Alliance any longer. There were even rumors that Semi-Progenitors had appeared during the Outerverse war, and if those rumors were true, Lu Yin’s power was beyond what anyone had previously imagined.

If City Master Qing had known that Lu Yin was the one who had slapped him in Azure Mansion, he would have stopped Yao Hong even if had killed him in an attempt to thwart future problems. At this moment, City Master Qing was not facing a mere problem, but a hopeless situation.

Lu Yin retracted his hand. "Did that woman go to ask Gods' Origin for help?"

City Master Qing was startled by the question. "Overseer Lu, I have nothing to do with that! She is God of Magnificence, one of the Eighteen Gods in Gods' Origin. Even in that place, she holds a high status and enjoys a tremendous amount of support, which is why she acts so fearlessly in my Skyraiser City. Not even I dare to reprimand her, as she is one of God of Mirrors’ followers."

Lu Yin arched a brow. "God of Mirrors?"

City Master Qing forcefully endured his pain to answer. "God of Mirrors is one of Gods’ Origin’s powerhouses, and he is second only to God of Flames. Seeing as how God of Flames is always training in seclusion, God of Mirrors is the one who oversees Gods’ Origin. Nearly half of the Eighteen Gods are her disciples, and there will be a strong reaction to what happened here, as offending Yao Hong is essentially the same as offending half of Gods' Origin. That’s why no one ever dares to cross her."

"What was Jin Mie's position back when he was in Gods' Origin?" Lu Yin asked.

City Master Qing became confused. "Jin Mie?"

Lu Yin casually replied, "The leader of one of the Cosmic Sea’s Four Pirate Crews. He was the leader of the Ignition Crew. Jin Mie."

City Master Qing answered, "I'm not very familiar with the Cosmic Sea, let alone Jin Mie, but there were once rumors of a traitor who betrayed Gods' Origin and who was being pursued by both God of Mirrors and God of Magenta,1 forcing the traitor to flee from the Neoverse. It’s possible that person was Jin Mie. I remember that they were known as God of Embers.

"That traitor is considered a forbidden topic in Gods' Origin, as no one is allowed to speak of them. Even Yao Hong is unwilling to mention such things, so we really don't know much of the matter. But wasn't the Ignition Crew destroyed by Leon’s Armada?"

"I- I know a bit," Qing Yu spoke up from a little ways away with a voice that trembled. He was still staring at Lu Yin in terror.

Lu Yin glanced over. "You do? Tell me something worthwhile, and then maybe I’ll consider letting you go."

City Master Qing quickly encouraged his son, "Little Yu, share everything you know! Everything! Don’t try to leave anything out."

Qing Yu stammered, "I- I don't know much. Yao Hong once spoke a bit about it when she got drunk. She said that the reason why God of Embers was considered a traitor to Gods’ Origin was because he stole something from some Rune Technology ruins, and that was why God of Mirrors and God of Magenta tried to hunt God of Embers down. All she knew of that matter was that despite so many years passing, God of Mirrors and God of Magenta have never given up on capturing the traitor, and they still occasionally make long trips to try to capture God of Embers."

"Anything else?" City Master Qing pressed.

Qing Yu shook his head. "No, nothing- Wait, there is something else! Yao Hong once said that when God of Magenta left a little while ago, he had gone out to find and kill Jin Mie, but during the war in the Cosmic Sea, Jin Mie escaped."

City Master Qing stared at Lu Yin in a pleading manner as he awaited his fate to be decided.

Lu Yin started thinking. What Qing Yu had just said added up. Jin Mie had indeed escaped from that battlefield, and it did not seem normal for Gods' Origin to continue chasing after someone so relentlessly. Where could Jin Mie have hidden whatever it was that he had stolen? Was it possible that Leon’s Armada had picked it up after the Ignition Crew had been destroyed?

Although it was unlikely, Lu Yin still sent Big Sis a message to make sure.

She soon answered, and Lu Yin was disappointed to see it was exactly as he had expected.

Everything that Leon’s Armada had picked up from the destroyed Ignition Crew had been accounted for, and there was nothing worth paying any special attention to, let alone something like an ancient relic from the Rune Civilization.

Big Sis would not lie to Lu Yin, and there was no one in Leon’s Armada who cultivated Truesight, so it was useless for them to keep such a thing a secret.

That meant that Jin Mie had likely kept whatever he had stolen with him at all times. Whatever it was, it was so important that he could not risk losing it.

Where was Jin Mie at the moment? Lu Yin stared out into outer space. The universe was truly vast, and given Jin Mie’s strength, he could flee to anywhere. Gods’ Origin was the most reliable means of tracking Jin Mie down, though it might also be possible for Lu Yin to use the Starsibyl Sect.

Skyraiser City drifted about the northern reaches of the Neoverse, and Gods’ Origin was located in the same area. It would only take a powerhouse a single day to get from Gods’ Origin to Skyraiser City.

The next day, City Master Qing was still half buried in the ground, and Qing Yu was lying on the ground nearby. Yao Hong returned, and she had brought an entire group of cultivators with her from Gods’ Origin. Their arrival caused Skyraiser City to tremble.

They were accompanied by an old woman who was an Envoy. Her power level was greater than City Master Qing’s, but even though they were both Envoys, they were not even close to equal. Someone who could use Truesight was incomparable to an ordinary Envoy like City Master Qing.

Yao Hong did not immediately move to help City Master Qing and Qing Yu when she saw their miserable state. Instead, she turned to respectfully address the old woman who had accompanied the group to Skyraiser City. "This must have been done by the person who attacked us in Azure Mansion. Despite knowing that I am a disciple of Gods' Origin, they still dared to act so arrogantly! They clearly are not showing my Gods’ Origin the respect we are due!"

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The old woman's pupils transformed into runes, and she glanced around the city master’s estate before staring in one particular direction. As soon as she noticed something, her expression changed drastically.

She was looking at Lu Yin, who was sitting calmly in place, clearly waiting for the people from Gods’ Origin.

The old woman instantly recognized Lu Yin, as this was not the first time that the two had met each other.

Lu Yin also recognized the old woman. She was the Envoy who had shown up when Lu Yin had been chasing after some members of the Ignition Crew.

"Senior, we must destroy Azure Mansion! We need to find the bastard supporting them who dares to go against our Gods’ Origin." Yao Hong kept ranting. She had not even noticed Lu Yin’s presence.

She was not alone, as none of the other people from Gods' Origin had seen Lu Yin. Only the old woman was looking at him.

"Shut up!" the old woman shouted.

Yao Hong was stunned, and she stared at the old woman in confusion. "Senior?"

She realized the old woman was not looking at anyone nearby, but rather staring into the distance. Following the old woman’s eyes, Yao Hong finally noticed a young man who was staring back at them with a small smile on his face.

The young man looked perfectly average. There was nothing at all about him that stood out or seemed at all special. Still, Yao Hong was no idiot. She was one of the elite Eighteen Gods from Gods' Origin.

They were standing in the place where the city master’s estate had once stood, and the more common a person appeared to be in this place, the more extraordinary they most likely were. In particular, this young man looked incredibly familiar.

The old woman approached Lu Yin and slowly bowed to him. "Gods’ Origin’s God of Wind greets Alliance Leader Lu."

This was a completely different attitude than the one the woman had shown when she first met Lu Yin. Back then, she had been startled by the strength demonstrated by Liu Ye and Fei Hua, but she had not been concerned by Lu Yin himself. She had even felt that Lu Yin should have worked to gain a better relationship with Gods' Origin, even if Lu Yin had helped to catch some members of the Ignition Crew. She was an Envoy, and thus she felt that such assistance was only natural for a junior to offer.

However, the old woman’s attitude had completely changed. A better relationship with Gods' Origin? Others might be eager for such a thing, but Lu Yin would not be swayed. On the contrary, Gods’ Origin was eager to gain Lu Yin's friendship.

Many people were still ignorant of the details of what had happened during the war in the Outerverse, but Gods’ Origin was aware that Lu Yin had mobilized six old freaks with power levels of over a million, and on top of that, not only had several Semi-Progenitors taken action, but the Progenitor of Bloodlines had also appeared for Lu Yin’s stellular tribulation.

Lu Yin’s stellular tribulation had brought out a manifestation of Progenitor Chen as a peak Enlighter, and yet Lu Yin had been victorious. Although only a select few people were aware of this, the shock that it had brought to all of them was unprecedented.

On top of that, the turmoil that had disrupted the true universe had also been triggered by Lu Yin. This youth was truly able to upend the entire Fifth Mainland, and his current influence was enough to change the balance of power even in the Neoverse.

When it came to both status and pure strength, the old woman could not measure up to Lu Yin. She had no choice but to greet the young man with near reverential respect when seeing him.

Gods' Origin was a power that had always been synonymous in the Fifth Mainland with unparalleled arrogance. Outsiders saw members of Gods’ Origin as madmen. After all, each person from Gods’ Origin declared themselves to be a god! Still, what was a madman? Even insane people could be reasonable about certain things.

They were indeed arrogant individuals, but they knew that they could not act like that before Lu Yin.

After the old woman bowed to Lu Yin, all of the other people from Gods’ Origin behind her bowed in unison.

Alliance Leader Lu? There was only one person in the entire universe with that particular title, and it was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, one of the Hall of Honor’s overseers, and the individual who was truly without equal among his peers: Lu Yin.

Everything suddenly clicked for Yao Hong when she heard this name. Yes, this was Lu Yin. He was the one who had attacked them in Azure Mansion. It was no wonder why he was in the city master’s estate. Everything made sense with Lu Yin being the hidden powerhouse.

"I greet Overseer Lu," Yao Hong bowed extremely low.

City Master Qing was still half buried in the ground, and bitterness filled his eyes as he watched the arrogant and insane cultivators from Gods' Origin bow to a youth. Still, he also found the entire matter somewhat amusing, as this was a perfect example of the difference between people.

Yao Hong was qualified to be rude and arrogant even to an Envoy, but to Lu Yin, who was also an Envoy, all of these people could only lower their heads. After thinking of this, City Master Qing stared at Lu Yin. Just how had the young man accomplished so much? How many years had he spent to reach his current cultivation realm? This was a legend in the making. This was someone who would surpass even legends like Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor.

Lu Yin looked up and quietly gazed at the old woman, but he said nothing.

As long as Lu Yin remained silent, the old woman and everyone else could only continue bowing.

A long time later, Lu Yin finally spoke up, "I am neither your friend nor your enemy, but this time, you’ve gone too far."

The old woman rose back up and answered in an extremely respectful manner, "Alliance Leader Lu, this is all just a misunderstanding. Yao Hong did not know that Azure Mansion now belongs to you."

Lu Yin raised his hand to stop the woman. "Don’t go around spreading nonsense. It doesn’t belong to me."

Everyone from Gods' Origin felt confused.

Lu Yin continued in an indifferent tone, "You may not know this, but Bu Laoweng has become my friend. Azure Mansion still belongs to him, but I had no choice but to step in when I saw my friend’s business being abused. That’s all that this was."

The old woman nodded. "That's perfectly understandable, Alliance Leader Lu."

Some distance away, Qing Yu was still lying on the ground. The young man could not decide whether to laugh or cry. What was this? Since when did anyone from Gods' Origin act so reasonably?

"Since Alliance Leader Lu has stepped out, this matter will end here. I would also like to thank you, Alliance Leader, for showing mercy and sparing Yao Hong's life," the old woman continued in a low voice.

Yao Hong was standing behind the old woman, and she felt truly wronged. Despite being slapped so many times, this matter was ending with her being forced to thank her attacker for showing mercy. Yao Hong was one of the Eighteen Gods from Gods’ Origin. She held a status that was lofty enough to ignore most Envoys. When had she ever been forced to suffer such injustice?

However, Yao Hong did not dare say a word. Gods’ Origin was led by God of Mirrors, but that was merely in name. The truth was that God of Mirrors was constantly in secluded training, and Gods’ Origin was actually run by God of Wind, and this old woman could act however she wished.

Lu Yin stared at the old woman for a long moment. He knew that the people from Gods' Origin were not actually insane. They knew to lower their heads when necessary, and they were actually quicker than almost anyone to submit when needed.

“I believe you, but I don't believe her," Lu Yin replied as he looked over at Yao Hong.

The old woman looked back, and she just happened to see the clear resentment and the unwillingness to accept this outcome in Yao Hong's eyes. God of Wind waved a hand, slapping Yao Hong across the face, sending the young woman flying.

Yao Hong was stunned. She had never expected to be struck, so she was not able to react for quite some time.

[1] Previously translated as Purple God, but changed to allow for consistency among all of the Eighteen Gods. ☜