Lu Yin looked at the odd man with surprise. “Are you a merman?”
The man stared back at Lu Yin. “Identify yourself.”
Lu Yin looked away from the man and glanced around. “Lu Yin.”
The man frowned. Lu Yin? This was a very familiar name.
All of the guards felt the same way, and then one of them suddenly exclaimed, “Lu Yin? The leader of the Great Eastern Alliance? The champion of ZENITH?”
The moment they heard these words, everyone made the connection, and they all stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. Lu Yin could see curiosity, fear, and nervousness in their eyes.
The leader’s eyes went wide. “You- are you Lu Yin?”
Lu Yin nodded. “Where am I?”
At the moment, the name Lu Yin was recognizable the moment it was spoken. Naturally, everyone had heard his name and had some impression of him, as long as they were in contact with the universe as a whole. Both regular humans and cultivators knew of Lu Yin.
The man gulped. The name Lu Yin did not only represent a person, but also conflict and the Outerverse and Innerverse. How many wars had been fought because of Lu Yin? One had even been fought in the Cosmic Sea.
“This is the Cosmic Sea,” the man nervously replied.
Lu Yin was not surprised. “So do you belong to a particular island, or are you a part of a crew?”
A booming voice shouted from the distance, “Unyielding Corps!”
Lu Yin turned to look and was surprised to find that he actually recognized the man. He was Ye Xingchen, who had once been one of the four peerless Limiteers along with Lu Yin.
At that time, Lu Yin had fought against both Ling Que and Mu Rong, but he had never faced Ye Xingchen. The Sixth Mainland had invaded before an opportunity came up. By the time that Lu Yin finally met Ye Xingchen, a gap had already opened up between them. Ye Xingchen had later participated in ZENITH, and by that time, the gap had only widened. At the moment, it was completely impossible to compare the two young men.
During ZENITH, Ye Xingchen had fought against Fan Shun.
Lu Yin was surprised that exiting Burial Garden had led him to a gate in the Unyielding Corps’ territory.
Ye Xingchen had not expected to see Lu Yin appear from the gate. They had only recently discovered Burial Garden’s Gate, and they had still been debating over whether or not to enter when Lu Yin came out of it.
“Alliance Leader Lu, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Ye Xingchen spoke loudly, but he remained calm as he looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I’ve long heard of you, Ye Xingchen.”
Ye Xingchen showed a small smile. “I can’t compare with Alliance Leader Lu, and my Unyielding Corps can’t compare with your Great Eastern Alliance.”
“I didn’t expect to come out in the Cosmic Sea. Can you welcome an uninvited guest like me?” Lu Yin asked with a smile.
Ye Xingchen made a gesture of welcome. “This is something that I couldn’t have asked for more. I’ve wanted to speak with you as much as ten years ago, Alliance Leader Lu.”
“I’ve felt the exact same way myself,” Lu Yin replied.
“Please.”
…
The Unyielding Corps was a very small crew within the Cosmic Sea. In addition to the Four Pirate Crews, there were also many smaller crews in the Cosmic Sea, such as the Arcadian Arrow Crew. However, the Unyielding Corps was much smaller than even the Arcadian Arrow Crew.
When Lu Yin had first heard about Ye Xingchen, Lu Yin’s first thought had been to wonder how Ye Xingchen managed to roam about the Cosmic Sea with his strength. It was a question that Lu Yin had never been able to answer.
“The Cosmic Sea is dangerous, and it’s really not a good place to wander around. If you’re unlucky and run into another crew, then it’s highly likely that one of the two will be wiped out…” Ye Xingchen played host to Lu Yin and shared a great deal of information about the Cosmic Sea.
Lu Yin had to ask, “In that case, why does Brother Ye stay here?”
Ye Xingchen shrugged. “Honestly, I didn’t create the Unyielding Corps. It was created by my father.”
Lu Yin arched a brow, as this was something that he had not known; he had only ever heard that Ye Xingchen had put the Unyielding Corps together.
“My father founded the Unyielding Corps and became good friends with the mermen, so he managed to leave me with a crew. I took over the crew in order to not let my father’s hard work go to waste after he died. The only reason why I’m able to move about the Cosmic Sea is thanks to the mermen,” Ye Xingchen explained.
“Many different crews move about on the surface of the Cosmic Sea and compete with each other there, but the truth is that the mermen are the ones who actually control the Cosmic Sea. They’re able to read the weather, find new routes, and avoid danger. Unfortunately, they don’t have any true powerhouses, or else the Cosmic Sea definitely would not belong to humans.”
Lu Yin commented, “I remember that Leon’s Armada has a merman crew.”
Ye Xingchen nodded. “Their Merman Regiment is led by Brother Hao. He’s the most powerful merman in the universe, and he’s also the reason why I was able to meet with his captain, Highsage Leon.”
Ye Xingchen glanced over at Lu Yin at this moment, as no one actually understood what the exact relationship between Lu Yin and Leon’s Armada was.
“Brother Ye, feel free to say whatever you want,” Lu Yin said.
Ye Xingchen continued, “Highsage Leon’s always wanted to incorporate the Unyielding Corps into his armada, but I’ve never been interested in joining them. This crew is the result of my father’s efforts, and he was a proud man who would never bow, not even to the Longevity Brigade or if it killed him. That attitude was what led to his death.”
“Was your father killed by the Longevity Brigade?” Lu Yin was surprised.
Ye Xingchen nodded. He then rose to his feet and formally said to Lu Yin, “Alliance Leader Lu, I, Ye Xingchen, would like to express my immense gratitude for the destruction of the Longevity Brigade.”
Lu Yin helped the young man back up. “I didn’t destroy the Longevity Brigade to avenge your father, so there’s no reason for you to thank me.”
Ye Xingchen’s voice turned bitter. “If not for Alliance Leader Lu, I would have never been able to get revenge in my entire life. Regardless of whether you agree or not, I, Ye Xingchen, owe you a favor.”
After spending some time chatting with Ye Xingchen, Lu Yin learned that while there were quite a few of Burial Garden’s gates in the Cosmic Sea, the gate that the Unyielding Corps had found had not been revealed to the rest of the universe, and no one knew that there was an exit in this place.
“Actually, it’s quite dangerous to stand guard at this gate. If it hadn’t been you, Alliance Leader Lu, who came out, but instead an enemy, we would have been in quite a bit of trouble.” Ye Xingchen sighed. He was an ambitious man. The Unyielding Corps had originally refrained from joining Leon’s Armada because of Ye Xingchen’s father’s pride, but later, it had remained independent because of Ye Xingchen’s own arrogance.
However, many years had passed, and when Ye Xingchen saw the heights that Lu Yin, who had also once been one of the four peerless Limiteers, had risen to, Ye Xingchen was forced to face reality. He had even been willing to verbally admit that he could have never gotten revenge for himself. A decade before, such words would have been impossible for Ye Xingchen to speak.
Lu Yin was in no hurry to leave the Unyielding Corps, though he did call Wang Wen.
Before Lu Yin entered Burial Garden’s gate, he had asked Wang Wen to tally up the number of gates that had appeared throughout the Great Eastern Alliance, and they should have a rough number by now.
“There are 89 gates in our Great Eastern Alliance’s territory, sixteen of which are exits. This is the most recent data that’s been gathered by the top powers like the Sword Sect, the Lingling clan, and more,” Wang Wen explained.
Lu Yin asked, “How many exits do we control outside of the eight great flowzones?”