Star Odyssey

Chapter 4408: Not Bad

Ancestor Lu Yuan needed to help prepare the star chart for the region surrounding the Human Trio, and Lu Yin had no time to do it himself. Therefore, this task could only be completed by one of the three Lu family juniors.

Lu Yin soon met with a young man and woman in the Lu Sanctum. They were both very young, and they looked at him with eyes filled with reverence and fervor. Lu Yin was a legend for the entire human civilization. For the Lu family, just as for humanity as a whole, Lu Yin was the person whom they admired most, without exception.

"Junior Lu Feiyang greets Ancestor."

"Junior Lu Hui greets Ancestor."

Hearing their greetings gave Lu Yin a very strange feeling. Ancestor? Had he really become an ancestor?

He looked over at Ancestor Lu Tianyi, and the man just smiled and explained, "They are juniors born within the last few centuries. They are from a generation far below yours, so calling you ancestor is only proper."

Lu Yin nodded, still feeling rather odd. He really had become an ancestor.

In recent years, because of their innate gift of teleportation, the Lu family had never had a moment of peace. Every day, people approached them seeking marriage alliances. It could be said that the number of women wanting to marry into the Lu family could fill the entire Lu Sanctum. Many of the women did not even want to marry into the family; as long as they could win the favor of a member of the Lu family and bear a child, that would be enough. Each woman hoped that their child might awaken the innate gift of teleportation. If that happened, not only would their child live a blessed life, but their entire family would also rise to prominence.

This was regarded as the fastest way to rise in the current era.

In fact, there was even a prime example of this: Lu Feiyang.

His mother had met a member of the Lu family during a training excursion. In truth, the woman had known that the man was a member of the Lu family. Her presence at the same training excursion was the result of a long-planned scheme by those behind her. The member of the Lu family had no idea that he was being targeted and believed that he had found true love. In the end, the two became a couple.

When that man from the Lu family learned that he had been deceived, he left in anger. The woman did not regret her actions and gave birth to Lu Feiyang. When he awakened the innate gift of teleportation, countless people were stirred, especially those behind the woman, who were absolutely ecstatic.

The result was that Lu Feiyang was taken to the Lu Sanctum, and his mother’s status also rose because of her son; she was even added to the Lu family tree. While the people behind her had schemed against the member of the Lu family, they had borne him no ill will. The birth of another person with the innate gift of teleportation benefitted all of humanity and also fulfilled their goal.

The one who felt most aggrieved was the man from the Lu family himself, but the fact that Lu Feiyang had awakened the family’s innate gift benefited his father greatly as well, elevating the man’s status and multiplying the resources that he was entitled to a hundredfold.

Such a small grievance could be endured.

For human civilization, this was a good thing. One more person with teleportation meant one more hope. However, not all of the Lu family was happy about it.

Although they were willing to sacrifice much for humanity, they refused to allow themselves to be treated as breeding stock. From that moment on, the Lu family imposed stricter controls over their disciples, especially those who went out for training. Their whereabouts would never be revealed. As for those who sought marriage alliances, they were carefully screened to avoid anyone exploiting their relationship with the Lu family.

The Lu family also placed great importance on educating their younger members. The example of Lu Huai had been engraved into the memories of every member of the family.

Even a genius like Lu Huai, who had once been watched by all of humanity, had vanished in an instant, let alone other juniors from the Lu family.

Among the Lu family, the most admired person was Lu Yin, but he was also the most feared. He only needed to speak a single word, as no one would dare to interrupt.

Everyone understood Lu Yin's character, so no matter how high the Lu family's status rose, none of their members dared to act recklessly.

"Lu Feiyang, Lu Hui... both are good names." Lu Yin did not quite know what to say. In the past, he had interacted with either comrades or enemies. Upon being confronted by juniors, he felt that he should offer them some bit of praise.

Lu Tianyi could only suppress his laugh. This compliment was far too casual.

Even so, Lu Feiyang and Lu Hui both got so excited that they could scarcely breathe. Their faces flushed red as they bowed low to Lu Yin. "Thank you for the praise, Ancestor!"

"Thank you for the praise, Ancestor!"

Lu Yin only briefly acknowledged them. "I won’t waste time. I have a mission, and I intend to choose one of you to complete it. Let me say this first: this mission is dangerous, and death is possible at any time. Are you willing to accept it?"

Lu Feiyang did not hesitate at all. "Please give your orders, Ancestor."

Lu Hui glared at him and then looked back at Lu Yin. "Please give your orders, Ancestor."

Lu Yin glanced at Lu Tianyi. He had expected the two to hesitate at least slightly. This was not because Lu Yin looked down on them, but rather because they had grown up in an extremely privileged environment. Having awakened the innate gift of teleportation, they were treated as treasures by everyone and were among those who received the best resources in the entire human civilization.

Even so, they were willing to risk their lives without hesitation. One could imagine how well the Lu family had raised their children.

Lu Tianyi said, "The matter of Lu Huai served as a warning to everyone. Since then, all of the Lu family’s children, whether they awakened the ability to teleport or not, are very strictly managed. Do you know how many descendants the Lu family has now? Far too many. In recent years, the Lu family has expanded by dozens of times over."

Lu Yin understood. With the appearance of the innate gift of teleportation, everyone wanted to try to awaken it. Even members of the Lu family themselves hoped to have more children, since if even one of their children could awaken that innate gift, it would elevate the status of all of their direct relatives.

For a time, this had caused many members of the Lu family to focus less on cultivation and more on such matters, until Ancestor Lu Yuan had forcefully redisciplined the family over the course of a century.

Lu Yin had heard about this matter, but he had never interfered. Only recently had the Lu family truly stabilized.

Looking at Lu Feiyang and Lu Hui, Lu Yin felt very satisfied. Only in this way could their family go farther.

Was the Lu family powerful? No, not at all. Not even the entire human civilization could be considered strong in the Aevum Inch, let alone the Lu family.

He hoped to see human civilization recreate the glory of the Nine Ramparts era. Although that was related to human civilization as a whole, a civilization consisted of individuals, and those individuals had to advance with their civilization, rather than hold it back. In this regard, the Lu family needed to take the lead, as everyone was watching them.

With Ancestor Lu Yuan and the others overseeing things, Lu Yin felt greatly reassured.

At this moment, Lu Buzheng arrived, and he slowly bowed to Lu Yin. "Greetings, Lord Lu."

The man was from an even more senior generation than Lu Tianyi's, so he normally would not bow, but he did so to Lu Yin because of Lu Yin's identity as the ruler of the Tianyuan.

Lu Yin smiled. "Third Uncle, why are you here?"

Lu Buzheng looked at Lu Yin with a solemn expression and bowed again. "There is someone who has respectfully requested an audience with you, Lord Lu."

Lu Yin glanced outside. He already knew who was requesting the audience.

Lu Tianyi remained calm and said nothing.

"Very well. Let him in."

Lu Buzheng let out a breath of relief. Nothing could be hidden from Lu Yin, and since he had agreed to meet, he naturally knew who was requesting it. A willingness to meet meant that an opportunity was being given.

Lu Feiyang and Lu Hui were curious. Who had come?

Soon a man walked in to stand beside Lu Feiyang and Lu Hui. Facing Lu Yin, he bowed low. "Lu Huai greets Lord Lu."

Lu Feiyang and Lu Hui were shocked. Lu Huai? It’s actually him?

Within the Lu family, Lu Huai was another legendary figure. He was nearly as well known as Lu Yin. Of course Lu Yin was regarded as a positive example, whereas Lu Huai was a negative one.

Lu Huai was the first person after Ancestor Lu Yuan and Lu Yin to awaken the innate gift of teleportation, and he was also Lu Buzheng’s son, which meant that his seniority in the Lu family was extremely high. For a time, he had attracted the entire human civilization’s attention, yet his arrogance and conceit had ultimately consumed him. Lu Yin had personally placed Lu Huai in his Champions' Stage Purgatory, after which the man had vanished completely.

No one knew where Lu Huai had gone. Many had said that his cultivation had been crippled and that he continued to live somewhere in obscurity. Others said that he had taken his own life. In short, there were various rumors.

Within the Lu family, Lu Huai was used as an example when educating children, so every member of the Lu family knew of him.

Lu Huai had not returned for many years, though it was also possible that he had returned without anyone recognizing him. After all, he had been famous more than 1,000 years ago.

Although the Lu family used Lu Huai as an example, they had never revealed his appearance out of respect for Lu Buzheng. That was why, even if Lu Huai passed by younger members of the Lu family, none would recognize him.

At this moment, they were actually seeing Lu Huai in person. The man was completely different from what they had imagined.

At this moment, Lu Huai had firm eyes and a calm expression. Even when facing Lu Yin, the man expressed neither humbleness nor arrogance. There was respect, yet his emotions remained restrained. Looking closely, there was some resemblance between him and Lu Yin, and Lu Huai’s bearing was even more similar.

This was completely different from the Lu Huai in Lu Yin's memory. Whether it was the man’s gaze, expression, or presence, everything about him had changed entirely.

Lu Yin appraised Lu Huai. "Not bad."

Just two words, yet Lu Huai could no longer remain calm. He took a deep breath and bowed. "Thank you, Lord Lu."

Lu Tianyi and Lu Buzheng exchanged glances and smiled. They understood Lu Huai's transformation the best. Having been cast down from the clouds and after experiencing the Champions' Stage Purgatory, he had once been filled with confusion about the world. He had deliberately asked to walk the same path as Lu Yin, sealing his memories and cultivation and starting again from the very bottom.

He had faced life and death crises, but he had never once used the Lu family name to protect himself. That was why his bearing closely resembled Lu Yin's.

Using Lu Huai as an example within the Lu family was most fitting. His experiences were enough to serve as a warning to anyone.

Lu Yin stood up. "You will do."

With that, he stepped forward and vanished, and Lu Huai disappeared with him.

Lu Feiyang and Lu Hui were stunned, and they looked at Lu Tianyi in confusion. He smiled at them. "There are many missions and plenty of opportunities. There is no need to hurry."

After saying that, he also left.

Lu Buzheng finally let out a breath of relief and laughed freely. Throughout all these years, he had been the one suffering the most. When Lu Huai was born and awakened the innate gift of teleportation, he had instantly become a genius watched by all of human civilization. The Lu family had protected him, and Immortals had treasured him, which had left his own father with no authority at all. This had caused Lu Huai to grow up into a completely lawless wastrel. Yet those people had not valued Lu Huai himself, but rather his ability to teleport and the possibility of others awakening it as well. Lu Buzheng had never cared whether his son possessed that innate gift and only wished for his son to live a normal life.

He had once believed that, as Lu Huai grew increasingly arrogant, he would lose this son forever. Fortunately, Lord Lu had offered him a second chance and allowed Lu Buzheng’s son to turn back.

For a thousand years, Lu Huai had struggled upward, step by step from the very bottom. Lu Buzheng had watched and endured it all, because it was the only way that his son could truly rise again.

Now, he had finally endured it all.

In an instant, Lu Buzheng seemed to grow much younger. No matter what his son might face in the future, at least within the Lu family, his reputation would no longer be tarnished. He had gained Lord Lu's recognition, and that was enough.

Meanwhile, Lu Yin took Lu Huai into the Mirari Realm and deduced several layers of the Mirrorlight Art for him. After that, Lu Yin took Lu Huai and several others through a gate to the coordinates that Ba Se had provided him, telling them to use that location as the center of the star chart that they would create.