The muscular youth slapped Lu Yin's shoulder. "Where do you think you’re going? Get back over there and don’t move."
Lu Yin obediently returned to the corner. A stream of flattery flooded into the muscular youth's ears, boosting his ego to new heights.
Lu Yin passed Mu Duo on his way back, but Mu Duo suddenly raised a hand and set it onto Lu Yin's shoulder. Lu Yin stopped and looked at the man in surprise. Why did it seem like everyone in this universe was so fond of patting people’s shoulders?
"Go. Slap him," Mu Duo ordered.
Lu Yin thought that he must have misheard. "What?"
Mu Duo said in a deep voice, "Go slap him. That's what I told you."
He then shoved Lu Yin back towards the muscular youth, causing Lu Yin to stumble and bump into the muscular young man, who became furious, "Do you want to die, brat?"
Lu Yin pointed at Mu Duo. "He shoved me."
The muscular youth glared at Mu Duo, furious. "You-"
Just as the young man was about to continue, he suddenly recognized Mu Duo. "You- aren't you Young Master Mu Duo?"
Mu Duo gave Lu Yin a hard look. "Slap him."
Lu Yin hesitated and swallowed. "I don't think that that's a good idea."
"This is the last time I’ll tell you: slap him," Mu Duo ordered angrily.
Lu Yin spun around and instantly slapped the muscular youth right across the face. The sound was crisp and loud, and it drew the entire crowd’s attention.
Zuo Yu and the others watched calmly. In the Transcendent Universe, the difference in status was always made clear. Given Mu Duo's status, he could even cripple the muscular young man without facing any repercussions, let alone simply having him slapped.
The muscular youth was also fully aware of this, and thus he did not dare resist.
Still, Lu Yin's slap left the man dazed.
Mu Duo felt quite satisfied. "Not bad. Don't act like such a weakling in the future."
Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Understood."
He then turned around and slapped the muscular young man again.
The action startled Mu Duo. Why another slap?
The muscular youth stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Why another slap? Who had told this guy to slap him?
The watching audience all stared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin explained, "It's for symmetry."
The muscular youth seethed with rage, and a building anger filled his eyes.
Some distance away, Luo Laoer laughed heartily.
Zuo Yu tried to suppress a smile.
Mu Duo took a good look at Lu Yin and then praised him, "Not bad. Come with me."
Lu Yin hurried over. "Yes, sir."
Mu Duo had vented his anger with the first slap, but the second slap had given him the feeling that Lu Yin was a promising talent who could help build Mu Duo’s reputation. The man quickly decided to take Lu Yin under his wing.
While many people watched in surprise, Lu Yin, who should have been getting into trouble, ended up joining Mu Duo's group. Despite having the lowest status and being bossed around, no one would dare to offend him with someone like Mu Duo as his backer.
Luo Laoer no longer paid any attention to Lu Yin, though he was still interested in the Xuan surname.
Three days later, a bit of news arrived without warning: they were told that their destination had been changed to the Cloudflow Universe.
"Cloudflow Universe? Isn't that a parallel universe? Why are we going there?" Zuo Yu found it strange.
Mu Duo replied, "Cloudflow Universe isn’t just a parallel universe. It’s one of the numerous battlefields where we fight against Aeternus. It’s said that when we conquered the Cloudflow Universe, Aeternus actually interfered, which is why it became a battlefield."
Luo Laoer spoke up in a mysterious tone. "I'll let you in on a secret—there are rumors that the change in our destination has to do with a specific person."
"Who?" asked Zuo Yu curiously.
Everyone else also turned to look at Luo Laoer. He always managed to get a hold of confidential information.
"Zi Jing," Luo Laoer answered in a very soft voice, making sure that only the people in his group could hear his answer. Everyone else could only watch with envy.
"Zi Jing?" Mu Duo, Zuo Yu, and others all exclaimed in surprise.
Luo Laoer instantly motioned for them to be quiet. "Don't spread it around! I put in quite a bit of effort to find this out, so don't let my work be for nothing."
"Zi Jing? The notorious traitor?" Mu Duo was astonished.
Luo Laoer retorted, "She's not a traitor. She never betrayed the Transcendent Universe, though she did run away. It's said that she fled because a certain technology that the Transcendent Universe is researching will bring about unpredictable and disastrous consequences."
Zuo Yu pondered with a serious expression. "My grandfather once mentioned that that woman is very important. Her disappearance put a halt to the development of one of our crucial cultivation technologies. If she hadn’t been found, our progress would have stalled for a very long time."
"Since she’s returned, we'll soon see a breakthrough in that cultivation technology, which is why the Ruling Council has decided to move our battlefield to the Cloudflow Universe," Luo Laoer explained.
"What does Cloudflow Universe have to do with anything? Is Zi Jing from there?" Lu Yin interjected.
Someone sharply reprimanded Lu Yin, "Do you have the right to speak? Shut up!"
Mu Duo glared at the speaker. "He's under me. You shut up."
"Mu Duo, others might be afraid of you, but I'm not. My family has also been nominated to the Ruling Council."
"So what?"
Zuo Yu lost her patience. "Enough! Why are we arguing? My grandfather is part of the Ruling Council right now."
The other two instantly fell silent.
Lu Yin was speechless. These people were literally competing in who their backer was.