An explosion rang out within Lu Yin’s mind. Mu- Mu- Mu Xie?
He looked up, incredulous. “Mu?”
Qing Chen was not paying attention to Lu Yin, so he did not notice Lu Yin’s abnormal reaction. Instead, he was simply looking up above. His eyes seemed to pierce through space to observe the Higher Realm as well as the even further away Dominion Realm and the individuals up there. “Yes, the commander’s surname is Mu, and his full name is Mu Xie. You must remember that, after completing your apprenticeship ceremony, you will be referring to him as Master Mu.”
Lu Yin’s head dropped low as he processed an absurd possibility; could the commander actually be Mister Mu?
Was that even possible?
Lu Yin was utterly stunned. When observing the entire history of the Perennial World, the Fifth Mainland, and the Sixth Mainland, how many Progenitors could there be? On top of that, Mu was a unique surname, and at the very least, Lu Yin had never heard of a Progenitor with that particular surname before. If Mister Mu was indeed a Progenitor as Lu Yin suspected, then it was highly likely that he was this Mu Xie.
Mister Mu and Mu Xie; could they be the same person? Lu Yin was completely confused.
Even as Qing Chen led Lu Yin up to the Higher Realm, the youth still did not react to anything. His mind was completely occupied by the name “Mu Xie.”
***
At the Celestial Frost Sect, in Jade Valley, Yu Chen slowly clenched her fists. She had miscalculated. She had made a mistake. Long Qi actually had ascended through the Cloud Shuttle, and he had not taken a detour.
Word of the battle beneath the Cloud Shuttle that had broken out between Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo and Qing Chen had already spread to the Celestial Frost Sect, so Yu Chen was aware that she had made a mistake.
She had overestimated Long Qi. No, she had studied all sorts of information regarding Long Qi. She had not overestimated him, definitely not; rather, she had underestimated him. Long Qi had actually taken all of Yu Chen’s own scheming and thoughts into consideration before coming up with the best method possible to counter her plans. He had already factored her into his plans, and that was why he had taken the Cloud Shuttle.
Was he that certain that the Celestial Frost Sect would send someone to capture him?
Liu Shaoge stood behind Yu Chen, a subtle smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. There were certain times when people were too smart for their own good.
Yu Chen’s mistake had not only allowed Lu Yin to safely arrive at Dragon Mountain, but it would also lead to a disaster for herself.
In the past, when Bai Shaohong had still been around, Yu Chen had relied upon the Junior Progenitor to stand at the top of the Celestial Frost Sect. Back then, even Envoys like Elder Qing Xing had needed to show their respect to Yu Chen. However, now that Bai Shaohong was dead, Yu Chen’s status within the Celestial Frost Sect would plummet.
The Higher Realm did not host many events. The Yuanlun Festival was the only major event to occur within recent decades, though the ceremony at Dragon Mountain was quickly becoming the next major event in the Higher Realm.
After all, the ceremony not only involved the White Dragon Clan, but also those who had been invited to attend. Already, more than two Semi-Progenitors had gotten involved, and because of the information regarding Long Qi that the White Dragon Clan had released, it was possible that Array Masters or even Array Grandmasters might take some precious time away from the rear battlefield to attend the ceremony.
The Perennial World only had a few Lockbreakers, and that was in large part because the Lockbreaker Headquarters had been established on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. In order for someone to become a Lockbreaker, they had to step onto the battlefield, and there were few people who were bold enough to do so in the entire Perennial World.
However, despite the low number of Lockbreakers, there were actually quite a few powerful Lockbreakers.
With the exception of the White Dragon Clan, the other members of the four ruling powers all had their own powerful Lockbreakers, which had long since been a point of frustration for the White Dragon Clan.
Lu Yin’s talent for lockbreaking was something that could compensate for a weakness that the clan sorely lacked.
While the clan did have some Lockbreakers and even a few Array Masters, the White Dragon Clan had a terrible lack of truly talented Lockbreakers.
Up in the Higher Realm, the dark sky felt slightly suffocating, and light could only be found within the four ruling powers territories.
The closer Lu Yin and Qing Chen drew to Dragon Mountain, the more people who were traveling in the same direction. They filled the sky, and they even covered the ground.
The White Dragon Clan had sent out invitations to only the most powerful forces of the Middle Realm, but these invitations had been sent to every organization in the Higher Realm, especially to those that lay close to Dragon Mountain. Every force that was subordinate to the White Dragon Clan had to offer their congratulations.
There were many places in the Higher Realm that relied upon the four ruling powers, but there were no independent forces, as the four ruling powers did not allow independent organizations to exist in the Higher Realm. Everyone had to be underneath the four ruling powers.
A massive figure appeared in front of Lu Yin, which attracted attention from countless people below.
The cultivators from the various regions of the Higher Realm all looked up and watched as Lu Yin and Qing Chen stepped onto the back of a massive creature that then disappeared towards Dragon Mountain.
“That young man’s Long Qi.”
“He has to be. For Elder Long Kui to personally come out to meet someone, he could only be Long Qi.”
“I know that one of those people was Senior Qing Chen, the Supervisor of the Nine Gates, which means that the young man must be Long Qi.”
“What a level he’s reached at such a young age! As soon as he is accepted as the commander’s disciple, he’ll be equal to the four Junior Progenitors! I’m so jealous!”
“What are you jealous of? The Celestial Frost Sect is completely focused on him, and I even heard that Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong’s death is somehow connected to Long Qi.”
“Don’t spout such nonsense! Those are nothing more than mere suspicions, and everyone who returned from the Dominion Realm is a suspect. How could Long Qi have had anything to do with the Junior Progenitor’s death when he was nothing more than a Hunter at the time?”
“But he’s already an Array Master!”
The person who had been defending Long Qi suddenly fell silent. It was true that a sourcebox array was enough to turn trash into treasure, and no one was surprised that these methods were able to protect humanity from their enemies. Thus, as far as most people were concerned, Lu Yin being an Array Master was the primary reason why the Celestial Frost Sect was so suspicious of him.
Before long, a group appeared in the sky. Each person in the group stood atop a broken blade as they made their way towards Dragon Mountain. Each individual radiated a powerful killing intent.
“Someone from Shenwu’s Sky has arrived early! It looks like they are treating this ceremony as something very important.”
In the crowd below, there was a grandfather grandson pair who watched on in envy.
“Grandpa, when I grow up, I’ll also become famous in the Higher Realm, just like Long Qi!” the little boy said. He looked to be no more than eleven or twelve years old, and his face blazed with excitement even as his eyes radiated his desires.
The old man looked down at the boy and said, “Yes, you will.”
He looked back up and let out a sigh of relief.
“Grandpa, will the bad guys catch us?” the boy asked.
The old man answered, “No, don’t worry. We’re at Dragon Mountain, and they wouldn’t dare to do so here.”
“Oh.”
…
For the second time in his life, Lu Yin visited Dragon Mountain. His first time at the mountain had been quite a low-key affair, and very few people had been aware of it. However, this time, Lu Yin’s arrival was very high-profile.
When Long Kui met Lu Yin this time, the clan elder’s attitude was completely different from before.
With each new meeting, Long Kui had a different impression of the youth, and once again, Long Kui felt like something had changed between his last meeting with Long Qi.