At this moment, the soldiers had arrived. Siken Maldo, Sha Luo Shu, and Toleona were all present.
"General Maldo, he wanted to kill me! He wanted to kill me!" Las shouted, furiously pointing at Lu Yin.
Siken Maldo looked helplessly at Lu Yin. "Why did you want to kill him?"
Lu Yin stared coldly at Las. "I didn't."
Las roared, "So many people saw it! Do you dare to deny it?"
Lu Yin said with disdain, "Where's the proof?"
Las and the others looked up at the surveillance camera, only to find it had long been smashed to pieces. Las immediately tried to take out his personal terminal; he had started recording the moment he knew Lu Yin was coming, precisely to have evidence to serve the person behind him. But at this moment, his face turned pale. His personal terminal had also been smashed to pieces at some unknown time.
Lu Yin sneered. He wasn't a fool. Even if he wanted to test the waters, he couldn't go too far. A legitimate, presentable reason was still necessary. This was a rule. No matter what one did, one couldn't break certain rules, unless one's strength allowed it.
Sha Luo Shu looked gloomily at Las, silently cursing him for being useless.
Las angrily pointed at Lu Yin. "It was you! You were the one who just injured me! Mo Nuo saw it too! Right, Mo Nuo?"
Mo Nuo quickly said, "I saw it. If I hadn't intervened, Young Master Las would have been killed."
Lu Yin sneered. "Only an idiot would believe the words of two of my defeated opponents."
"You!" Mo Nuo raged.
Siken Maldo secretly sighed in relief and glanced coldly at Las. "Do you have any other proof?"
Las's expression changed, then he said angrily, "This is my room! He attacked me in my room! That's the proof!"
Everyone looked towards Lu Yin.
Lu Yin took out the personal terminal he had kept in his pocket, opened the light screen, and on it was Willow's confession. "This person bribed Willow to deal with me. It's not too much for me to settle the score with him, is it?"
Everyone fell silent. Even Las couldn't retort. He had been beaten for nothing. When this matter reached the Capital Star, not only would they not blame Lu Yin, they would even praise him for acting without impulse, with reason, evidence, and restraint. He, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
Siken Maldo said calmly, "Since the matter is cleared up, it's easy to handle. Everyone, disperse."
Lu Yin said calmly, "Wait a moment."
Siken Maldo looked at Lu Yin. "Any other requests?"
Lu Yin's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Sha Luo Shu. "I want to say, although I come from a remote, primitive planet, I am not to be trifled with. The rest of you had better pull back your dog paws, otherwise, sooner or later I will chop them off."
Sha Luo Shu's eyes were icy as he stared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin stared right back at him. A Star-Wanderer expert was not someone a newly appointed idle king like him could deal with, not to mention the man was part of the Thirteen Imperial Squads. Even if his status was higher, it was useless. But a warning was still necessary. This was a test. Beating the son of the Vice Minister of Finance, giving a warning to the Vice-Captain of the Twelfth Imperial Squad—Lu Yin wanted to see just how big a scene this would cause and what the attitude of the Great Yu Empire's emperor would be. This would determine his style of conduct in the Great Yu Empire in the future.
Soon, the crowd dispersed. Las was taken away for treatment. Sha Luo Shu didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Siken Maldo didn't say much either. The matter seemed to be over just like that.
The Willpower continued its journey through the dark universe.
A few hours later, a punishment notice was sent to all personnel: "Martial Hall student Las, for not observing discipline and disobeying a superior officer, is demoted to the rank of soldier during the return journey, as a warning to others."
Everyone was shocked by this news. Lu Yin's figure immediately appeared in their minds. This King Zishan, it seemed, was not simple at all.
Lu Yin was also surprised. The empire's regard for him exceeded his imagination. The son of a Vice Minister of Finance was demoted just like that, with a ship-wide notice, completely devoid of sentiment. It seemed he had to properly position his own style of conduct.
Sha Luo Shu's face was gloomy as he clenched his right fist. He was the one behind Las. This matter would surely be blamed on him within the squad. Shameless.
Because of the incident with Las, the Willpower became much quieter. No one caused trouble anymore.
A day later, as Lu Yin was observing his star chart, a middle-aged man in an imperial military uniform came to see him.
"General Maldo's adjutant pays his respects to King Zishan," the middle-aged man said, saluting Lu Yin solemnly. The Great Yu Empire did not have the custom of kowtowing. The military used a military salute, while at court, one only needed to bow respectfully.
Lu Yin smiled. "Hello, sir. How should I address you?"
The middle-aged man said, "You can just call me Adjutant, sir. Everyone on the Willpower calls me that."
Lu Yin nodded. "You don't have to call me King Zishan either, it feels unnatural. Just call me Lu Yin, or Classmate Lu is fine too."
The adjutant said in a deep voice, "Yes, sir. The General asked me to come and brief you on the empire's situation. We will arrive at the Capital Star in a little over half a month."
Lu Yin made a gesture of invitation.
The adjutant opened a star chart. "The Great Yu Empire spans thirteen territories. It is located in the central part of the Canglan Territory, connecting the north and south. Its domain extends in a straight line across the Canglan Territory, nearly bisecting it, while also connecting to the Haoyuan Territory and the endless Chaos Territory..."
Lu Yin had learned a little about the Great Yu Empire over the past few days, and it was similar to what the adjutant was saying. What he was curious about was the Capital Star. The Great Yu Empire's territory was too vast; it was impossible to understand it in detail. He just wanted to understand his destination for this trip, the Capital Star.
However, the information about the Capital Star on his personal terminal was not detailed. He only knew that the Capital Star was named Zhenwu Star, its area was ten thousand times that of Earth, and it was orbited by three continents. There were no further specifics.
The adjutant pointed to a position on the star chart. "Here is the location of the capital, Zhenwu Star. Outside Zhenwu Star are three continents, which respectively house the empire's direct military forces. From the inside out, they are called the First Ring Army, the Second Ring Army, and the Third Ring Army..."
Following the adjutant's introduction, an image of a giant ecological planet, surrounded by an iron-fisted army and garrisoning thirteen territories, gradually formed in Lu Yin's mind.
After a long time, the adjutant put away the star chart. "Is there anything else you would like to ask, sir?"
Lu Yin said, "The Imperial Palace, and the Thirteen Imperial Squads. I want to know about these things."
The adjutant said, "I'm sorry, sir, my authority does not allow me to disclose these things. If you wish to know, you can only ask General Maldo."
Lu Yin was disappointed. "How long did you say it would be before we arrive at the Capital Star?"
"A little over half a month, sir," the adjutant said.
Lu Yin was helpless. "Too slow."
The adjutant said, "This is the normal speed for a spaceship. This is because our empire has spread wormholes throughout the thirteen territories, which is how we can travel between the territories. Often, a single wormhole jump can cross an endless distance. Otherwise, if we relied solely on the spaceship's flight, it would take a hundred, or even a thousand times longer to arrive."
Speaking of this, Lu Yin recalled something his family had told him about when he was first in space, a type of spaceship called the Aurora-class spaceship, which could enhance its performance by decomposing matter. In theory, that kind of spaceship could be upgraded infinitely. Legend had it that the top-tier Aurora-class spaceship could tear through black holes, defend against super-strong attacks, and its speed was hundreds or thousands of times that of a normal spaceship. That was a true man's dream.
Unfortunately, the price of that kind of spaceship was extremely high, not something he could afford.
"Alright, thank you, Adjutant," Lu Yin said to the man.
The adjutant saluted once more and turned to leave.
Lu Yin looked at the star chart, his gaze focused. From a strategic perspective, the map of the Great Yu Empire looked like a sharp sword, its tip pointing directly at—the inner universe.
In the dark starry sky, streaks of light flashed by. They could be meteorites, or they could be the Star Energy attacks of experts.
A spaceship was sailing through space, rapidly heading towards the distance.
On the spaceship, Qing Yu stood at the highest point, looking at the starry sky, swirling the wine in his glass. "I keep feeling like I've forgotten something. Oh right, I remember now. It was the invitation from the Star-Picking Woman. A pity I actually forgot about it."
"Young Master," Liu Shao Ge approached Qing Yu's side and said respectfully.
Qing Yu glanced at him. "When we get back to the clan, remember not to raise your head, don't look around randomly. Otherwise, any random person could kill you in an instant."
"Yes, Young Master," Liu Shao Ge's attitude was extremely respectful.
"Of course, you can't let others bully you either. After all, you're someone I brought back, and I am a Night King," Qing Yu said, raising his head.
Liu Shao Ge hurriedly affirmed.
Qing Yu was very satisfied with Liu Shao Ge's attitude. It was because of this attitude that he was willing to bring this native along. However, this person's surname was rather troublesome, a rare surname from ancient times. It was a good thing that native planet had been monitored by the Great Yu Empire for so long, so he had a legitimate identity. "Speaking of which, I should thank you. Without you, I couldn't have awakened from my deep sleep."
A glint flashed in Liu Shao Ge's eyes. "It is because you are blessed by fate, Young Master, that you awakened as a Night King. The future will surely belong to you."
A smile played on Qing Yu's lips. "Well said, haha. When I officially inherit the title of Night King, I will go to that native planet again and slaughter those wastes. At that time, it will be a glorious homecoming for you."
"Thank you, Young Master," Liu Shao Ge's head was bowed lower, but his eyes were brighter than the stars.