Star Odyssey

"Cooperation?" Xu Ji and Xu Yue did not understand what Lu Yin was trying to get at.

Lu Yin spoke gravely, "Spies are the greatest threat to humanity. We’ve already managed to eliminate many of the spies here in the Voidforce Universe, but our progress has stalled for the moment. It might be a good idea to help root out the spies hiding in parallel universes, which would benefit all of mankind."

Xu Ji's eyes lit up. "Yue’er, get a hold of Lele now."

Xu Yue grunted in acknowledgment, though she cast a questioning glance towards Lu Yin. Was he really telling the truth?

Whether Xuan Qi was being truthful or not, trying to root out spies in the Transcendent Universe would only benefit humanity as far as Xu Ji was concerned.

Spies were truly the bane of humanity.

However, contacting Lele was far from simple. Xu Yue tried again and again to connect to her friend, but the fact that they were in different parallel universes was a major hindrance. It was necessary to first send a messenger to the Transcendent Universe before she could try to contact Lele. On top of that, Lele was deeply engrossed in researching a cultivation technology or was caught up with some other matter. Regardless, it was not easy to get in touch with the girl.

Lu Yin waited for several days, but there was still no reply from Lele. Instead, Xu Xiangyin arrived to pay a visit.

After parting ways at the Void Pass, Xu Xiangyin had returned to the Sixverse Academy and had not seen Xuan Qi again. However, the old man had paid special attention to any news regarding the young man. When Xu Lie and the others from the Voidforce Universe had arrived at the Sixverse Academy and brought news with them, Xu Xiangyin had grown especially eager to see Xuan Qi again. However, he had been waiting for something else: the reward for completing the trial that had taken place in the Origin Universe.

"Number 99?" Lu Yin blinked. "There’s an order to the seats?"

Xu Xiangyin had made the trip to the Bureau with the prize from the trial. Officially, Xuan Qi had been awarded with the 99th seat at the Great Sovereign's tea ceremony.

"Of course there’s an order! How could people be allowed to sit just anywhere they wanted at the Great Sovereign's tea ceremony? What if you inadvertently sat in front of a respected powerhouse? It could cause a grave misunderstanding," Xu Xiangyin replied.

Lu Yin smiled awkwardly. "I see."

He immediately thought of Sage Yuan.

Sage Yuan had challenged Lu Yin to a death match at the Great Sovereign's tea ceremony. Maybe a seat had already been reserved for Lu Yin. If that was true, then he would have two seats to himself: one for himself, and one for his alias, Xuan Qi. How would he handle that situation? Regardless of how the Great Sovereign himself reacted, Lu Yin would absolutely become a target of everyone else’s resentment.

"Considering your cultivation realm and the fame that you achieved from the trial, receiving a seat is already a blessing from the heavens. There is absolutely no reason for you to feel any dissatisfaction with the order," Xu Xiangyin said pointedly.

Lu Yin replied, "This junior isn't dissatisfied with the number that I received. I was just curious."

Xu Xiangyin turned to stare at the ruins of the city beyond the bell tower. "I didn't expect you to end up joining the Bureau after you left the Void Pass. When Yun Yun told me about it, I didn't actually believe her. Thankfully, you've done well here."

Lu Yin commented, "This junior has offended Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples."

Xu Xiangyin waved a hand. "While people like me would never dare to offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples, for someone like you, they aren't much. After all, you are backed by Xu Wuwei, as well as Xu Wuji, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng."

Xu Xiangyin hesitated as a strange expression appeared on his face. "You have four Void Supremas supporting you. Even if Sovereign Ninth Lotus personally came, she wouldn’t be able to do anything to you.

"However, Xuan Qi, you still need to be careful and remain respectful when you meet Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples in other universes. It would definitely be best if you could resolve your grudges with them now. After all, you will eventually step foot on the Endless Frontier, and Sovereign Ninth Lotus's disciples wield significant influence on that battlefield. If you can receive their help, your chances of surviving will rise dramatically."

Lu Yin nodded. "This junior understands. I didn't intend to offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciples."

Xu Xiangyin's primary reason for visiting Xuan Qi had been to inform him about the seat for the Great Sovereign's tea ceremony that he had been awarded. This was the most important matter, though Lu Yin had actually forgotten about it. Wait, is there something else that I forgot about?

A fleeting thought popped into Lu Yin’s mind, only to slip away. It had to have been very important. What had he done recently?

After thinking for a long while, Lu Yin finally remembered what he had forgotten: he had actually forgotten to ask Bai Qian for Starsibyl's invitation.

He sighed. Since he had missed his opportunity when seeing her on Earth, he could only wait for the next time he saw her.

Three days after Xu Xiangyin left, Xu Yue successfully managed to get in touch with You Lele.

"Do you want to speak to Lele yourself or send a messenger?"

"I'll talk to her myself," Lu Yin said.

"I thought as much." Xu Yue did a quick calculation of the time. "Then it would be tomorrow. The closest person from the Transcendent Universe can be here tomorrow, and you can go with him to the Transcendent Universe, where you can use this communication crystal to call Lele."

Lu Yin took the offered communication crystal. "Thank you, Little Yue."

Xu Yue's cheeks flushed. "Who- who allowed you to call me Little Yue!"

She immediately left.

Xu Ji, who had been standing nearby, saw the exchange, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin. "You two aren’t a good match."

Lu Yin was left speechless.

The following day, someone arrived, and he quickly tore through the void to take Lu Yin to the Transcendent Universe.

As soon as he arrived in the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin called Lele with the communication crystal. It did not take long for an image of a disheveled Lele to appear. Her hair was a mess, as if it had not been washed in days, and her eyes were dull. She looked like she was just a step away from death.

Lu Yin was stunned for a moment by her appearance. "Hello, I am Xuan Qi."

Lele fished out a pair of glasses that had no lenses and pushed them up her nose. "Oh, it’s you. Little Yue said that you were looking for me. What’s this about?"

"I would like to speak with your father," Lu Yin replied.

Lele scratched her head, and flakes of white dandruff rained down. Lu Yin arched a brow. This was his first time encountering such a person. "You want to talk to my father? You could have just contacted him directly. Why bother looking for me?"

"I’m not able to directly reach out to your father," Lu Yin answered.

Lele scratched her head again, this time yawning as well. "Give me a moment. I'll go wash my face and then get back to you."

She instantly ended the call when she finished speaking.

Lu Yin was still staring at the communication crystal in his hand. Was this woman really a universally acknowledged genius? It was not impossible, as the truly talented did tend to be a bit eccentric. Just because it was difficult to see things from a certain perspective did not mean that those perspectives were wrong.

The communication crystal soon lit up once again, and the image of You Lele reappeared. This time, she appeared far more energetic, and her eyes were a bit brighter. "Xuan Qi? Are you there?"

"I'm here," Lu Yin answered as he stared at the image.

You Lele earnestly asked, "What identity are you using when meeting with my father? Will you be just Xuan Qi, or the Voidforce Universe’s Acting Bureau Director?"

"What's the difference?" Lu Yin asked.

You Lele replied, "The difference determines whether I’ll keep your secret for you."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Bureau Director."

You Lele nodded. "Alright, I’ll keep your secret."

She then proceeded to pull out another communication crystal.

"Wait a moment. What if I had said that I wanted to meet your father as myself?" Lu Yin asked.

"You have a good relationship with He Ran, so if you wanted to meet my father with your own identity, I would have had to expose things. I doubt that there’s any need to explain to you what the consequences of that would be."

Lu Yin stared at You Lele. This woman was quite interesting!

Another image appeared in front of Lele, this time showing a stern-faced, middle-aged man who had white hair. There was a weariness to his bearing that contrasted sharply with his appearance.

"Father, this person wants to talk to you," You Lele pointed at the first image.

The image of the middle-aged man looked over and his eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi?"

"Junior Xuan Qi greets Senior You Fang," Lu Yin answered with a smile.

The man was none other than You Fang, patriarch of the You family and Bureau Director for the Transcendent Universe. The You family that he oversaw was such a colossal entity that even He Ran needed to be wary of them. "Who am I meeting with? Xuan Qi, or the Acting Bureau Director?"

Lu Yin chuckled. The father and daughter were quite alike, as they addressed the same question.

"Father, I've already asked that," Lele said.

You Fang just grunted while focusing on Lu Yin. "So which is it?"

Lu Yin answered in a solemn tone, "Senior, you must have heard about what we have accomplished in the Voidforce Universe. This junior was wondering, would it be possible to expand our efforts into the Transcendent Universe?"

"To hunt spies?" You Fang inquired.

Lu Yin responded, "I would like to try. Spies pose the greatest threat to mankind. Not long ago, I heard that some important data was destroyed in the Transcendent Universe. Such incidents are not uncommon, and while they may not result in significant damage, they might still cause delays. I would like to do my part to contribute in any way possible."

"Are you finished catching the spies in the Voidforce Universe?" You Fang asked.

"Not yet."

"Then why do you want to hunt for spies in my Transcendent Universe? Are you looking down on our efforts?"

"Pretty much," Lu Yin replied candidly.

You Lele looked over at Lu Yin. "That’s blunt."

Lu Yin chuckled. "It's nothing but the simple truth. If the You family was fully committed to catching spies, you wouldn’t be in your current situation. However, since you seem reluctant to do that, I am willing to take over things for you, provided that you permit it."

You Fang said, "You seem to know quite a bit about the Transcendent Universe. Zuo Gong told you, didn't he?"

"Nothing can be kept hidden from you, Senior," Lu Yin responded.

You Fang sneered. "If we allow you access to the Bureau here in the Transcendent Universe, nothing will be able to be kept hidden from you either."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. "I don't need to monitor the Transcendent Universe, and I don't need to know anything about the Bureau there. All I need is the support of your You family."

You Fang was taken aback. "What is it that you really want?"

You Lele stared into Lu Yin's eyes. "Don't bother trying to offer any excuses. A reasonable justification might be able to lower our guard, but a reason that’s too perfect is already a flaw in itself."

Lu Yin glanced at You Fang before turning back to Lele. "I intend to arrest spies."

You Fang and Lele smirked in unison, evidently choosing not to believe him.

"No matter if you believe me or not," Lu Yin continued, "My intentions remain the same—I intend to hunt down spies. The Transcendent Universe has already analyzed my body, which means that, when I’m here, I'm entirely within your control. What is there for you to worry about?"

You Fang snorted coldly. "I worry about you conspiring with that woman, He Ran, to destroy my family.

"I worry that you might be trying to exploit the Bureau against us.

"I have countless worries, Xuan Qi. Considering your close relationship with He Ran, do you really think that I should not be wary?"

Lu Yin sighed. "The You family’s intelligence is quite impressive, and you’re always thinking three steps ahead. Even so, you fail to see things in the distance. If I were truly conspiring with He Ran against you, your family should be welcoming me into the Transcendent Universe's Bureau. Only after I make a move can you counter it. If I do nothing, will you just remain on guard forever?"

"That's why I am willing to let you work with us. My You family will formally extend an invitation to the Voidforce Universe’s Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi and ask him to help compensate for our shortcomings and to help us hunt down spies here in the Transcendent Universe. We’ll find out what you're up to," You Fang declared.

An intrigued smile spread across You Lele's face. "Focusing on just cultivation technology recently has been rather monotonous. I hope that you are scheming something, or else my father's anticipation will be for nothing."