Star Odyssey

Chapter?C.2633 – The New Inn

"Do I only need an invitation from you? What about the Ruling Council?" Lu Yin asked.

You Fang replied, "The Bureau does not need the Ruling Council's approval. The Sixverse Association and the Bureau are technically one and the same. Even without an invitation from the Bureau here, you still have the right to enter the Transcendent Universe’s Bureau and help hunt down spies. There was no need for you to speak to us at all, and doing so was entirely superfluous."

Lu Yin frowned. Was this true? In that case, he had been careless. It was no wonder why You Fang had agreed to Lu Yin’s request. The man had put on a show of being provoked and forced into agreeing with things, but in reality, You Fang could not have refused from the beginning. He had only dragged things out in order to test Xuan Qi.

The father and his daughter really worked well together.

He felt a headache come on. It was not easy to deal with these two as opponents.

"Oh right, have Lele join you. She's too innocent and needs to get a taste of the darker aspects of human nature," You Fang suddenly added.

You Lele was taken aback., "Father, what are you saying? Join who?"

"Xuan Qi, of course. He is able to deceive even spies, which means that there's nobody more conniving than him," You Fang stated matter-of-factly.

Lu Yin's expression soured. "Senior, all that I do with the Bureau is done for humanity. Your words are uncalled for."

"I won't go! I want to keep researching the cultivation technology!" You Lele refused.

You Fang tried to persuade the girl. "Xuan Qi is definitely scheming something, so if you can figure it out, it will be proof of your capabilities. You can postpone your cultivation technology research for a while. Treat this like a vacation."

You Lele was instantly convinced.

Lu Yin ended the call. The father and daughter from the You family were completely looking down on him. Were they arrogant or proud of their abilities?

Not even He Ran could antagonize the You family without facing consequences. The family had created the Bestowal Art, and their attitude towards Lu Yin was proof of just how robust their family's foundation was.

Superiority was ingrained into their very existence, and they looked down on everyone.

Lu Yin started becoming far more interested in the You family.

…

It was impossible to remain in the Transcendent Universe for too long without triggering some unwanted surveillance.

Lu Yin quickly returned to the Voidforce Universe, and when he arrived in the Red Zone, he suddenly recalled something. "Where did Old Dian go?"

Since returning, he had not seen Old Dian even once. Lu Yin immediately tried to contact the old man with a communication crystal, but he could not get through.

Lu Yin asked the Bureau Manager and the other team captains to try to contact Old Dian, but no one could reach him, and none of them even knew where he had gone.

The Bureau Manager suggested that Lu Yin check with Ghost Three. Of everyone in the Bureau, Ghost Three had a good relationship with Old Dian.

Ghost Three stood before Lu Yin, uncertain of how to share what he knew.

Lu Yin’s brow furrowed. "Do you know where Old Dian went?"

Ghost Three replied, "Old Dian- Old Dian told me that if he didn't return within ten days, I should inform the Acting Bureau Director."

"Just tell me," Lu Yin ordered. In order for the Bureau to successfully bring Cheng Feng back to headquarters, Old Dian had been forced to reveal himself as a Void Morphora, which had been a shock to Boss Guan and the other team captains. The old man had also mentioned that revealing himself would cause people to come after him. At the time, Lu Yin had assured the man that he would be protected. He had no intention of going back on his word, and he was also very curious about who could capture Old Dian. The old man had been so scared that he had kept his true cultivation hidden, which suggested that something might have gone terribly wrong.

As Ghost Three led Lu Yin to where Old Dian had gone, Lu Yin was hoping that nothing had happened to the old man. Normally, a Void Morphora would not face impossible difficulties, and in addition to his personal strength, Old Dian was one of the Bureau’s officials. While the Bureau had a bad reputation, it was not an organization to be trifled with.

However, when Lu Yin arrived at the place that the old man had mentioned, his face fell. It was already clear that things were more troublesome than Lu Yin had anticipated. There was a lingering voidforce energy in the place that left him with a sense of impending doom. It was… the power of a Void Suprema.

"What happened?" Lu Yin asked as he turned to look at Ghost Three.

The man looked lost. "This subordinate does not know. Old Dian only told me that he would come here because it’s where his descendants are. I just saw his descendants, but Old Dian isn't here."

"Who is trying to capture him?" Lu Yin asked again.

Ghost Three answered with a bitter expression, "Acting Bureau Director, I really don’t know. Old Dian never told any of us, though he would often complain about life and mention his own impending death. I asked him about it several times, but he never revealed anything more."

Lu Yin’s brow furrowed. "Does he have a grudge with any Void Supremas?"

Ghost Three looked shocked. "A Void Suprema? Did a Void Suprema go after Old Dian?"

"I am asking you."

"This subordinate does not know. My Voidforce Universe only has a few peak experts, so if the person who captured Old Dian is really a Void Suprema, you might want to ask the Bureau Director about this. He might know, as he was the one who recruited Old Dian into the Bureau."

Lu Yin immediately reached out to Xu Wuji.

Some time later, the man arrived in person, though he did not look at all happy. "Ghost Three, you can leave."

Ghost Three knew that he was not supposed to hear the following conversation, and he also had no curiosity about it, so he quickly left. His top priority was his own safety.

After Ghost Three left, Xu Wuji let out a sigh. "So he still ended up being captured."

"What happened? Which Void Suprema came after Old Dian? Is it because of a personal grudge of some sort?" Lu Yin asked. He had become familiar with most of the Voidforce Universe’s top experts, and he had even met Lord Xu. It did not seem likely that any of those Void Supremas would act against Old Dian.

Xu Wuji replied, "He was not attacked by an enemy, but rather, there are certain rules that simply cannot be broken. However, that’s exactly what he did. I also broke those rules, which makes things troublesome."

"Bureau Director, when I ordered him to reveal his strength, I also promised that I would protect him. Please tell me exactly what happened," Lu Yin somberly asked.

Xu Wuji took out a couple of drinks and handed one cup to Lu Yin, who accepted it.

"You should already have heard of the New Inn," Xu Wuji began.

Lu Yin looked surprised. "The New Inn that’s at the frontlines of the battlefield?"

Xu Wuji nodded. "Old Dian escaped from the New Inn, and he’s been captured by the New Inn’s innkeeper: Chou Bao."

Lu Yin instantly understood. So that was what had happened.

The New Inn was located at the very front of the Voidforce Universe’s battlefront with Aeternus. Just like its name implied, the place was an inn, and it would offer anyone accommodations, provided that they were not guilty of betraying humanity. As soon as anyone entered the inn, all past grudges would be forgotten. No one from the Voidforce Universe was allowed to seek revenge within the inn’s walls, as doing so would mean facing the wrath of the Innkeeper, Chou Bao.

Chou Bao was a Void Suprema, and while he was not an ancient and powerful expert on the same level as Xu Wuwei, he was still a Void Suprema, which meant that he was not someone who could be casually offended.

Entering the inn meant receiving Chou Bao's protection, but the price for that protection was never being allowed to leave the inn. They would need to live at the inn forever. If the inn was destroyed, then so too would everyone who belonged to it.

The New Inn constantly remained at the forefront of the Voidforce Universe’s battlefield against Aeternus, which meant that it was constantly under attack. The place risked destruction at every moment, which was one of the many reasons why people avoided visiting the New Inn to get revenge on those who had joined it.

The purpose of the New Inn was to provide a refuge where people could offer their last bit of strength to protect humanity.

If Old Dian had joined the New Inn, he should have never left according to the place’s rules. Clearly, the man had escaped. It only made sense that the New Inn would refuse to let Old Dian off, and Chou Bao had personally moved out to capture Old Dian. The remnant power of a Void Suprema that Lu Yin had sensed belonged to Chou Bao.

"Old Dian broke the rules by escaping from the New Inn, and I broke its rules by sheltering him despite knowing his crimes. He has been taken back by Chou Bao, which means that it is now impossible to get him back. Things will not end well for him," Xu Wuji said with a sigh.

Lu Yin asked, "Why did Old Dian escape? Who forced him to join the New Inn in the first place? Also, why did you protect him after he escaped, Bureau Director, knowing that you would be breaking the New Inn's rules?"

Xu Wuji took a sip of his drink. "I don't know the answers to your first two questions, as I never asked. As for your third question…"

The man set his drink down. "Old Dian has a keen nose, which is a valuable tool for the Bureau. When I saw him, I immediately asked him to join, and it was only after he did so that I learned that he had escaped from the New Inn. After personally recruiting him, if I were to send him back to the New Inn, or tell Chou Bao of his whereabouts, wouldn't that cause me to lose face?

"How would others see me, Xu Wuji? Wouldn’t they think that I’m intimidated by Chou Bao? What a joke."

Lu Yin sipped his drink. "So, you didn’t actually know Old Dian all that well, Bureau Director?"

"If Chou Bao was willing to shelter the man, then there was no reason for my Bureau to not do the same. Upon joining the Bureau, a person’s past no longer matters, provided that they can help find and capture spies," Xu Wuji stated.

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "So what now? Chou Bao has already taken him back.”

"What can we do? Don’t tell me you want to take him away from the New Inn. Doing that will only lead to a confrontation with Chou Bao, who is a Void Suprema," Xu Wuji replied.

Lu Yin replied, "Bureau Director, in recent months, the Bureau has captured many spies, which has caused our reputation to soar in the Sixverse Association. Aside from me, do you realize just how famous Old Dian has become? During my recent trip to the Transcendent Universe, even the people there mentioned that the reason why I have been able to arrest so many spies has been because of Old Dian's nose, and that’s absolutely true. There are many people throughout the Sixverse Association who are aware that Old Dian is a member of the Voidforce Universe's Bureau. Now that he has been taken away by the New Inn…”

Xu Wuji's face fell as he understood how severe the humiliation facing the Bureau really was. Chou Bao had stolen Xu Wuji’s subordinate. If Xu Wuji really did nothing about that, he would not be able to live with the shame.

He was the one who had allowed Old Dian to remain in the Bureau, even after learning of the Void Morphora’s past. That was because Xu Wuji had not wanted people to think that he was afraid of Chou Bao. Old Dian’s capture was nothing less than a public slap across Xu Wuji’s face. People would not care about reasons behind it, or the rules that had been broken. All they would know was that one of the Bureau’s team captains had been taken away by the New Inn. If Xu Wuji, the Bureau Director, did nothing about this, it would show that he was too scared to protect his subordinates, which would paint him as a spineless and unworthy leader.

"Bureau Director, whatever happens, shouldn’t we first visit the New Inn?" Lu Yin asked.

“Let’s go." With that, the man led Lu Yin to the New Inn.

Lu Yin was not going to be too insistent on bringing Old Dian back. The man had broken the New Inn’s rules, and those rules existed for a reason. Old Dian had willingly joined the New Inn to avoid death, but he had later regretted his choice. That was something that no one could help him with. However, since Lu Yin promised to protect Old Dian, he needed to at least make an attempt.

Their trip would be difficult, as the Bureau could not take the moral high ground.

Lu Yin had seen the Three Monarchs Universe’s rainbow wall, and he had also seen the Cyclic Universe’s Wall of Purity. This time, he was finally seeing the Voidforce Universe’s battlefield. Soon, he laid eyes on a giant vortex. It was a massive storm of the voidforce energy that was omnipresent in the Voidforce Universe.

He stared blankly at the maelstrom before him. The rainbow wall and the Wall of Purity had both been visually shocking, but the Voidforce Universe’s battlefield was just as impressive, if not moreso. The incredible power of the voidforce energy vortex that surrounded the entire universe was truly awe-inspiring.

"First time seeing this, huh?" Xu Wuji asked, "This is my Voidforce Universe’s border, and whoever sees it for the first time struggles to comprehend how Lord Xu achieved this."

"So, how did he?" Lu Yin asked.

Xu Wuji solemnly replied, "I don’t know. Lord Xu's power is not something that we can comprehend."

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