Chapter 3425: Big Boss

Despite knowing that such kindness was impossible, Cai Jun still chose to speak. After all, he had nothing to lose. If in some one-in-a-million chance Senior Old Tao was willing to intervene, then Cai Jun might just be able to regain what he deserved.

That was his thought as he started to share his story.

It was a simple story. The Cai family was part of the Ascendant Hall, and it was a family of great significance. While they could not compare to monsters like Heavenspire, the Primal Beastland, or the Gate of Laws, their influence still nearly rivaled that of the Bifrost Palace. This was primarily thanks to a person by the name of Cai Sandao, who was ranked ninth on Spirit Nidus’s White Spirit List.

The White Spirit List ranked all the promising cultivators who had not yet reached the Origin realm. While the list did not rank all the qualified individuals in the Spirit Nidus, it was still a strong indicator of one’s strength within their realm.

For example, Palace Master Yao had once been ranked among the top three on the White Spirit List, but she had been removed when she had broken through and become an Ortuser. As for Cai Sandao, just the fact that he was on the list, even if he ranked close to the bottom, was a remarkable achievement. It indicated that he had a 70% chance of eventually reaching the Origin realm.

Having such a talented family member had naturally caused the Cai family’s status to rise. If Cai Sandao eventually managed to break through to the Origin realm, the family’s standing would approach that of the Bifrost Palace, which would make them one of the most powerful forces in the Ascendant Hall.

Cai Jun’s parents were from a branch family, but their extraordinary talent had elevated that branch to a level where not even the main family could ignore them anymore. As they had risen in status, they had also succeeded in accumulating a considerable amount of wealth.

However, Cai Jun’s parents had died while fighting in the Consciousness Megaverse. Overnight, Cai Jun had gone from being the child of a branch family’s geniuses, someone who could compete with the heirs of the main family, to a pitiful wretch whose parents’ wealth had been stolen before being abandoned in the Aevum Inch.

The wealth that his parents had built up had been stolen by a young master from the main family, and it was because of a single comment that the princess of the main family had made. One comment had cost Cai Jun everything. By using the Cai family’s influence, they had thrown Cai Jun off of the battleship, and he had been abandoned in the Aevum Inch.

The young man from the main family had known that no one would save Cai Jun. No one wanted to bear the stigma of killing their own kin, and since Cai Jun’s parents had accomplished great things while fighting in the Consciousness Megaverse, their son could not be attacked directly. However, he could certainly be left behind.

That was Cai Jun’s pitiful story.

There was not much more to say, but it was still enough to evoke sympathy from those who heard his story.

Even Sovereign Dou Sheng turned to look at the young man.

Cai Jun bowed low. He refrained from uttering some naive request for Lu Yin and those with him to seek justice on Cai Jun’s behalf. If they wanted to listen, he would share his story, but he could not do anything to influence whether they would choose to get any further involved.

Even Old Tao felt a touch of pity for Cai Jun. Still, such tales were all too common among cultivators. Fairness? That was a truly laughable concept.

Ba Liu also sympathized with Cai Jun, but then he considered his own circumstances. Who was he to pity anyone? Still, Cai Jun seemed to have a bit of luck, as Lord Lu seemed to favor such people.

Reality was incredibly harsh, and survival was far from easy, even for those born with incredible backgrounds.

The only fairness that existed was life and death.

After having endured such misfortune, Cai Jun earned everyone’s sympathy. If his parents had lived, they would have left him an impressive inheritance. That, with his decent talent and young age meant that he would eventually become a Spirit Warrior at the least. Such a status would be envied by most cultivators.

This was a matter of destiny, which was a force beyond anyone’s control.

Throughout Lu Yin’s journey as a cultivator, he had been aided by countless people: Mister Mu, Leon’s Armada, Astral-10, and many others. Even with the innate gifts that he had inherited from the Seven Heroes, his mirebound artifact, the legacy of the Lu family, and many other opportunities that everyone would be envious of, Lu Yin had still only narrowly escaped death on multiple occasions.

The sympathy only lasted for a moment. Countless people had suffered even worse than Cai Jun, and everyone had seen their share of such people.

Cai Jun himself had never expected anyone to help him. Ultimately, people could only rely on themselves.

Lu Yin calmly observed Cai Jun. The surroundings gradually faded away, until all that remained were faint silhouettes encircling Cai Jun. Lu Yin was using his Inner Clarity Technique.

A spiral of karma twirled around Lu Yin’s fingertip. With a light flick, the spiral shot through the silhouettes and Cai Jun. As that happened, only the Origin Progenitor noticed anything unusual taking place, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. Everyone else was completely oblivious to the workings of karma.

Cai Jun himself felt something when the spiral of karma passed through him, though it was faint and fleeting. He reflexively glanced down at himself, only to find that there was nothing amiss. What had he just felt?

The spiral of karma allowed Lu Yin to catch glimpses of events that had taken place during Cai Jun’s life. Every karmic effect had a cause, and Lu Yin was seeking the cause that had led to Cai Jun being stranded in the Aevum Inch.

Lu Yin saw two young people, a man and a woman, tossing Cai Jun from a battleship.

The spiral of karma at Lu Yin’s fingers shot out again, entering Cai Jun once more.

The young man felt the same fleeting and strange sensation, as though he was being stabbed. He examined himself again, but nothing seemed out of place.

He lifted his head back up and looked at Lu Yin. At that moment, Cai Jun felt as though every detail of his being had been seen through. It was as though he had no secrets in front of this man. There was something about this man that felt like the birth of a universe; somehow pristine and beyond memory. Cai Jun could not voice what he felt, but he did suddenly feel an overwhelming admiration for Lu Yin. It was clear to Cai Jun that he should not hide anything from this man, not even the smallest secret.

“This is too much. We’ll help you,” Lu Yin announced, his demeanor returning to normal.

Cai Jun froze, thinking he must have misheard. “Uh, sir, what did you say?”

Lu Yin replied more sternly, “The Cai family has gone too far! We can’t stand by! We’ll help you.”

Cai Jun heard Lu Yin clearly, but failed to believe what he was hearing. Was such kindness really possible?

Cai Jun had simply shared his story, so why were these people offering to help him without even verifying a single detail? Could there really be such kind-hearted people? The same feeling from before returned, and he felt an innate trust that left him unable to refute Lu Yin’s words.

Around the two men, eyes started to slide away. Ba Liu and Yi Yao were the first criminals to be granted asylum on

Boundless

. While Cai Jun had not committed any crimes, his situation gave Lu Yin the perfect excuse to stir up a bit more trouble. He was the exact kind of person that Lu Yin was searching for.

“If you want our help, then join my Grandverse Manor. I forgot to mention it, but all of us here are part of the same faction. I’m the Third Boss,” Lu Yin said with a casual wave. He then pointed at Old Tao. “He’s the Second Boss.”

Old Tao froze. “My lord, I-”

Lu Yin then pointed at Yuan Qi. “And he’s the Big Boss.”

Yuan Qi was speechless. Was Lu Yin trying to kill him?

Cai Jun was equally stunned. Boss? The title was ridiculous and unreliable. They sounded like a group of mountain bandits. Had he fallen into a trap? Still, given his circumstances, surviving was already a blessing.

Cai Jun bowed low to Yuan Qi. “Junior Cai Jun greets the Big Boss.”

Yuan Qi completely ignored the young man.

Cai Jun then turned to bow to Old Tao. “Greetings, Second Boss.”

Old Tao just rolled his eyes, and Cai Jun finally turned to bow to Lu Yin. “Greetings, Third Boss.”

“Alright, go get some rest,” Lu Yin ordered.

Cai Jun left, but he was unsure of where he should go. All he wanted was to find a quiet place where he could be alone.

Boundless

continued on towards the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin stared off into the darkness, hoping to find another unlucky soul or two. The Grandverse Manor needed to make a name for itself. The bigger the commotion they created, the more attention they would draw from the Spirit Nidus. If they drew attention, they would also receive visitors.

Boundless

would be a source of endless trouble for the Spirit Nidus.

Cai Jun fully recovered after half a month. He stood in the Sand Ocean, staring at the endless sand in a dazed manner.

He replayed every word he had spoken and every word he had heard during the last few weeks. Slowly, the truth dawned on him; these people were not helping him out of some sense of kindness. They were using him.

Unfortunately, he was unable to understand what about him was useful.

After considering things for a long time, Cai Jun left the Sand Ocean to search for the man and woman that he had seen earlier.

Cai Jun had cultivated in the Spirit Nidus for many years, and he had developed some level of skill in judging people.

He had been a bit stunned the day he had been rescued, but out of all the people he had seen at that time, the couple had clearly stood out. They had looked at him differently than the other people. They were also the only two people he had not felt any pressure from. Cai Jun decided to find the pair so that he could understand his situation a bit better.

A few days later, Cai Jun found Ba Liu and Yi Yao in Astral-10’s Treasury.

The two were taking a leisurely stroll with Little Yao.

Cai Jun approached the couple and bowed. “Greetings, seniors.”

He did not feel much pressure from Ba Liu and Yi Yao. It was not that there was no pressure, but rather that it simply could not compare to what the others gave off. While facing these two people alone, Cai Jun was able to sense their auras more clearly, and he realized that they were most likely half-step Spirit Ancestors, or possibly even full Spirit Ancestors.

How could the Grandverse Manor have so many powerhouses?

“What do you need?” Ba Liu asked calmly.

Cai Jun answered respectfully, “Since this junior has joined this Grandverse Manor, I believe that I should learn more about it. I am fortunate to encounter the two of you. Could you spare a bit of time to guide me?”

Yi Yao bent down and picked Little Yao up.

The kitten bared their little teeth and claws at Cai Jun, which looked adorable.

Ba Liu teased Little Yao. “Their name is Little Yao. Cute, aren’t they?”

Cai Jun smiled. “Yes, very cute.”

“They’re a conscient. We’ve adopted them,” Ba Liu continued.

Cai Jun’s expression changed, and when he looked back at Little Yao, his expression was completely different.

Adopting a conscient was strictly forbidden in the Spirit Nidus. Cai Jun glanced at Ba Liu, but before the younger man could say anything, Ba Liu continued on to say, “I’m from the Primal Beastland, which you probably could have guessed. She’s Yi Yao, and she’s from Heavenspire. We’re together.”

With that, Ba Liu returned to playfully teasing Little Yao and then left with Yi Yao.

Cai Jun was left standing in place, dumbfounded by what he had just learned.

What is this madness? How is this even possible?

Adopting a conscient? A beast-form Spirit Rebirth getting together with a human-form Spirit Rebirth? That was already shocking enough, but on top of all of that, the woman was from Heavenspire!

Heavenspire forbade any of their people from marrying outsiders, and that edict had directly come from the High Seraph. These people had committed three grave crimes.

“Oh, by the way, Grandverse Manor’s Big Boss is Yuan Qi,” Ba Liu added casually.

Cai Jun whipped around in shock. “Yuan Qi, the Seraph?”

Ba Liu and Yi Yao were already gone. Cai Jun was left alone with his confusion.

He could no longer make any sense of this Grandverse Manor, but he was certain about one thing: his life had completely changed. What awaited him in the future would undoubtedly greatly exceed anything he could have ever imagined.

It was even possible that he had been dragged into a struggle between Seraphs.

At the Spirit Nidus’s boundary, Seraph Yi Shang once again requested to send a message to Beacon City.

The High Seraph’s reply was blunt: no messages were allowed to be sent to Beacon City. However, the Seraph would be allowed to personally pay a visit to the city and handle matters there.

This response left Yi Shang quite puzzled, but since he was allowed to go to Beacon City, then of course he would go.

To avoid any hidden issues, Yi Shang started gathering experts from his faction, and he also started hiring powerful cultivators by either offering benefits or leveraging personal favors.

Yi Xia was the only person of his generation who had a chance of eventually becoming a Seraph. Yi Shang had gone to great lengths to make Yi Xia the city lord of Beacon City. With that position and enough personal strength, Yi Xia would eventually become a Seraph. That was enough to ensure that the Chamber of Commerce would maintain its dominant position for another era. The Spirit Nidus’s Chamber of Commerce was currently the cornerstone of the entire domain’s future. Nothing could be allowed to jeopardize that.

The Tianyuan Megaverse? Yi Shang would make them understand just how terrifying the power of an entire domain could be.