Chapter 2866: Kneeling Three Times  

Lu Yin suddenly pressed down with his hands, forcing Shao Yin to kneel for the third time. "And this is for me! I told you before that I would force you to kneel for me. I’ve already executed Sage Yuan, and next is your turn.”

Shao Yin suddenly looked up. All of the hatred and rage were gone from his eyes, and he started begging, "Don't kill me! I don't want to die! Lu Yin- Dao Monarch Lu, Dao Monarch Lu, don't kill me! Don't kill me..."

Lu Yin frowned. "A lot of people act like this before death because they finally realize they’re about to die."

Shao Yin kept begging, "I don't want to die! I want to keep cultivating. I am a strong sequence powerhouse! I was one of the Three Sovereigns! Even in Aeternus, I am second only to the Seven Skygods. Dao Monarch Lu, don't kill me! Please, don’t kill me.”

Lu Yin's hand fell, and Shao Yin went bug-eyed. His eyes were bloodshot, and he slowly collapsed.

At this exact moment, the divine energy finally disappeared.

Big Sis and the others were all freed to move again.

Lu Yin stared at Shao Yin as he fell through outer space, and then turned to look to the side, where Sovereign Ninth Lotus stepped out. Shock filled Lu Yin’s eyes.

"Explain now." Lu Yin demanded in a cold voice. He had not killed Shao Yin. Just as he had been about to do so, Sovereign Lotus had arrived and stopped Lu Yin.

Sovereign Ninth Lotus took a deep breath. She looked at the nearly dead Shao Yin in a conflicted manner. "He is still useful."

"The Great Sovereign already knew that he was a spy?" Lu Yin was not stupid. Sovereign Lotus’s appearance at this exact moment proved something. At this same time, Lu Yin remembered how Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji had all been tossed to the Endless Frontier during the Tea Ceremony, but Shao Yin had not.

Over the years, Sovereign Shao Yin had made various mistakes while on the Endless Frontier, but had always managed to compensate for those matters in other ways. The Great Sovereign had never shown any doubt in the man.

However, this trust was rather unreasonable.

In the past, Lu Yin had merely thought that the Great Sovereign was too arrogant, thinking that she could control the Cyclic Universe’s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, even determining their lives and deaths, and that the woman’s sense of control was the reason that she had not worried about Shao Yin, but it appeared that things were not as Lu Yin had believed.

Sovereign Lotus softly replied, "This is a matter for my Cyclic Universe. Lord Lu has made him kneel three times to atone for his crimes, so release him."

Lu Yin laughed. "You want me to release him just because you tell me to? Just who do you think you are?"

The woman’s eyes flared. "What did you say?"

"Hey, little sister, you have a bad attitude."

Big Sis walked towards Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

Leng Qing and Arch-Elder Zen were both staring at the woman as well.

Sovereign Lotus frowned. "Dao Monarch Lu, do you want to start a war with my Cyclic Universe?"

Lu Yin looked away, his eyes frigid. "You’re asking me to release a spy, which is reason to believe that you are also a spy yourself. I could kill you without needing to justify my actions to anyone."

Big Sis’s smile grew even brighter. “Little sister, are you Sovereign Lotus? I happen to also be quite good at flower battle techniques. How about a competition?”

Sovereign Lotus looked over at Big Sis. Was this woman really going to attack? Was the descendant of the Lu family really going to ignore Sovereign Lotus? Was everyone from the Origin Universe mad?

The Sovereign suppressed her anger. "Master has ordered me to keep an eye on Sovereign Shao Yin. While he is undoubtedly a problem, Master has said that he cannot die. Master must have arranged something for him. Dao Monarch Lu, please consider this, and for the sake of my master’s wishes, let Sovereign Shao Yin go."

Lu Yin remained silent for a bit. "When did the Great Sovereign realize that there was something wrong with Sovereign Shao Yin?"

Sovereign Lotus shook her head. "I don't know that."

"When were you ordered to keep an eye on Sovereign Shao Yin?" Lu Yin asked another question.

The Sovereign’s eyes flickered. "Not long ago."

Lu Yin stared at the woman. "What do you mean, not long ago?"

"Just what exactly are you asking, Dao Monarch Lu?" Sovereign Lotus retorted.

Lu Yin’s eyes glinted dangerously. "When you say long ago, do you mean before my Lu family was exiled, or after?"

Sovereign Lotus’s fingers twitched and she glanced at Big Sis, but refused to answer.

Still, Lu Yin understood, and he sneered. "What an amazing Great Sovereign. What an incredible strategist. What a... crazy woman."

Sovereign Lotus instantly shouted, "Dao Monarch Lu, show some respect!"

Lu Yin roared, "Shut up. Fuck off!"

Sovereign Ninth Lotus glared at Lu Yin. "You!"

Lu Yin met the Sovereign’s gaze, "Give a message to that crazy woman for me; sooner or later, I’ll force her to repay the debt she owes the Lu family."

"You are too arrogant! Master is from the same generation as your Origin Progenitor! Even if she is-"

Before the woman could finish speaking, Big Sis attacked, and a blood-red lotus shot towards the Sovereign. Sovereign Lotus gritted her teeth. "You’re all madmen!"

She then turned and left.

Lu Yin let out a breath, looking very upset.

The Great Sovereign had known for a long time that there was something wrong with Sovereign Shao Yin, and yet she had still gone along with his plan to banish the Lu family. Why? There were only two possibilities that Lu Yin could think of; either the Great Sovereign had simply been following the general trend of the times when she had targeted the Lu family, or she had sacrificed the Lu family for the sake of her own plan. Those were the only two possibilities.

It was completely impossible that Ancestor Lu Yuan had conspired with the Great Sovereign and been privy to her plans. While Lu Yin had only met with his ancestor a few times, it was clear that the man would never participate in any scheme that would risk his Lu family.

How many members of the Lu family and their vassals had died since the four ruling powers had exiled the Lu family? How much had the Lu family suffered from that matter?

Wan Zhiyi, Tu Qiming, Lu Yin’s old servant, the people who had been driven insane in Crimson Garden, the Seven Heroes, and even Lu Yin himself. If Ancestor Lu Yuan had truly really conspired with the Great Sovereign, he would have to be too cold-blooded.

Countless people had been sacrificed in order to fight against the Aeternals, so many of whom had been loyal to the Lu family and to Lu Yin himself. While sacrificing them might have been the correct decision when considering the overall picture, sacrificing those close to him was something Lu Yin refused to accept no matter what.

Besides, how much harm could Sovereign Shao Yin alone do to Aeternus?

No matter how he considered the situation, Lu Yin could only come up with those two possibilities.

Regardless of which might be true, the Great Sovereign was insane.

Far away, Chen Le was terrified by what had just occurred, and he stared at Lu Yin with greater fear than he had even felt for Mr. Daheng.

Lu Yin was ruthless and arrogant. His behavior contrasted sharply with how he had acted in the past. He had actually insulted the Great Sovereign, and then done so repeatedly. He had told Sovereign Lotus to get lost, and had nearly killed Sovereign Shao Yin.

Had joining the Heavens Sect really been the right choice for Chen Le?

He was a Monarch, a peak powerhouse, and yet he was nothing more than Lu Yin’s servant, and not even one who received much respect. Chen Le somewhat regretted his decision, but, at the same time, Lu Yin’s strength made it so that Chen Le did not have to worry about Mr. Daheng. There were always wins and losses.

Big Sis, Arch-Elder Zen, and the others who were present were also able to reach the same conclusions as Lu Yin, and no one knew what to say.

If the Great Sovereign's plan that involved Sovereign Shao Yin was able to eliminate Aeternus entirely, then the price that had been paid was more than justified. However, if it was not possible to utterly destroy the Aeternals, or the full impact of the plan could not be determined, then exiling the Lu family had been too high a price to pay. Essentially, it came down to the fact that the Great Sovereign had wanted to banish the Lu family.

Regardless of what may have happened, the Lu family had been treated unjustly, and Lu Yin had been wronged even worse.

"Little Seven, what do you want to do? Everyone in the Origin Universe will support you." Big Sis’ voice dripped with killing intent. She was not one to stick to the rules. During Heavens Sect era, Progenitor Yōu Ming had not only been famous for her strength, but also for her unruliness.

Lu Yin's expression fell. "Chen Le."

Chen Le was startled to be called out, but he quickly stepped forward. "Dao Monarch, what can this subordinate do for you"

"Toss Sovereign Shao Yin away."

Many things had already happened, and Lu Yin would be sure to make the Great Sovereign pay the price, but for the moment, regardless of what the Great Sovereign had planned for Shao Yin, Lu Yin did not need to ruin those plans. After all, it would only harm Aeternus.

Chen Le grew confused. "Where should I send him?"

"Any other universe on the Endless Frontier."

Chen Le nodded, grabbed Sovereign Shao Yin, and left.

The Monarch was exceptionally nervous. He had never imagined that he might one day drag a Sovereign around in such a manner. After all, in the past, even Monarch Luo had needed to show a level of respect towards Sovereign Shao Yin.

Chen Le could not even begin to describe what he felt at the moment.

Arch-Elder Zen was worried. "If we let him go free like this, won’t he suspect something?"

Lu Yin replied, "It doesn't matter if he does. If he wants to live, he won't dare tell the Aeternals that I let him go. He has to realize that I don’t want to release him, so he won’t dare say a word to anyone."

Big Sis felt frustrated. "It's a pity that we have to just let him go like this."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. "It is a pity. I had wanted to anoint another champion."

The jiao flew over. As soon as the divine energy had appeared during the previous battle, the beast had hidden itself, and only returned after all of the fighting was over.

Lu Yin was already quite familiar with the jiao’s behavior, and was not concerned. After all, how could he expect anything more from a mere mount?

After stepping onto the jiao, the group made their way towards the Merchant Exchange’s headquarters.

Inside the tower, Bi Teng grew solemn. "Open the gates to welcome our guests."

Bi Teng then led dozens of people from the Merchant Exchange out to greet Lu Yin and the others.

The Spatial Decaying Diablos that had surrounded the tower had all disappeared.

The jiao arrived and stared at the top of the tower with massive eyes. It could see the strange creature that lazily lounged atop the tower. The presence of the odd creature caused the entire tower to flicker.

"The Merchant Exchange’s Bi Teng welcomes Dao Monarch Lu as our guest."

Lu Yin hummed in response and walked into the tower behind Bi Teng.

The Merchant Exchange had witnessed the entire battle of Lu Yin and his people completely subduing the enemy. They had watched as Aeternus’s powerhouses had been forced into retreat.

Sovereign Shao Yin had even been forced to his knees three times by Lu Yin, and the Merchant Exchange had witnessed that event as well.

At the moment, all of them stared at Lu Yin with respect and a bit of fear.

It was not that the Merchant Exchange feared no one, but that they did not fear those who were no threat. This included many peak powerhouses, but did not include sequence powerhouses.

The Merchant Exchange had previously needed to show Sovereign Shao Yin a measure of respect, but they had come to realize that there was another person they needed to be wary of: Lu Yin.

There was no need for Lu Yin to be overly polite to Bi Teng or anyone else from the Merchant Exchange. After all, the two had simply completed a transaction.

Once they had entered the tower, Bi Teng asked Lu Yin to have a seat. The man then wasted no time and pulled out a pile of cosmic rings. "Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu, for saving our Merchant Exchange. Here is what we agreed to."

Lu Yin nodded, and Bi Teng then delivered all of the cosmic rings to Arch-Elder Zen.

"I'm quite curious about something; I’ve heard that the Aeternals claim that Bi Rong is dead?" Lu Yin asked bluntly.

Bi Teng answered in a solemn manner, "Of course the Aeternals hope that Lord Bi Rong is dead, but our lord cannot die."

"Oh?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

Bi Teng frowned slightly. He was a bit put off by Lu Yin's indifferent attitude, but that was not something that Bi Teng could afford to reveal. Without Bi Rong, the Merchant Exchange was no different from a wallet that could not protect itself.

The Aeternals could attack the Merchant Exchange, but so could the Sixverse Association.

Lu Yin was a particular threat, as his greed for resources exceeded all others. If he targeted the Merchant Exchange, it would be very bad for them.

Bi Teng glanced over at Bi Lan, who spoke up in a respectful tone, "Dao Monarch Lu, Lord Bi Rong is a powerhouse who even the Great Sovereign addresses with respect. Our lord is merely in seclusion. While it has indeed been a very long time, there is no chance that any accident has befallen him. The Sixverse Association can rest assured."

Lu Yin laughed. "I don't care if the Sixverse Association believes the rumors or not. I’ve heard that Bi Rong has a good relationship with the Lord of Lightning. Why didn't he ask the Lord of Lightning for some help?"

Bi Teng gave a bitter smile. "The Lord of Lightning has too much on his own plate. The Aeternals are insane. Everyone who attended the Tea Ceremony, no matter if they are a part of the Sixverse Association, the Endless Frontier, or from powerful outside organizations, they are all being targeted by the Aeternals. If not for this, we would naturally ask the Lord of Lightning for his assistance.”