Star Odyssey

Chapter 2613: Recruiting Help

Of course, Lu Yin was already aware of everything that Yi Jun was saying. He had heard a similar explanation from Shi Jiao when she had tried to persuade Xuan Qi to struggle for Sage Hua’s seat so that he could help Xu Xiangyin when he was ordered to return to the Endless Frontier. More than twenty Progenitor-level powerhouses had perished on that battlefield, and that was not even mentioning the countless Semi-Progenitor-level figures who had died.

The Endless Frontier was a true meat grinder, as no one could be certain they would leave the place alive.

"Rather calling the Endless Frontier the place where the Sixverse Association holds Aeternus back, it would be more accurate to call it the frontlines of the Sixverse Association's invasion into Aeternus’s territory," Yi Jun elaborated.

"Invasion?" Lu Yin was surprised. He had never heard of such a thing before.

Yi Jun explained, "Why does Aeternus insist on seizing control of the Endless Frontier? Because the moment the Sixverse Association gains full control, they will be able to pierce right into Aeternus’s territory. Gaining control of that battlefield will allow humanity to attack when near and defend when far. Aeternus absolutely cannot accept such a disadvantageous situation, and thus, both sides continue to throw more and more of their strength into the Endless Frontier in a frantic effort to deplete the other’s strength. Every day, every hour, and even every breath, people die on that battlefield. It remains the largest and most brutal battlefield from the moment humanity first gained consciousness."

Lu Yin lightly tapped his fingers on the table. This was his first time hearing such a thing. It was no wonder why the battle in the Endless Frontier was so extensive. If he were in charge of Aeternus, he would not want to face off against the full might of the Sixverse Association on a single battlefield. Instead, he would focus on invading different parallel universes, or even gather the Seven Skygods together to obliterate one universe at a time.

The reason why Aeternus did not do this was simply because they could not afford to. As soon as Aeternus could not field sufficient power at the Endless Frontier, the Sixverse Association would invade them.

If True God Wei Yi ever got the chance, he would definitely destroy the various parallel universes. As for those who stood at the peak with the Great Sovereign, such as Lord Xu and the Arboreal Overlord, if the opportunity ever arose, they would definitely strike at the core of Aeternus’s territory and obliterate their most crucial resources.

Neither side could bear the potential losses, which was how the Endless Frontier had existed and endured until now.

Wait. Lu Yin suddenly remembered something; how had Progenitor Ku managed to force his way into the Aeternals’ territory all alone? Had he passed through the Endless Frontier? If so, were there any legends of his battles that Lu Yin could dig up?

Was the Endless Frontier the only place that was directly connected to Aeternus’s territories? Theoretically, that should be the case. There was no way the Aeternals could freely invade the Origin Universe or the Sixverse Association; instead, the same restrictions that bound the humans who wanted to invade Aeternus’s territory should apply to them as well.

In that moment, numerous thoughts and possibilities ran through Lu Yin’s mind.

Yi Jun continued to speak, and Lu Yin listened quietly. The woman truly did understand the Endless Frontier on a deep level. Meeting with her was absolutely not a waste of Lu Yin’s time.

Seven cups of tea were served and finished before Yi Jun finished her explanation.

Lu Yin lamented, "I never imagined that the Endless Frontier would be even more brutal than what I had heard."

Yi Jun replied, "Without experiencing the Endless Frontier in person, it’s impossible to understand just how cruel it truly is. Ordinary cultivators rarely meet Void Morphoras, let alone Void Supremas, but on the Endless Frontier, it's quite normal for a person to encounter a Void Suprema on their first day before they vanish. There are some who fail to endure on that battlefield for even a single breath."

Lu Yin lifted his teacup as he commented, "Miss Yi Jun, it's truly incredible that you were able to accomplish so much while on the Endless Frontier. It is no wonder why you receive such treatment."

Yi Jun replied, "Xuan Qi, there’s no need for you to admire me. Without the help of my comrades, I wouldn't have been able to achieve anything, much less bring my father back. If you don't mind, you may call me Yi Jun."

"Alright, then, I will accept that offer, Yi Jun," Lu Yin responded with a smile.

Yi Jun blinked. "Then, may I call you Brother Xuan Qi?"

"Of course!"

...

Lu Yin spent a good half day engaged in conversation with Yi Jun. The woman was well informed of events in the Voidforce Universe. How great it would be if she weren't a spy, Lu Yin sighed internally. Unfortunately, if Yi Jun was not a spy, she would never have been able to return from the Endless Frontier alive.

Had she willingly betrayed humanity, or was she another person under Cheng Kong’s control?

Without delving into Yi Jun’s memories, there was no way for Lu Yin to know.

Lu Yin finally took his leave, leading Old Dian away.

Yi Jun watched the two men leave. Once they left the area, her expression turned somber. Despite their lengthy conversation, she had not been able to confidently discern Xuan Qi’s purpose for visiting her. Had he really just wanted to learn more about the Endless Frontier?

"Go and find out who that old man who accompanied Xuan Qi is," Yi Jun ordered. Despite her extensive network, it was impossible for her to have learned about Xuan Qi joining the Bureau. It had only happened very recently, and the bureau, along with the Cloudview clan, would never publicize such an event.

Behind Yi Jun, a shadow disappeared.

"Bureau Director, right now, we can only confirm that the woman has previously met with Yun Wu. That’s no proof that she’s a spy," Old Dian said.

Lu Yin replied, "No one else was aware of Yun Wu's activities. She kept her scarlet eye hidden, which means that Yi Jun was not able to reach out to Yun Wu. Instead, Yun Wu could only contact Yi Jun, and that would have only been possible in person. We can use this to our advantage."

"You mean... impersonate Yun Wu?" Old Dian asked, immediately shaking his head. "That would never work. They must have some unique means of identifying each other when they meet. If they are both spies, they definitely wouldn’t rely on mere appearances to recognize each other."

"I have my own methods," Lu Yin replied, "We're short of hands at the Bureau. Come with me. Let’s go recruit some help."

Old Dian was left puzzled. "Recruit some help? Nobody wants to join the Bureau, and we also have very strict requirements for new recruits."

Lu Yin ignored the old man and set off in a specific direction.

While speaking with Yi Jun, Lu Yin had learned of Xu Ji and Xu Yue’s whereabouts, and he intended to recruit them into the Bureau.

When it came to dealing with people with complicated backgrounds and connections, these siblings were the most suitable candidates. Given their own backgrounds, who would Xu Yue and Xu Ji not be able to arrest? While their family was not particularly powerful and also lacked Void Supremas, Xu Ji had been given the honor of personally meeting with Lord Xu after obtaining the Wu Tian stone disk as his life-bound voidforce puppet. Such an honor was something that very few in the entire Voidforce Universe could ever enjoy.

As for what had transpired during Xu Ji’s meeting with Lord Xu, nobody knew. Some believed that he had become Lord Xu's true disciple, while others assumed Xu Ji had become one of Lord Xu’s named disciples. Regardless, no one in the Voidforce Universe would dare to offend someone with Xu Ji’s status.

If such people joined the Bureau, it would save Lu Yin a great deal of trouble. Even so, this was only the first step, as he was targeting more than just the Voidforce Universe.

It was not difficult to find Xu Ji and Xu Yue, as the siblings were simply too famous.

When Lu Yin found them, Xu Yue was sparring with someone, using her acquired innate gift of lighting in tandem with Stone Gate’s battle techniques. Her abilities elicited gasps of awe from the watching crowd.

This was exactly the reaction that the Voidforce Universe wanted, as it would help entice more people to attend the Sixverse Academy and merge voidforce energy with the powers of other civilizations, which would strengthen humanity as a whole.

Xu Yue used the Stone Cudgel battle technique in combination with her innate gift of lightning, which allowed her to easily defeat an expert who possessed a higher voidforce cultivation level than the girl herself. She immediately felt her self-esteem soar as she smiled proudly.

After the siblings returned from the Sixverse Academy, they had been given a particular task: to engage in spars across the Voidforce Universe and demonstrate the effects of integrating the powers of other universes. Xu Ji and Xu Yue were not the only ones given such orders, as every member universe of the Sixverse Association was doing the same.

With this propaganda, many more people were growing eager to attend the Sixverse Academy, just like when Zuo Yu had witnessed Shi Hong’s battle in the Cloudflow Universe.

Xu Yue was feeling pleased. As she looked around, her eyes landed on a certain person. Upon seeing him, her eyebrows rose. "Xuan Qi?"

From where he stood nearby, Xu Ji also looked over in surprise. Xuan Qi?

Lu Yin laughed. "Long time no see."

Xu Yue gritted her teeth. "What are you doing here?"

Shortly after that, Xu Ji and Xu Yue led Lu Yin and Old Dian to a primitive planet that was uninhabited by humans. All the living creatures there were gigantic.

"You want us to join the Bureau?" Xu Ji was stunned.

Xu Yue laughed coldly. "Dream on! Only a fool would join a place like that."

Old Dian felt quite irritated by the youths’ reaction, but he stayed out of the conversation.

Lu Yin replied, "We're short-staffed right now, so I came here to recruit you. Since you don’t have anything to do, why not work with us and look around? We have Xu Wuji supporting us."

Xu Yue scoffed, "My brother has Lord Xu supporting him."

Old Dian's face twitched. Was this really true? There had long since been rumors claiming that Xu Ji was Lord Xu's disciple; could they really be true?

Lu Yin also felt rather curious. "Xu Ji, are you really Lord Xu’s disciple?"

"Not yet," Xu Ji replied.

Xu Yue shook her fist at Lu Yin, "Don't even think about it! We’ll never join the Bureau. Go find someone else."

Lu Yin smiled at Xu Yue, and then made a gesture that made her teeth itch. "You're asking for a beating."

Xu Yue became furious. "You're the one who's asking for a beating! Xuan Qi, do you dare to fight me?"

It had been quite some time since she had wanted to punch Xuan Qi, but the opportunity had simply never presented itself. The closest moment had been interrupted by Ling Gong. After that, Xuan Qi had started dashing about at ridiculous speeds, which had left Xu Yue with no chance to retaliate. However, this time around, she was determined to try again.

Xu Ji moved to stand in Xu Yue's way as he looked at Lu Yin. "What level has your cultivation reached?"

Lu Yin hid nothing. "Void Brillium."

Xu Yue gasped. "You're a Void Brillium? How is that even possible?"

Xu Ji frowned. "Is that the reward that you received for crossing the Void Pass?"

Lu Yin chuckled. "No, my cultivation wasn't a reward. If you want to know what that was, then join the Bureau. I can promise that you won't be disappointed."

"I only want to find out why you were able to cross the Void Pass when no one else ever could," Xu Ji stated.

Lu Yin replied, "Lord Xu told me not to tell others."

Old Dian's face involuntarily twitched when he heard Lord Xu be mentioned yet again, and he involuntarily turned to look at Xuan Qi. This was yet another youth who claimed to have some kind of relationship with the Voidlord.

"You spoke with Lord Xu?" Xu Yue exclaimed.

"That’s right. Then, how about that? If you want to know what Lord Xu said to me, join the Bureau."

Xu Ji remained indifferent. "Not interested. I just want to know how you managed to cross the Void Pass."

Lu Yin replied, "Lord Xu told me, 'I admire you—you have a strong backbone.'"

"Braggart! Why in the world would Lord Xu compliment you?" Xu Yue shouted.

Xu Ji continued to stare at Lu Yin, confusion filling the young man’s eyes.

Old Dian was simultaneously staring at Lu Yin's back. Was the youth being honest or not? Had he really been praised by Lord Xu?

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "These words were spoken by Lord Xu himself."

"That's impossible!" Xu Yue adamantly disagreed, grinding her teeth as she glared daggers at Lu Yin. "You must have tricked Lord Xu!"

"Silence!" Xu Ji sharply cut in.

Startled by her brother’s reaction, Xu Yue reluctantly became quiet.

Xu Ji locked eyes with Lu Yin. "I believe you, and I can also join the Bureau."

"Brother!" Xu Yue shouted.

Xu Ji continued, "However, you need to first convince me, heart and soul."

"What do you mean, convince your heart and soul?" Lu Yin inquired.

Old Dian felt bad for Xu Ji, as he understood that the acting Bureau Director had already cornered the young man. No matter how excellent Xu Ji might be, he could never measure up to Boss Guan, who had already been thoroughly stomped by the acting Bureau Director.

"That's up to you," Xu Ji stated indifferently.

Lu Yin nodded. "Well then, let's get started."