Star Odyssey

Chapter 1552: Swaying Public Opinion

The resource that Lu Yin lacked the most was time, and yet he still exited the Timestop Space in spite of that. He immediately rolled the die again, but since he had already rolled it three times before getting Timestop, he only had one more roll left.

Unfortunately, his fourth roll failed to land on another Timestop. Instead, he rolled Pilfer and received something useless.

He let out a sigh and looked up just in time to see someone pass by. He did not know if they were searching for him or if they had just coincidentally passed so close to him. Regardless, given the situation, the entire Perennial World had most likely erupted into chaos by now.

Lu Yin's thoughts were accurate; the moment his identity had been revealed and leaked, the entire Perennial World had exploded.

The first place affected was Dragon Mountain.

Grand Elder Ni Huang was busy fighting off Corpse God, and the elder was unable to believe what he saw. "The Champions' Stage? Is that Lu Xiaoxuan?"

Qing Chen was equally shocked. He pictured Lu Yin's face and then that of Lu Xiaoxuan. Is he really Lu Xiaoxuan? What a joke! Even if Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, he was shocked stiff at this moment.

He was unable to deny that he had felt a strong resemblance between Long Qi and Lu Xiaoxuan, but many people looked similar to each other. It was just too absurd of an idea for Long Qi to actually be Lu Xiaoxuan.

When Xia Xing heard the truth, his expression also changed greatly. "Inform Shenwu's Sky that Lu Xiaoxuan absolutely cannot be allowed to return to the Forsaken Land alive!"

Bai Teng was completely furious as well. "Even if he gets away this time, my Celestial Frost Sect will never let him go! The Forsaken Land will not be able to stop us!"

Elder Ni Huang remained shocked and in disbelief. The change in the situation was simply too drastic and too sudden! The youth who had risen up from his clan with an unparalleled talent that had even attracted a Progenitor's interest was actually a child of the most hated Lu family whom they had submitted to for so long? On top of that, he was the seventh of the Seven Heroes, Lu Xiaoxuan?

The four ruling powers had exiled the Lu family and taken over the Perennial World. Hearing that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan sparked complex emotions and fear among the four ruling powers beyond any description. Those emotions only served to galvanize their determination to kill Lu Yin no matter the cost in order to avoid any future problems.

Shaman God revealed an odd smile. "Gaga, so he turned out to be that kid? That's quite interesting. You humans have such complicated competitions and only focus on your own self-interests. No wonder you lost."

"Lu Xiaoxuan? I seem to have heard that name before." Corpse God's deafening voice had echoed across Dragon Mountain, creating ripples in the void.

Down below, Liu Song looked up to gaze off into the distance. So that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan? The old man still remembered the inheritance that Lu Yin had received from the Sword Monument and revealed a smile. Ah, no wonder, no wonder he's able to surpass Bai Xian'er. The birth of the Seven Heroes' generation was comparable to the time of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the past, however, due to that incident, the Seven Heroes vanished, and all that was left was Bai Xian'er.

After thinking about it, the old man felt that things made sense. After all, who else could possibly surpass Bai Xian'er? Lu Xiaoxuan was the only person with a peerless talent on that level.

The Perennial World was going to become truly chaotic now.

Nong Ya let out a long breath while revealing a bitter smile. He had never expected the child to be that person.

Ten days later, the name of Lu Xiaoxuan swept through the Higher Realm like a storm. Countless people heard it, and countless more were shocked by it.

As for Humility's Gate, many of the Fourteenth Gate's hidden powerhouses were given secret tasks to protect Long Qi, or Lu Xiaoxuan.

Lu Yin had disappeared, and there was no news about him for several days; no one was able to find him.

The only news that anyone heard was that Wang Si had managed to badly wound the youth, and the Semi-Progenitor was confident that Lu Xiaoxuan would not live for much longer.

The moment the Celestial Frost Sect learned of Lu Yin's true identity, the sect had exploded. Many of their powerhouses were sent out to capture Lu Yin, but they soon received word that he would likely die soon, though no one was able to find him.

There was a group of people who descended from the Jade Valley, intending to use the jade butterflies to find Lu Yin, but the butterflies were all useless.

Elder Qing Xing also dispatched various teams, but once he was alone, he muttered to himself, "I never expected him to enter from the Forsaken Land. I don't know what choice those people might make."

At the bottom of a lake, Lu Yin raised a hand and brought out his die. Ten days had passed, and he was able to roll again.

This time, luck was on his side, and his first roll landed on four pips. The scenery around him changed, and he entered the Timestop Space.

The Semi-Progenitor's energy was still festering within his wounds, and it needed more time to be fully removed. Thus, Lu Yin stayed in the Timestop Space for almost another whole year, though when he returned to the real world, only a second had passed.

Lu Yin looked down and saw that his limbs were no longer as withered as before. They presently looked more thin than dry, and they should return to normal with another year's time.

With this in mind, Lu Yin looked back up and rolled his die again.

On the third attempt, he once again rolled four pips, returning to the Timestop Space.

When he emerged for the third time, his limbs had fully recovered, but as far as the rest of the world was concerned, less than half a month had passed since Lu Yin had been injured by a Semi-Progenitor.

It was simply unimaginable that an Enlighter could completely recover from the terrible wounds inflicted by a Semi-Progenitor within half a month.

Lu Yin changed his appearance, emerged from the lakebed, and continued making his way to the east.

At this time, there were countless people searching throughout the Higher Realm for any sign of Lu Yin, and he actually ended up joining the search himself.

"Brother, have you found that Lu bastard?" Lu Yin shouted to a group of people up ahead who looked back at him.

"No. More than ten days have gone by, but no one's been able to find him." The person who replied sounded genuinely distressed.

Lu Yin expressed his curiosity, "Why did he disappear after being badly hurt?"

A woman with a clear voice explained, "Our family asked us to search specifically for anyone with injured limbs."

Even as she spoke, she deliberately examined Lu Yin's limbs. She saw that they were fine, so she moved on. "You should capture anyone who has injured arms and legs."

Lu Yin nodded and passed by the group.

Given Lu Yin's strength, no one would be able to see through his disguise unless they were an Envoy at the very least.

However, if he ran into any Envoys, he would need to hide.

Still, even if he was able to hide once or twice, it was impossible to do so forever, and an Envoy was bound to notice him eventually. As Lu Yin considered this, he noticed a delicate-looking man. Was he from the Celestial Frost Sect?

Lu Yin's eyes flashed, and he raised a hand. A powerful blast of wind shot out, and the man lost his limbs. He screamed as he plummeted to the ground.

I'm sorry, Lu Yin mentally thought to the man before continuing on his way to the east.

As Lu Yin traveled, he ran across various Enlighters searching for him, and without any hesitation, he destroyed all of their limbs and tossed them aside. After just a few days, hundreds of people had suffered from losing their limbs to Lu Yin.

Not a single one of the wounded people was able to share their assailant's image.

"Uncle Shi, this disciple truly doesn't know who attacked me, but it had to have been that Lu scumbag! Uncle Shi, you must avenge this disciple!" An upset man wailed to one of the Celestial Frost Sect's Envoys.

The powerhouse was getting impatient. "It's useless if you can't even see who attacked you!"

"Uncle Shi, it had to have been that Lu scumbag!" the youth shouted.

The Envoy shouted back in anger, "Do you think that you're the only one to have lost your limbs? Everyone is on the lookout for an Enlighter with wounded limbs, and there are still many surviving vassals of the Lu family, as well as others who are unhappy with my four ruling powers. There are Enlighters all across the Higher Realm whose limbs have been maimed."

The young man grew bitter, but he still repeated, "Uncle, you must avenge this disciple!"

In a small city in the Higher Realm, Lu Yin was drinking some wine while listening to the various conversations around him.

"Have you heard? The city lord's eldest son's limbs were cut off, and he was dumped in the mountains."

"Of course I heard about that! Now, it's not only Enlighters who are suffering and being wounded, but also Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters. There are always people who want to contribute to chaos and muddy the water, and they're all helping that Lu Xiaoxuan."

"Lu Xiaoxuan has returned, and that reignited all of the Lu family's former retainers. There's also an entire other group of people who are unhappy with the four ruling powers, and they're now taking action in secret. I even heard that Humility's Gate is putting some effort into obstructing the four ruling powers."

"I heard that Humility's Gate is actually helping Lu Xiaoxuan."

…

Lu Yin slowly sipped his wine. His appearance in the Perennial World had truly shaken things up, and it would not be long before word of him spread to the Middle Realm. Once that happened, and once word spread further to the rear battlefield, the ramifications would be even greater.

Lu Yin could not forget about the hopes of people like Zhou Tang who had been banished to the rear battlefield. There was an entire group of people within the Star Alliance and the Forsaken Soldiers who were waiting for the Lu family to return. In addition to them, there had to be many people throughout the entire Perennial World who were waiting for his family to return, and they would help hide him.

"Honestly, the Lu family deserved to rule the Perennial World back then; Lu Xiaoxuan fought against four two-tribulation Envoys on his own, which is truly terrifying. I even heard that he received the God of Death's inheritance."

"What God of Death's inheritance?"

"I don't know, but there are people in Specter Abyss who claim that he is the master of Specter Abyss, and they're searching for him in secret."

"Shh! Don't talk about the Lu family! Aren't you afraid that your head will blow up?"

"Don't worry. As long as you don't try to remember what happened to the Lu family, you'll be fine."

…

Chaos had fully engulfed the Higher Realm.

The four ruling powers had always known that many of the Lu family's supporters were still in hiding, but they had never expected there to be so many.

Even members within the Celestial Frost Sect suffered from having their limbs removed, which made their elders furious. However, they could only promise to dig out the Lu family's supporters that had hidden themselves within the sect.

However, the commotion gradually changed. This was because more and more of the people who were unhappy with the four ruling powers began to take action, and they secretly attacked those searching for Lu Yin, which led to a great deal of suffering for the four ruling powers. And when the four ruling powers sent out their powerhouses to search, that just provided the perfect opportunity for the dissidents to make their move.

In short, the Higher Realm had become a complete mess, and the turmoil quickly spread to the Middle Realm as well. There were some people who said that they had seen Lu Yin in the Middle Realm and others who claimed to have seen someone with a very similar appearance. These claims led the four ruling powers' vassals in the Middle Realm to send out people to investigate the claims.

A storm descended upon the entire Perennial World.

While this was happening, a certain phenomena started to quickly spread.

While Lu Yin was walking down a street, a person passed by overhead, and they loudly shouted, "Lu Xiaoxuan, we humans are fighting the monsters, and there are countless casualties on the battlefield! If you are on humanity's side, reveal yourself and stop a civil war!

"Lu Xiaoxuan, you have taken refuge with those monsters! The entire Lu family has taken refuge with those monsters! You are inciting a civil war!"

"Lu Xiaoxuan, for the sake of humanity, please kill yourself!"

…

Lu Yin's expression grew cold. The four ruling powers were spreading propaganda. Many people had been swayed by the Lu family, so the rulers of the Perennial World were trying to slander Lu Yin and alter public opinion by using the voice of justice to force him into the open.

Countless conversations entered Lu Yin's ears. "That's true! Why did the Lu family appear right now? Are they trying to start a civil war?"

"Lu Xiaoxuan shouldn't have shown himself! It will only help those monsters if humanity has to go fight a civil war."

"The four ruling powers could be right—the Lu family might have joined those monsters. How else could Lu Xiaoxuan have survived?"

"The Lu family has changed from back then."

"I heard that when Lu Xiaoxuan was targeted by four Envoys, he used a corpse king transformation to survive!"

…

Lu Yin's name and appearance was not something that would ever reach the ordinary people of the Middle Realm, and even some cultivators might not hear of it. However, everyone in the Higher Realm knew about this scandal, and even the ordinary humans had heard of Lu Xiaoxuan's name. The news had not been censored in the Higher Realm at all, so Lu Yin heard news and rumors about himself wherever he went.

Countless people were discussing what had happened, and he was extremely vexed with the situation. However, their complaining provided Lu Yin with a great deal of information, which was how he learned that every single city in the Higher Realm had been ordered to send out powerhouses to hunt Lu Yin down. The four ruling powers were setting up a net around the Cloud Shuttle to capture him.

It would be almost impossible for him to use the Cloud Shuttle to return to the Middle Realm.