All of Lu Yin’s words were caught in his throat. He saw the stubbornness, sorrow, anger, and a myriad of other emotions in her eyes, but there was nothing that he could say to her. “I’m sorry.”

Ming Yan’s eyes dimmed. “Leave. Don’t come close to us ever again or else my father will not let you off.”

“He doesn’t know who I am,” Lu Yin said.

Ming Yan shook her head. “You underestimate him. Both you and Yue’er underestimate him.”

Lu Yin was surprised. “You know everything?”

The corner of Ming Yan’s lips curved up and she laughed deprecatingly at herself. “Does a native such as me appear to be very stupid to you, Lu Yin?”

Lu Yin was astonished by her words. Stupid? He seemed to have misjudged this girl. She was kind, beautiful, and definitely not stupid. When it came to her wit and instincts, she was absolutely much sharper than most. Yue Xianzi had created a fake identity with the help of her sect’s connections, and while the Reverent King might have some suspicions about her, he would still need to investigate to be sure. Ming Yan, on the other hand, was already completely certain. She was definitely much smarter than the king.

“How did you recognize me?” Lu Yin asked curiously.

Ming Yan blushed before hesitatingly answering, “M-my smell is on you.” After that, she struggled out of his arms since Yue Xianzi had finished taking care of the battle. The power that she had displayed was formidable.

Lu Yin felt an emptiness inside his now-empty arms. He looked at Ming Yan and had a sudden impulse and desire to stand atop the world and pull her into his arms. This girl had stolen his heart.

“Are you hurt, my lady?” Yue Xianzi asked worriedly.

Ming Yan shook her head. She glanced back at Lu Yin and discreetly pointed at Yue Xianzi as she stuck her tongue out. It was so adorable that Lu Yin froze at the sight. Her cheeky grin was simply that stunning.

Upon seeing Lu Yin’s dazed look, Ming Yan giggled and turned back away.

Yue Xianzi did not notice anything and was still looking around cautiously, fearful that more enemies might appear from nowhere.

When the battle in the distance ended, the evil sect members that had also ambushed them had been completely annihilated. Two of the trialtakers had been killed, but the Explorer trialtaker had escaped; Ming Zhaoshu had not been able to capture him.

“Are you hurt, Yan’er?” Ming Zhaoshu anxiously asked his daughter.

Ming Yan shook her head. “I had Yue’er here to protect me, so I’m fine.”

Ming Zhaoshu made a sound of acknowledgement. “Pack up. We’re going to continue moving forward.”

Butler Seven finally crawled out from underneath the private carriage, his expression still that of abject terror.

“Are you alright, Butler Seven”” Lu Yin asked with concern.

Butler Seven was rather embarrassed and coughed to cover up his fear. “Uh, I checked under the carriage for more evil sect members, but I didn’t find any. You can relax now.”

Lu Yin was rendered speechless. What a great excuse!

The king’s entourage was not the only group that had been attacked. All of the carriages in the Shenwu Empire that were heading towards the capital had been attacked. Most of the attacks were carried out by evil sect members, and the Demon Hunters were so overwhelmed that they were forced into a passive state. It was their job to deal with the evil sect members, but the evil sects were becoming increasingly aggressive, and even the crown prince, Ming Hao, was enraged by their actions. Ming Zhaotian’s birthday was just around the corner, but now, it seemed that there were people who were planning on turning this joyous celebratory event into a gruesome bloodbath.

But none of this had anything to do with Lu Yin. His only wish at this moment was for this journey to never end. Ming Yan’s existence had caused him to forget about a lot of things. The occasional eye contact between the two of them often made his heart race. It was a great feeling.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he wished otherwise, time could not be stopped. After around ten more days passed, the carriages stopped.

“My lord, we’ll reach Mingdu once we cross the road up ahead,” Tang Si reported.

Ming Zhaoshu made a sound of acknowledgement and then glanced at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin nodded back at him. Following Tang Si’s instructions, he left the carriages. He was to leave, head for the capital on his own, and then find a way to enter the crown prince’s household. Before he left the convoy, he sadly looked at one specific carriage one last time. After this farewell, he had no idea when they would be able to meet again. This was a sealed continent that was under heavy surveillance, so he did not know if he would be able to return or even leave this place alive.

With a sigh, he left.

Within the carriage, Ming Yan looked outside through the drapes while seemingly deep in thought.

“What’s wrong, Yan’er?” Ming Zhaoshu asked, surprised by her ruminative behavior.

Ming Yan shook her head and bitterly asked, “Is the grudge between us and the foreign aliens really irresolvable?”

Ming Zhaoshu was dumbfounded. “Why would you ask something like that?”

“I’m just curious. This war has gone on for too long,” Ming Yan quietly answered.

Ming Zhaoshu sighed and replied, “A millennium ago, an ultimate powerhouse appeared on this continent. He was the uncle of my brother and I. His name was Ming Taizhong, and he was a Martial God realm powerhouse. With his aid, the empire was invincible, and he even had the ability to tear through the void. The goal had been to create an era of prosperity, but alas, it was all in vain as this act only attracted the alien invaders to our continent. His Majesty eventually died after sealing the continent with the five planets. Now, after a millennium, countless powerhouses from this continent have died to protect those planets and our continent as an extension. This grudge has been reinforced with so much blood from both sides that it will not be easily resolved.”

Ming Yan appeared downcast from the answer and tightly clenched her handkerchief.

“Every family has a member who has died at the hands of the invaders. Whether they’re from the empire, the evil sects, or the islands in the boundless East Sea, everyone views the aliens as a common enemy. Once they’re discovered, they must die without exception.”

Ming Yan’s heart leaped, and her face paled. A thousand years had passed since the start of the war, but that wasn’t enough to resolve the grudge. Now, here she was hoping for reconciliation. In the eyes of the people living on the continent, perhaps she was a traitor.

Ming Zhaoshu looked at her with warm eyes. “I know that you’re a kind person, but this is a grudge that has lasted for a millennium. Don’t dwell on this too much. I will take care of everything.”

Ming Yan looked at her father again before lowering her head. “I do not wish to be wed, Father.”

Ming Zhaoshu frowned. “Why is that?” After a moment, he seemed to remember something and said, “Don’t worry, Yan’er. I will find a way to cleanse your reputation. I won’t allow you to suffer.”

“I’m sorry, father,” Ming Yan said in a small voice.

Ming Zhaoshu sighed and patted her on the shoulder, not thinking much of the situation. He assumed that his daughter was worried about her reputation and also reluctant to be separated from him.

Mingdu, the capital, was surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the tall peaks towering into the sky protected it. They formed the wall of an impenetrable fortress that was rumored to have Martial Sovereigns at its core, protecting the capital.

Lu Yin crossed through a forest and looked up. When he saw that the mountains off in the distance were growing larger, he stopped, leaped up into a tree, sat down cross-legged, and began cleansing his body of the drug.

While the drug that Ming Zhaoshu had given him was rather lethal, that was only for non-cultivators. Ordinary Martial King realm cultivators would not be able to eliminate the drug, but it wasn’t much of a problem for Lu Yin.

Half an hour later, Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. It was black and filled with concentrated poison, to the point where it instantly corroded the bark of the tree and let out a terrifying sizzling sound. After wiping the corner of his lips clean, Lu Yin checked his body again. It was actually a pity since that drug truly was able to enhance his strength and five senses, but unfortunately, the side-effects vastly outweighed the benefits. Otherwise, it would have truly been a useful item.

Just as he was about to leave the tree, he saw a figure quickly darting in his direction. Lu Yin temporarily hid himself, remaining in the tree still.

Soon enough, a beautiful figure flitted by, and Lu Yin was shocked to discover that it was Yue Xianzi. She, too, had parted ways with the convoy.

The reason why she had joined the convoy in the first place was to enter Ming Island after it had been sealed off as well as to avoid the Ming guards who were searching everywhere for aliens. Now that she had reached the capital, she had already achieved her goal and would naturally part ways with the convoy.

She considered it a huge pity that she had no choice but to part with Ming Yan. She quite liked this kind and innocent young girl.

Right when she passed by the tree that held the hiding Lu Yin, Yue Xianzi suddenly paused and turned around; she noticed the patch of tree bark had been corroded by poisonous blood. Her gaze grew cold and she turned around, looking right at the tree that Lu Yin was hiding in.

Lu Yin knew that she had discovered him, so he jumped down and directly looked at her.

“It’s you?” Yue Xianzi exclaimed in shock. Never had she expected to run into the coachman here.

Lu Yin looked the same as before and still appeared to be Lu Seven. “What a surprise, Miss Yue’er! I didn’t think that we’d meet here!”

Yue Xianzi watched him cautiously before asking, “Who are you? You’re definitely not some ordinary person.”

Lu Yin shrugged. “Take a guess.”

Yue Xianzi snorted. “Do you want to die?” She then thrust out with an attack at Lu Yin. Her fair palms followed up with a quick barrage of attacks, leaving multiple afterimages in her wake as she quickly worked to seal off Lu Yin’s escape paths. The entire area’s space seemed to tremble from her might. At the same time, Lu Yin lifted his arms and struck back against every single one afterimage that Yue Xianzi had created. There was a boom as shockwaves compressed the ground and caused ten or so of the nearby trees to collapse.

Yue Xianzi was forced back by Lu Yin’s attacks, and her face turned ashen. She was the young mistress of the Frostmoon Sect and an absolute genius of the wider universe’s younger generation. While she couldn’t be compared with the strongest freaks, she was not someone whom regular people could match up against. While there were also many powerhouses on the Shenwu Continent, those who were able to match up against Yue Xianzi were only those within the top ten or even top five percent of the List of Tempering. But now, this mysterious person was actually able to block her attacks with ease.

“Who in the world are you?” Yue Xianzi shouted, staring at Lu Yin with a guarded expression.

Lu Yin grinned and used Flash to reach her side. He then bent his hands into claws and used the 96th form of the Skybeast Claw technique. A beast howl echoed through the void as the attack went straight for Yue Xianzi. A cold look appeared in her eyes as the distinct image of a moon appeared on her forehead.

“Congealing Moon!” she cried, causing moonbeams to envelop the area, Lu Yin felt the surroundings’ temperature plummet drastically. His Skybeast Claw was also frozen to the point where it began to shatter and break apart. He took a step back and directed a curious gaze at Yue Xianzi. So this was Yue Xianzi’s innate gift, Coldmoon, which allowed a moon to illuminate the area.

“Icy Plum Vale Technique!” Yue Xianzi used the power of her Coldmoon to freeze everything around her. The air turned icy as white streaks formed in the air. As she attacked Lu Yin, these white streaks transformed into shapes that resembled plum flowers for a thousand meters in all directions.

Lu Yin easily dodged her attacks. Back during the Astral Combat Tournament, Yue Xianzi had lost to Charon because he had seen through the battle technique that she had gained from the Blackwater Lake inheritance and instantly killed her. At that time, she hadn’t been able to show off her other battle techniques, and her inner gift had little effect on her opponents. Just now, she was finally able to display its power, but it was nonetheless fruitless against Lu Yin. He was quick enough to tear through the void, and while he wasn’t able to do so on the Shenwu Continent, his speed still wasn’t something that Yue Xianzi could contest.

The more they fought, the more shocked Yue Xianzi became. This person was far stronger than she had expected, and his power was at least at the level of the top sixteen in the Astral Combat Tournament. This was not someone to underestimate during the Outerverse trial on the Shenwu Continent. With this in mind, she did not hesitate to use her strongest battle technique that she had received from Blackwater Lake—Poseidon’s Garments.

Martial power simulated the flow of water and began encircling the two of them. Lu Yin leapt out of its area of influence and calmly watched the battle technique unveil itself.

The water spirals gradually expanded to cover a larger area, turning all of the trees within a thousand meters of Yue Xianzi into powder and causing even the earth to be shredded apart. Even the clouds in the sky were affected by her technique. This phenomenon also ended up attracting quite a few passersby’s attention.

Yue Xianzi stood at the middle of it all and stared straight at Lu Yin. “Speak, who exactly are you? If you don’t answer, you’re dead.”

Lu Yin smirked as nine stars started revolving around him. He continued observing the swirling water as he slowly closed in on Yue Xianzi, step by step.

Yue Xianzi frowned. “Do you want to die?”

Then, Lu Yin stepped within the swirls. As soon as he did so, four-lined battle force appeared around his body, protecting him from the powerful tearing force of the water. He easily sauntered over to Yue Xianzi, and when he was about half a meter away from her, asked, “Do you still want to fight now?”