Star Odyssey

Chapter 2620: Take Him Away

"Bureau Director, we’ve already proven that Cheng Feng is a spy. There’s no point in offending Sovereign Ninth Lotus because of him when he’s lost almost all of his value," Old Dian whispered.

Ghost Three jumped in as well. "That’s right, Bureau Director. This fool won't survive long regardless."

"Even if we take him away, he’ll insist that he's under Cheng Kong’s control, and it will be even more difficult for us to do anything to him," Old Dian continued.

The Bureau’s team captains had gained some understanding of Xuan Qi’s temperament, and they knew that they could only try to persuade him, rather than try to force anything.

The Bureau was an organization that spanned the entire Sixverse Association. Offending one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples would instigate many difficulties for the entire Bureau in the future.

Lu Yin calmly looked around, and then he declared, "Outsiders have no authority to interfere with the Bureau’s affairs. This is the authority granted to the Bureau by the Sixverse Association itself. If you intend to take this spy away, I won’t have any choice but suspect that you are conspiring with Cheng Feng."

"How dare you slander Sovereign Ninth Lotus!" one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples yelled angrily.

Old Dian and the others from the Bureau felt their scalps go numb. They had not expected Xuan Qi to be so stubborn. He was refusing to give in to Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples.

Cheng Feng was similarly surprised, and he turned to stare at Xuan Qi. It was clear that this man had no idea just how terrifying Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples could be. Of course, Cheng Feng did not want to be taken by the disciples. There might still be a way for him to survive if he was taken by the Bureau, but if he ended up in the hands of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples, he would have no chance of survival at all.

"Brother Xuan Qi-"

Little Lian stepped forward to say something, only to be stopped by Jiang Xiaodao. He even gave Lu Yin a thumbs up. "You've got guts! Grandpa Dao admires you."

He then quickly pulled Little Lian back.

Ling Mu then stepped forward. "Xuan Qi, we'll give you one last chance: give us Cheng Feng, and we promise that he will receive the punishment he deserves. Why do you insist on offending Sovereign Ninth Lotus for him?"

Lu Yin also stepped forward. "As I've just said, the Bureau has been granted its authority by the Sixverse Association itself. Anyone who dares to interfere in our activities and take our captives away, regardless of whom they might be or what status they have, will be regarded as-" he paused as his eyes swept the gathered crowd, "Spies."

Ling Mu’s eyes narrowed. "Do you really intend to make Sovereign Ninth Lotus your enemy?"

"I, Xuan Qi, would never dare to make Sovereign Ninth Lotus my enemy. I am merely capturing a spy. However, anyone who dares to take my Bureau’s captives will be also treated as a spy!" Lu Yin shouted. As he stated his position, the bone pike appeared and floated next to him. Voidforce energy surged from the pike and filled the area.

Ling Mu was astonished. This young man had left the Sixverse Academy at about the same time as Little Lian, right? So how could he possess such a terrifying amount of voidforce energy? He was close to the Void Morphora level.

Jiang Xiaodao gaped. When had this fellow become so formidable?

Little Lian felt incredibly torn. She was fond of Xuan Qi despite only meeting him a few times, and she did not want to be his enemy in the future.

"We're leaving. Bring Cheng Feng.”

“Anyone who dares to try to interfere will be considered a spy and will also be arrested by the Bureau." Lu Yin coldly announced the Bureau’s position before leading his people away.

Old Dian and the others followed right behind Lu Yin. Regardless of their personal opinions, they could not defy Xuan Qi’s orders at this moment. The Bureau did not view traitors with any more kindness than Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples.

Ling Mu stared at Xuan Qi. This person was genuinely willing to offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples.

There was no one in the Sixverse Association who didn’t know what being one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus's disciples meant. Sovereign Ninth Lotus was not the strongest of the three Sovereigns, but she did have the most disciples, and all of her followers combined were a formidable force within the Sixverse Association. They formed a united power that, if provoked, could shake the heavens.

This was something that was universally accepted within the Sixverse Association.

Not even Lord Xu had the courage to openly offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus, so how did Xuan Qi have the guts to do so? Where did he find his courage? Was it simply because of Xu Wuji?

"Get a hold of Senior Xu Wuji now," Ling Mu ordered in a voice that was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

Unperturbed, Lu Yin's bone pike tore through the surrounding lotuses, startling Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s five disciples who had surrounded him and causing them to freeze in place.

Even if people looked down on the Bureau even though they had been authorized by the Sixverse Association to hunt down spies. Many people already were starting to feel that Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples were acting unreasonably by confronting the Bureau in the course of their duty. After all, the Bureau only had one enemy: Aeternus.

With Lu Yin leading the way, everyone from the Bureau passed through the encirclement and left.

"Senior Sister Ling Mu, are we really going to just let them leave like this?" someone spoke up.

Ling Mu replied, "I already have other plans."

What could not be done in the open could instead be carried out in the shadows.

Xuan Qi would serve as an example. Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples had not taken action for far too long; it was time for them to start doing so.

In outer space, Lu Yin led everyone back towards the Red Zone.

Xu Yue stared at Lu Yin's back. There was an unusual sparkle in her eyes. All of her former irritation with Xuan Qi vanished like smoke in the wind. This was a man. There was an appealing masculinity to him. "Ah, Brother, you’re smiling."

Xu Ji rarely smiled, but he was doing so as he also stared at Xuan Qi’s back. His decision to join the Bureau might prove to be a good one after all.

Old Dian and the other team captains all remained silent. They had not expected to actually be able to take Cheng Feng away. By this point in time, the Sixverse Association had to already be in an uproar.

It was not an inaccurate guess. News of Cheng Feng's arrest began to spread, starting with the Voidforce Universe, and quickly followed by the Cyclic Universe, the Arboreal Realm, the Three Monarchs Universe, and all the rest. Each universe started to abuzz. Cheng Feng might not be a big deal, but he was supported by Sovereign Ninth Lotus, who certainly was. Even if Cheng Feng was proven to be a spy, he should have been dealt with by Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Unexpectedly, he had been taken by Xuan Qi, and he had even been taken away right in front of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s own disciples. On top of that, Xuan Qi had declared that whoever tried to obstruct him would also be regarded as a spy. His actions were clearly slapping Sovereign Ninth Lotus in the face.

Xuan Qi's name spread like wildfire, even faster than when he had crossed the Void Pass.

As news of Cheng Feng’s capture spread, so too did word that Xuan Qi had crossed the Void Pass, captured Wendy Yushan as part of the Sixverse Academy’s trial for their students, and various other records as well. Many in the Sixverse Association only learned of the name “Xuan Qi” at this moment.

When Xu Wuji received word, his sunglasses fell off. He drained his drink with one gulp, put away his communication crystal, and promptly decided that he had nothing to do with the matter. In fact, he had nothing to do with anything that was going on. He did not want anyone to seek him out for anything.

Xuan Qi certainly knew how to stir up trouble. Yun Wu had only been a minor issue. Yi Jun had been a bit troublesome, but since her identity as a spy was proven, there were no real issues. On the other hand, Cheng Feng was a major problem. He was one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples. Why had Xuan Qi not just tossed the spy over to Sovereign Ninth Lotus? But no, he just had to arrest the spy and take him away.

Xu Wuji sighed. He knew that he was already in the middle of this huge mess.

He put his sunglasses back on. Still, the kid’s pretty efficient.

Suddenly, Xu Wuji remembered something; had Xuan Qi remembered to wear his Wuji glasses when arresting the spies?

***

In the Cloudview clan’s territory, Yun Yun also received the news. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open. Had Xuan Qi really taken Cheng Feng away right in front of Sovereign Ninth Lotus's disciples? Had he really even threatened them and said that anyone who stopped him would be regarded as a spy? Had he gone mad?

Many of the members of the Void Yang and the Void Yin clans were similarly stunned.

Xu Lie's mouth curved into a smile. How domineering!

The more people understood Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples and their reputation, the more they knew just how fearless Xuan Qi was, though many felt that he simply did not know how terrifying Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples could be.

Meanwhile, the astrological phenomena that enveloped the two clans’ territories grew increasingly intense. The day of their scheduled battle with Xiu Ci was drawing close.

Many people were paying attention to the two clans. The merging of the Void Yang and Void Yin clans would give rise to a new and mighty power in the Voidforce Universe.

...

When Ghost Three and the other team captains saw the red region of space just up ahead of them, they all heaved sighs of relief. They had made it back.

Cheng Feng also let out a breath. He would much rather be the Bureau’s captive than end up in the hands of Sovereign Ninth Lotus. The latter would doom him to a horrible fate.

If Cheng Feng insisted that he had been controlled by Cheng Kong, then the Bureau wouldn’t be able to do anything to him, but Sovereign Ninth Lotus would not care about that.

Suddenly, everyone came to a stop.

At the edge of the Red Zone, a person was sitting cross-legged in space. Despite the vast distance between them and the group, the person’s eyes pierced the void to stare at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin’s brow furrowed. This person was a Semi-Progenitor-level powerhouse. Could they be one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples? No, it was too soon for that. This person had to be a Void Morphora from the Voidforce Universe.

Without uttering a single word, the Void Morphora’s energy swept through space to heavily suppress the arriving people.

“How dare you attack the Bureau!” Boss Guan and Skinner swiftly launched counterattacks, and Xu Ji and Xu Yue also released their voidforce energy, but their ambusher effortlessly repelled everything.

The gap between the people who had reacted and a Void Morphora was insurmountable. Even if they were capable of using voidforce puppets with multiple times their own voidforce energy, it was not nearly enough to close such a gap.

Cheng Feng's face grew pale. There was no doubt that this person was one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples. It was impossible for Cheng Feng to escape.

The oppressive voidforce energy from the Void Morphora left them unable to even breathe. As the person’s palm rose and pressed back down, an elliptical voidforce puppet appeared. The voidforce energy filling the area grew even more robust, and the people from the Bureau were forced back.

Lu Yin did not react at all, and he simply allowed the voidforce energy to press down on him and the others. This person would not harm any of them. Their only goal was to take Cheng Feng away.

Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples had hired a Void Morphora to capture Cheng Feng. They had done so not only to uphold Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s image, but also to protect someone.

Cheng Feng had leaked Sage Stone’s whereabouts to Aeternus, which had led to the Sage’s death at the hands of Cheng Kong. However, the Sage’s whereabouts would have never been directly revealed to someone like Cheng Feng. Someone else must have shared that information with Cheng Feng, and only because of that person was Cheng Feng able to cause Sage Stone’s death. It was possible that that person was also a spy, but that was not necessarily the case. Regardless, that person was indirectly responsible for Sage Stone's death, and the punishment that they would face would not be light.

There was also no question that the person who had shared Sage Stone’s location with Cheng Feng was another one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples.

The Void Morphora who had been waiting for Xuan Qi and the others was most likely acting on behalf of that unknown person. They intended to either take Cheng Feng away or simply silence him.

Lu Yin's assumption was not wrong. The surge of voidforce energy did not harm anyone, though from Cheng Feng's perspective, he was facing a crisis that left his scalp numb. He was certain that the moment the voidforce energy fell, he would die. "Save me-"

The moment that Cheng Feng’s voice called out, a second surge of voidforce energy that was no weaker than the Void Morphora’s erupted, and it pushed back the descending voidforce energy.

The distant attacker was not surprised, and he simply raised another hand. Multiple elliptical voidforce puppets appeared, and the voidforce energy swelled even further.

The attacker’s voidforce energy had been repelled by Old Dian.

Boss Guan and others from the Bureau were shocked. None of them had known that Old Dian possessed such strength. Was he really a secret Void Morphora?

Lu Yin smiled. It was time for Old Dian to reveal his power. He could not stay hidden forever.

Old Dian sighed. "I just wanted to live my life in peace. Bureau Director, you’re condemning me to a life of suffering."

He looked out at the distant voidforce puppets. "He isn’t willing to reveal his identity, but he is clearly a Void Morphora, which means that he must be a well-known expert in the Voidforce Universe. It won't be easy to deal with him."

"There shouldn't be many Void Morphoras in the Voidforce Universe who would be willing to help the Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples," Xu Ji commented.

Old Dian shook his head. "That’s not right at all. There are many people who would happily help Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples, and it’s even possible that this person is actually a Void Suprema."

"Don't scare them," Lu Yin scolded.

Their opponent in front of them grew serious, and he launched an entire volley of his round voidforce puppets. This attack was far more than a simple eruption of voidforce energy, as it was actually a battle technique. This caught Old Dian's eye, though he said nothing. All he did was release his own voidforce energy and force the puppets to a sharp halt.

The unknown Void Morphora stared at Old Dian in surprise, and the old man met his opponent’s gaze. "There's no need for you to bother exhausting yourself. Leave now. You won’t be able to take Cheng Feng."