Star Odyssey

Chapter 2666: Intelligence On Xuan Qi

After Xuan Qi left, He Shu asked, "Sister, what was Xuan Qi here for?"

He Ran did not answer, and she instead looked over at Shao Qingfeng. "Did Chu Jian send you?"

Shao Qingfeng replied, "The Junior Sovereign does not want to see any harm come to Bai Qian."

He Shu's expression changed, and she stared at Shao Qingfeng. "What are you saying? That's not what you told me. Are you threatening my sister?"

Uncle Mo's expression did not change. Had such words been spoken by Xuan Qi, the old man would have instantly suppressed the youth. However, they came from Shao Qingfeng, who was speaking on behalf of the perfect Junior Sovereign. Even Uncle Mo would not dare to be so presumptuous.

He Ran also revealed no anger at all. "He Shu, let Shao Qingfeng finish."

Shao Qingfeng faced He Ran. "Junior Sovereign hopes to have a Bai Qian who is whole in both body and spirit. Sister Ran, he hopes that you will show him a bit of face and not harm her too badly."

He Ran laughed, and hearing it caused Shao Qingfeng's heart to start racing. This woman's beauty was equal to the Junior Sovereign's strength. Both of them could be described as “perfect.” It really was such a pity.

While Shao Qingfeng was the disciple of Sovereign Shao Yin, he knew better than to harbor any such delusions.

Even so, he found it impossible to not lose control of his thoughts every time he laid eyes on this woman.

"The Junior Sovereign is putting me in a difficult position. Without harming Bai Qian, how can I win?" He Ran asked.

Shao Qingfeng forcibly averted his eyes. "Junior Sovereign can help you, Sister Ran, as long as you need it."

He Ran set her chin in a hand, and she seemed to become lost in thought.

No one interrupted her contemplations, and they all waited in silence.

"I have a solution: as long as the Junior Sovereign can do this, I won't need to compete with Bai Qian, and I can also guarantee that she won't be hurt," He Ran casually stated while looking at Shao Qingfeng.

The young man looked up. "Please, continue."

A charming curve graced the corners of He Ran's mouth, captivating Shao Qingfeng to the point of being dazed. "Chu Jian should meet Bai Qian in person."

Shao Qingfeng felt confused by the comment, and he simply stared at He Ran.

He Ran gave a small laugh. "Desecration."

Shao Qingfeng's eyes shifted, "What do you mean, Sister Ran?"

He Ran made a shushing motion. It was a playful gesture that neither Uncle Mo nor He Shu had ever seen before, but it only added to the woman’s appeal. "You should understand what I’m saying. Go tell the Junior Sovereign that I've given him the method. Whether he can accomplish it is up to him. If he can’t, then he shouldn’t ask such a thing of me. After all, the Junior Sovereign is just the Junior Sovereign, and he is not the same as the Great Sovereign.

"He can’t be too demanding. No one appreciates that."

Shao Qingfeng's eyes flickered. "I understand. I will give Junior Sovereign your message. Then, Sister Ran, I shall take my leave."

He Ran nodded, and she watched as Shao Qingfeng departed.

Once Shao Qingfeng left, He Shu's face twisted in displeasure. "Sister, you can't do that to Bai Qian. She-"

Before he could finish his sentence, He Ran interrupted him, "You're still hung up on Bai Qian? You and she will never be together. Not now, not ever."

He Shu was unwilling to accept this. His affection for Bai Qian was known to everyone, and his feelings had even sparked several arguments with He Ran. The fact that He Ran was encouraging the Junior Sovereign to desecrate Bai Qian cut He Shu to the bone.

In a stern tone, He Ran declared, "I don't care what you think. Bai Qian cannot remain here in the Transcendent Universe. If she doesn't end up belonging to the Junior Sovereign, then she must die. She can never be yours, He Shu. Listen to me carefully—never!"

Having said what she needed to, He Ran dismissed He Shu.

Uncle Mo voiced his concerns, "Madam, is this appropriate? Once this is discovered, you'll-"

Again, He Ran interrupted him. "No one will find out. I know when and what to say. This is the fastest and most effective method to deal with this matter. The Junior Sovereign is too overbearing, and he even compares himself to the Great Sovereign. He actually believes that everyone should listen to him."

"Rumors claim that, of the Three Sovereigns’ seats, one is reserved for this Junior Sovereign. He is destined to replace one of those experts," Uncle Mo stated.

He Ran's eyes grew as sharp as swords. "That’s exactly why so many fear him. However, that's the Cyclic Universe's business. Even if he is eligible to become a Sovereign, none of the current Sovereigns are people to be trifled with. Even the Sovereign least favored by the Great Sovereign is recognized as the foremost of the Three Sovereigns, and they are not an easy person to deal with. None of this matters to us. Even if Chu Jian becomes one of the Sovereigns, it won't affect my Transcendent Universe. Once our sequence particle research is completed, who will care about the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages? Even the Great Sovereign-"

He Ran abruptly stopped speaking, and Uncle Mo cautiously released his energy to ensure that no one was listening in.

"I need to rest," He Ran wearily stated.

Uncle Mo vanished.

Along the staircase, ethereal lights danced among the fluttering petals. It was a beautiful sight that seemed to come from a different world.

***

After leaving He Ran, Lu Yin did not return to either the Ziyou Realm or the Three Monarchs Universe. Instead he visited a secret place and took Luo Lao'er along with him.

While most of the Transcendent Universe was constantly under surveillance, thanks to You Fang, Lu Yin had learned of a few areas that were outside of the universe’s monitoring system.

While Lu Yin’s strength was enough to allow him to escape even if he was being watched, that would instantly alert the Transcendent Universe, and that was simply not worth it.

"Contact your information broker. I want to buy more from them," Lu Yin stated.

The information broker had sold out Luo Lao'er by selling information to Monarch Luo, which had caused Monarch Luo to attack the You family and invade their territory. However, the true trigger for that entire series of events had been Lu Yin testing the information broker.

However, no matter what Lu Yin was testing, there was no denying that Luo Lao’er had basically been betrayed by his information broker.

Even so, the information broker answered Luo Lao’er’s call.

The previous matter was not mentioned at all. Luo Lao'er needed information, and the broker needed to sell information. Whoever came out on top depended on who proved to be more skilled.

"I want to buy everything there is on Monarch Luo," Lu Yin stated. He was still rather uncertain about Monarch Luo's situation. Chen Le, Uncle Mo, and Monarch Mu had all given him different stories. Before moving against the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin had to gain a much better understanding of Monarch Luo.

On the other end of the call, in a dimly lit place, a pair of weary eyes stared at the display.

"Is Luo Lao'er still buying information from me? He must realize that I betrayed him. The information that he wants to buy must be really important," the man muttered to himself, "Huh? He wants information on Monarch Luo? Is he trying to turn the tables on the Monarch? It looks like whoever is behind Luo Lao'er is about to make their move."

The man took a while to pinpoint Luo Lao'er's location. "He's no longer in the Ziyou Realm, and is instead in a rather desolate area. Pointless, though it does appear that he's become more cautious. Well then, we’ll treat this as a normal trade. However, how am I supposed to have any information on Monarch Luo?"

Luo Lao'er soon received a message. "Brother-in-law, there’s only information about the Transcendent Universe. There’s nothing beyond this place."

Lu Yin was disappointed. While he did want to know the identity of the information broker, information about Monarch Luo was also very important. Unfortunately, that information was not available. What a pity.

"Buy Zi Jing's location," Lu Yin continued.

Luo Lao'er passed the request to the information broker.

Upon seeing the request, the man frowned and felt increasingly frustrated. "Zi Jing's location? I'm looking for that myself! Why is everyone forcing me to search for that? I want to know myself."

Even as the man spoke to himself, he sent a response to Luo Lao'er, who was starting to feel rather helpless. "Brother-in-law, he doesn’t know that either."

"How does he not know anything?" Lu Yin was getting frustrated.

Luo Lao'er sent this question as well.

On the other end, the man ground his teeth but was unable to retort. This was not his fault; Zi Jing's location was a secret to the entire Transcendent Universe. How was he supposed to find her location? As for information about Monarch Luo, the man was not even a part of the Transcendent Universe.

The information broker really wanted to lash out, but he held himself back.

As for Lu Yin, he said, "Then have him find out the purpose of Shao Qingfeng's meeting with He Ran today."

Just as Luo Lao'er was about to send the message, he paused. "Brother-in-law, won't this question expose who you really are?"

"It's fine. Ke Jian also knows about the meeting, and they didn’t try to hide anything, so many people might have seen them," Lu Yin replied. He had already considered everything.

After a short pause, Luo Lao’er received another response: "Unknown."

In the gloomy region, a string of curses rang out. "Just who is Luo Lao'er working for? If they already know that Shao Qingfeng met He Ran, then they clearly are not just anyone. Could it be someone from the You family? They’re the only ones in the Transcendent Universe with these abilities. Could it be someone else? I need to find out who’s visited He Ran recently, but it’s too difficult to find out anything about that place. It’s just impossible to investigate there."

Luo Lao'er sent a few more sarcastic remarks back, enraging the information broker. "Is this bastard just trying to get revenge?"

As for Lu Yin, he just frowned. "Ask him to investigate Xuan Qi."

Luo Lao'er was caught off guard. "You want to investigate yourself?"

"Let's find out just how much he knows about me. The more detailed the information, the better. This will infuriate him," Lu Yin answered.

Luo Lao'er nodded. "Got it."

With that, he started to negotiate with the information broker.

As soon as the man realized that Luo Lao’er wanted information about Xuan Qi, he finally relaxed a bit. This was something that he could actually do. He told Luo Lao'er to wait for a bit.

Luo Lao'er reported to Lu Yin, "He says that he can only find information regarding Xuan Qi that happened here in the Transcendent Universe, but he promises detailed information."

Lu Yin nodded and then proceeded to quietly wait.

After half an hour, information regarding Xuan Qi was presented to Lu Yin.

He quickly skimmed what he had received, and sure enough, everything was specified in great detail, starting from when he had first appeared and been thrown into the beast arena. There was detailed information about the time he spent in the Cloudflow Universe, as well as information about the Sixverse Academy.

This information broker had truly gone to great lengths to demonstrate his abilities.

Suddenly, Lu Yin's expression grew sharp. He had just noticed a very specific detail: “Xuan Qi met Zi Jing in the Sixverse Academy.”

Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he recounted every detail of that particular meeting with Zi Jing. If he remembered correctly, she had just made some progress in her sequence particle research, and as a reward, He Ran had allowed Zi Jing to meet with Xuan Qi. Very few people knew that Zi Jing had visited the Sixverse Academy to meet him, and it was not something that could be learned through any kind of investigation.

From that moment on, Zi Jing's whereabouts had been shrouded in absolute secrecy, and she became completely untraceable to outsiders. The idea of anyone learning of the meeting between her and Xuan Qi at the Sixverse Academy was impossible.

The only possible explanation was that the information broker was someone who had been in close contact with Zi Jing, close enough to speak to her. Could this person also be a member of the Energy Research Group?

It certainly was not impossible.

"What do you think this person's role is within the Transcendent Universe? What do you find to be the most likely answer from what you know?" Lu Yin asked

Luo Lao'er thought for a moment. "Given my understanding of the Transcendent Universe, anyone who can access this much information either holds a very high position, like someone from the You family, or possesses the technical skills or has work related to the surveillance system that monitors the entire Transcendent Universe. However, the latter is not very likely. Those people are all very strictly monitored by others, and most likely wouldn’t have any opportunity to sell any information.

"The great You family can monitor the entire Transcendent Universe, so they have no need to resort to these methods of selling information. Given all of this, the most likely answer is that this person has the technical expertise to tap into the surveillance system."

Lu Yin looked up and stared into outer space. Technical expertise, was it?

In the Transcendent Universe, the people with the greatest levels of expertise should be working together with Zi Jing. The Transcendent Universe's current top priority was the sequence particle research, and there was no way that they would not dedicate all of their greatest minds to the project. This suggested that the information broker had most likely worked with Zi Jing in the past, but had not been sent to the parallel universe with the accelerated time flow.

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