Chapter 86

Upon hearing Duke Yushan's words, Lu Yin's heart trembled in surprise, "Me?"

Duke Yushan nodded, "That's right, the fourth one, it's you. You have the qualifications to become the emperor of the Great Yu Empire."

Lu Yin blinked, "Brother, don't joke around. I'm just a leisurely prince, not a member of the Yushan clan. How could I possibly have the qualifications? Brother, don't say such things."

Duke Yushan smiled and stared at Lu Yin, "I'm not joking. Do you know what my father, the emperor, said to the Immortal Zishan before the Immortal Duo ventured into the Inner Universe?" He paused for a moment and slowly continued, "If we survive this time, the empire will be split equally between us. The Great Yu Empire belongs to both the Yushan clan and your Zishan clan."

Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and stared back at Duke Yushan, then smiled and picked up a piece of food, "It tastes good."

Duke Yushan withdrew his gaze, "If you like it, have more. The subordinates are a bit rude; I apologize on their behalf."

Lu Yin knew he was talking about Xika and didn't mind, "Brother, when will the Tenth Academy of the Starry Sky descend? Do you have any concrete information?"

Duke Yushan shook his head, "I don't. The only person in the entire Great Yu Empire who has the information is my fifth sister, your nominal fiancée."

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. He had investigated the fifth princess, Wendi Yushan. Fiancée? She wouldn't even give him a second glance, let alone care about the Great Yu Empire.

With a thud, a spatial ring was thrown onto the table. Duke Yushan stood up, "As your brother, this is a gift. Don't be picky, I'll be going now."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. This was a good thing; he believed Duke Yushan wouldn't give him anything subpar.

Duke Yushan smiled and was about to leave when he suddenly said, "There's a rumor that the Zishan clan has a treasure. You might want to look for it; you might find something unexpected." With that, he disappeared.

Lu Yin held the spatial ring in one hand, his eyes flickering. Treasure? What did Duke Yushan mean? Was he telling him to look for it? No way, the Immortal Yushan didn't mention the treasure at all, clearly not wanting others to get involved. Was he trying to set him up? Did he really think he was greedy? These royal children really liked to dig traps.

While eating, Lu Yin looked at the spatial ring, his eyes lighting up. Inside was a ring armor. If Duke Yu's gift was at least a Fusion Realm armor, it was a good thing. He was quite generous, but a bit too secretive.

However, he didn't expect the Zishan clan to have the qualifications to inherit the throne. Was Xika suppressing him because of this? Impossible. Even if he had the qualifications, it didn't mean he could succeed. Facing the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, what did he have to compete with? They had been operating in the empire for hundreds of years, and no one would take him seriously. Why did Xika keep targeting him? Could it be because of the Zishan clan?

Duke Yushan apologized on Xika's behalf, clearly indicating that Xika's actions were his own. Or was there more to it than just Duke Yushan?

"Blomson," Lu Yin said calmly.

A figure emerged from the void behind him, it was Blomson, "Your Highness."

"Have you heard of the Zishan clan's treasure?" Lu Yin asked.

Blomson replied in a deep voice, "I've heard of it, but it was hundreds of years ago. No one has mentioned it in recent years."

"Do you know anything about Xika? Does he have any old grudges with the Zishan clan?" Lu Yin asked again.

Blomson shook his head, "I don't know."

Lu Yin pondered. The waters in the Great Yu Empire were deep, especially with the Immortal Yushan getting older and his old injuries flaring up. He probably wouldn't live much longer. How would this struggle for the throne end?

However, these matters were not currently relevant to him. By then, he might be at the Starry Sky Battle Academy.

After sitting for a while, Lu Yin left the tavern and returned to the Zishan Mansion.

The mansion had many books, but no combat techniques, which must have been taken by the Zishan clan. Lu Yin focused on finding books about breaking through the Fusion Realm.

The Fusion Realm was a turning point for cultivators. One's Fusion Realm could predict their future achievements, as mentioned in many books, but Lu Yin didn't understand what it meant.

The path to strength he knew was through realms and combat techniques. What else was there?

"Blomson, have you been to the Inner Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

Blomson shook his head, "No."

Lu Yin felt a bit disappointed. The Inner Universe was far stronger than the Outer Universe. He had been there before but was always confined to one place, so he didn't know much about the Inner Universe, especially the Fusion Realm.

Should he ask the Immortal Yushan? Lu Yin shook his head. He was the emperor, and even if he cared a little, he wouldn't let him ask about everything. The Crown Prince, Doran Yushan, seemed gentle but was as cunning as Duke Yushan. Who else could he turn to? Mira? Better not contact her too much; the more he did, the less value he would have.

"Is Your Highness considering how to break through the Fusion Realm?" Blomson asked, rarely speaking up on his own.

Lu Yin shook his head, "Breaking through the Fusion Realm will happen naturally. I'm thinking about the fundamental strength of the Fusion Realm."

Blomson pondered, "In the Great Yu Empire, the fundamental strength of a cultivator is combat techniques. However, I've heard of a power called Battle Qi in the Inner Universe, which is extremely powerful."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. Battle Qi, he had heard of it. Those who love battle have a sense of righteousness, which is Battle Qi. It originates from within a person, from their true heart, and can attack, defend, break through limits, crush the heavens, and tear through the stars.

This was an incomprehensible power. Anyone could have it, but not everyone could activate it. He had heard about it several times in the Inner Universe and remembered it well. Unfortunately, there were no methods to cultivate Battle Qi in the Outer Universe. Even in the Inner Universe, it was a closely guarded secret, more so than the Body Shaping Technique.

Blomson could hear about Battle Qi because of his identity, but he knew nothing about it.

Lu Yin looked up at the starry sky, thinking of the Three Rings Continent, and the Heavenly Beast Claw.

To learn the first twenty moves of the Heavenly Beast Claw, he needed the approval of the five hall masters. Thinking of this, Lu Yin opened his personal terminal to contact Gules, asking her to help get Gurbach's approval for him to learn the Heavenly Beast Claw. But he suddenly stopped, thinking of Gules' personality. He decided not to, as she would probably just cause trouble.

With no other choice, Lu Yin formally requested permission from the five hall masters as a member of the Astral Hall to learn the first twenty moves of the Heavenly Beast Claw.

Tianming was the first to agree. He had agreed in the Body Shaping Pool, and he was easy to talk to.

The second to agree was Rockang.

The third was Huozhong.

Huozhong was from the Huo family, and Lu Yin didn't expect him to agree. He thought the Huo family would be hostile because of Xiaoling.

Gurbach and Xiusi didn't agree, which was a bit disappointing but also expected. He was just trying his luck, and having three people agree was already good.

How to get the remaining two to agree was a problem.

At this moment, Lu Yin received a notification that Gurbach wanted to meet him.

Lu Yin was surprised. Gurbach wanted to meet him? He immediately thought of Gules. She must have reported him, otherwise, why would Gurbach want to meet him?

Well, it was a good opportunity to understand his thoughts.

Lu Yin didn't waste any time and headed to the First Ring late at night. For cultivators, day and night didn't matter much, and it was common to go without sleep for days.

The sub-hall where Gurbach was located was far from the Body Shaping Pool. It took nine hours to reach from the Zishan Mansion, and the sky was already bright. This was the speed of the latest flying vehicle; it would take several days for an ordinary person.

In the First Ring, there was a large lake, almost a sea, with a blue color visible from True Universe Star, much larger than the total area of Earth. In the center of this sea was the sub-hall where Gurbach was located.

A massive tower rose high, with people occasionally flying by. Sea creatures roamed the waters, occasionally attacking the tower but were instantly destroyed.

Here, there were powerful cultivators who could walk the stars.

Lu Yin's flying vehicle soared toward the tower. Looking down, he saw Astral Hall students hunting sea creatures on the surface.

At the top of the tower, in a spacious stone room, a young man opened his eyes, looked outside, and smiled.

Blomson was stopped outside the tower, but Lu Yin, as a member of the Astral Hall, could enter.

The tower was very tall, piercing through the clouds. Many Astral Hall students were coming and going, all curious about Lu Yin.

The Astral Hall gathered the elite of the young generation of the Great Yu Empire. Each member was not simple and would be a future competitor.

Lu Yin walked to the center of the tower and looked up. A spiral stone staircase led upward. To go up, he had to climb the stairs, not fly, as per the rules.

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