Chapter 229: The Tragedy Of Civilization   Silver put away his butterfly knife and innocently spread his hands. “What are you saying, captain?”

Lu Yin stared deep into Silver’s eyes. “I know who you are and how easy it’d be for you to take care of a bunch of Explorers if you really wanted to. However, you should know the consequences of those actions. If anything happens to this spacecraft, then numerous powerhouses of the Human Domain will focus their attention here. Everything about you will be exposed in that case.”

Silver smirked. “So what?”

“You worked so hard to get into Astral-10 from the Great Yu Empire. I’m assuming that it’s not just to destroy this warship,” Lu Yin said icily.

Silver’s eyes gleamed. “Since you know that, then why attack me? Are you afraid?”

Lu Yin did not answer. He was indeed fearful of the Neohuman Alliance’s methods as well as their incredible power.

“You shouldn’t be worried about this warship, captain. Instead, focus on yourself,” Silver suddenly said with a teasing glint in his eye. “Your experience at the pirate port must have traumatized you—you’re afraid that there’ll be trouble on this spacecraft and that you’ll have to experience the same thing all over again.” Lu Yin did not reply, so Silver continued rambling. “You’re also afraid that we’ve set our sights on your innate gift and that we might even try to steal it from you.”

Lu Yin looked at him, released his hold on Silver, and then sat down on his bed.

Silver was surprised. “You’re not going to say anything?”

Lu Yin looked up. “What exactly are you after in the Great Yu Empire?”

Silver’s eyes flashed. “You’re changing the subject.”

“You’re right, but I’m still very curious. You’re way too focused on the Great Yu Empire, or to put it in other words, you’re putting too much effort into infiltrating it. Your organization is huge, but even for them, it would take a lot to raise someone like you. You’re definitely not some bottom feeder in the Neohuman Alliance. I’m very curious as to what exactly attracted so much of their attention that they sent you to a fringe region like the Great Yu Empire.”

Silver stretched a bit and then laid down. “There’s a lot of things that we like. For one, the food there is delicious, and as I’ve said before, I’m a gourmet.”

Lu Yin chuckled. Silver actually had a very conspicuous tell—whenever someone saw through him, he’d unwittingly start talking about food. Perhaps food really was something tempting for him and was the only thing that could calm him down. However, Lu Yin knew that the moment Silver mentioned food, it meant that he had guessed right; there was indeed something special about the Great Yu Empire.

The two stopped talking as they both heard a noise from behind the door.

Not much later, Lu Yin left the cabin and entered the corridor. He stared at the starry expanse surrounding him while deep in thought.

The allied troops of the Human Domain came from all parts of the universe, including both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. To help speed up troop movements, there were well-established routes through wormholes in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. This was the quickest route for the military to travel, and only border troops had the right to use it.

With this special passageway, it only took the warship two days to arrive at the border between the Inner and Outerverse, the Astral River.

This was not Lu Yin’s first time seeing the Astral River, but he was still blown away by the majestic sight. The Astral River was unbelievably vast, like a wide ribbon dividing the Innerverse and Outerverse. It’s currents were composed of all kinds of violent, liquid energies as well as indescribably strange creatures. Of the entire Human Domain, there was only a single, massive vessel that could traverse the Astral River.

This huge vessel was necessary if one wanted to cross the Astral River, and the person who managed the vessel was the Astral River Envoy, Elder Gu De.

Lu Yin still remembered Ge Er, whom he had killed in the Dao of Purgatory. He was Elder Gu De’s son.

As Lu Yin watched the Astral River Ark draw closer and closer to them, Lu Yin’s eyes grew cold. He would never forget what had happened in the past. The situation back then had been quite similar to today. The Astral River Boat had drawn closer, but then suddenly stopped. That was when the endless cries of despair as well as that unforgettable scarlet color had filled the skies.

If Elder Gu De had not intentionally decided to stall for time, then they would not have been forced into such a pitiful state. Lu Yin would definitely take revenge one day.

The Erudite Flowzone Border Troops’ warship had priority and was the first to enter the vessel. Behind them, there was a whole line of floating spacecraft, waiting to enter.

The vessel was huge, so huge that Lu Yin could not understand how it had been constructed by human hands.

However, he did not give it a second look and immediately turned away. If he spent too much time looking at the vessel, he was afraid that he would do something stupid. This was not the time yet.

After crossing the Astral River and entering the Innerverse, Lu Yin could sense the clear difference between the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

It was often said that, the further one went in the universe, the greater the chances of encountering a powerhouse. While there was no definitive way to prove this, it was true that the Innerverse’s general level was much higher than the Outerverse. Hence, a lot of powerhouses from the Outerverse wanted to enter the Innerverse.

The Astral River surrounded the entire Innerverse and its tributaries flowed throughout the Innerverse. These tributaries were the borders that demarcated the eight largest flowzones of the Innerverse. Currently, their warship was in the Blazing Mist Flowzone and travelling to the Erudite Flowzone.

Not much later, right when the warship was about to leave the Blazing Mist Flowzone, Lu Yin sensed an invisible wave of energy ripple through space at the front of the spacecraft. The energy wave had come from a rather antique looking spacecraft, and outside of the ripple was a huge spacecraft. This antiquated spacecraft must have been made by some civilization that was entering the universe for the first time. Within that spacecraft, numerous people stared outside and studied the universe curiously.

Spacecraft like these would not be able to land on nearby planets, much less dock on the huge spacecraft that could detect such primitive ships with such ripples.

This was the tragedy of coming from a tiny civilization. From their point of view, the universe only contained a single sapient race, themselves. They believed that they were the heart of the universe, but in reality, there were huge civilizations watching them from just a few meters away. They were like pets trapped in a cage who didn’t even know they were being observed by the truly powerful for entertainment. To the small civilizations, the powerful people and organizations were invisible and untouchable, and even the space that they saw in front of them was not real.

“Do you think that we’re just like them? Trapped in an unseen cage by even more powerful civilizations while being observed, captain?” Silver suddenly walked to Lu Yin’s side while still smiling at him.

There was no real answer to this question: perhaps, perhaps not. Lu Yin looked up and thought to himself, Right, could there be a pair of eyes staring at me while right in front of me that I can’t see? The universe is huge. Who can know for certain if they are the most powerful being around? That civilization trapped within those ripples had left their world and were convinced that they were the most powerful and intelligent lifeforms in the universe, but the further they explored, the closer they inched towards a calamity.

“This civilization is in danger. Once they realize the truth, it won’t be long before their planet is turned into a trial zone,” Silver said. For once, he was not smiling.

Lu Yin’s eyes shone as he watched the archaic spacecraft draw further and further away from them. The people inside were still looking around curiously, but everything that they saw was fake.

The Blazing Mist Flowzone was one of the eight largest flowzones in the Innerverse. It covered a total area that was as large as numerous filaments of the Outerverse. The most powerful organizations here were the Blaze Realm, the Ross Empire, and the Sylvan Dragons. As the gatekeepers to the Innerverse, these three great organizations seemed to be the most powerful to the Outerverse.

The Blazing Mist Flowzone was huge, but they passed through it after just a day of travel. The ultra-efficient route had saved them a huge amount of time.

Lu Yin stopped staring at the stars passing them by and went to the training area. Battles in the trial zones only took place virtually, so he still needed to temper his real body and become accustomed to five-lined battle force as soon as possible.

The training area on the warship was huge. Within this single warship, nearly half of the thousands of troops onboard were training at any given time. There was all kinds of equipment here as well as a special training area meant to simulate various unique environments.

Lu Yin went straight to the gravity training zone, where there were dozens of gravity training rooms. These were different from the gravity training rooms on the ultra-large spacecraft that had brought him from Earth to the Great Yu Empire. Here, the gravitational intensity differed by room and was not adjustable. This way, the troops could choose the room that was most suitable for them to train in.

As Lu Yin walked towards the gravity training zone, quite a few people started to converse amongst themselves after noticing him.

“He’s a genius from the Astral Combat Academy! That’s Lu Yin, one of the final four participants of the Astral Combat Tournament. He’s already cultivated five-lined battle force. He’s terrifying.”

“Someone like him can easily tear apart the void on an ordinary planet. In fact, he might even be able to sunder the stable space in the Innerverse. He’s so strong.”

“Have a go at him, Fatso. See who’s stronger.”

“Shut up! Once he activates his battle force, even a full force blow from you will be nothing to him.”

…

Lu Yin burst out in a fit of laughter. He liked soldiers because the genuine and solid relationship that they had was something that could only be found among soldiers. The battlefield was the best place to cultivate trust.

“110! Look, he’s already heading to the room that has 110 times gravity. Regular Melders have a limit of sixty times and regular Limiteers have a limit of a hundred times. He’s actually able to withstand more force than a Limiteer! And he’s still walking forward!” Some soldiers were startled by what they were seeing.

“There’s no need to make such a big fuss. Didn’t you watch the tournament? The students who reached the round of the final thirty two could all easily tear space apart. Their bodies are far more powerful than an ordinary cultivator’s, and as for those with high leveled battle force… My guess is that he might be able to withstand the 120 times gravity room already,” a tall and sturdy soldier said quietly.

The soldiers around him all took in a deep breath. “No wonder so many people are doing everything they can to enter the Astral Combat Academy. Those students really aren’t on the same level as us; any of them can kill all of us.”

“We’re actually pretty lucky already! All of the soldiers on this warship were able to train with formcast models. We’re way better off than those grunts who weren’t even able to get that much. They’ll just be cannon fodder on the battlefield.”

…

After attracting everyone’s admiring gazes, Lu Yin headed to the gravity training room at the end of the corridor. The number 130 was displayed on the door.

In the Time Stop Space, he had once increased the gravitational force to 100 times the normal level before feeling anything. If he was right, then the limit of what he could currently endure should be 110 times, but that was just his physical body’s limits. If he activated his five-lined battle force, then he should be able to withstand up to 150 times gravity. However, since the room with the highest force was 130, he stepped in without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hey, I think that there’s somebody in there already.”

“The pilot’s inside.”

…

The moment he entered the room, Lu Yin felt like the ceiling was collapsing and the ground sinking as his innards were nearly crushed to pulp. At the same moment, a hand smacked towards him and Lu Yin immediately activated his five-lined battle force. A golden aura covered his hand as he counterattacked, and his palm collided with the palm rushing towards him.

With a boom, the walls of the training room were reduced to dust as cracks appeared on the floor. A warning sounded out from the training room, and Lu Yin took a step backwards. He looked up to see a middle-aged man with an extremely shocked expression.

The 130 times gravity suddenly vanished, and the door opened as a group of soldiers rushed in.

“What the hell are you all doing? Get out!” the middle-aged man shouted.