Chapter 371: The Astral Ark (2/2)

That incident had been a watershed point for his mindset. He had realized that one couldn’t remain an ant forever and allow others to determine their fate.

If he hadn’t gone through what he had after the pirate port, Lu Yin would, at best, be comparable to an Area Master of the Astral Combat Academy right now. He would never have reached the standard of an academy student leader, let alone become the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest.

Destiny was something that was truly unpredictable. Three years ago, he had just been a common student, but now, three years later, he was famed throughout the universe.

He wondered how much progress his family had made towards investigating that incident from many years ago. Since his family had now returned to Leon’s Armada, the masterminds behind that incident were probably trembling in their boots at this moment.

Lu Yin was almost at the Astral River, and he arrived soon after.

When he was last at the river, he had been traveling on one of the warfront’s warships, and they had used the military’s express lane. This time, he didn’t bother revealing himself since he wanted to enter the Innerverse normally.

The Astral River Ark was enormous, and there was a constant stream of spacecraft entering the ark through the checkpoints. They then entered the Innerverse and Outerverse via the ark.

The Ark Envoy was Elder Gu De, and he would continue to hold this position for many more years.

Secret dealings existed everywhere, and apart from using the standard channels to enter the Innerverse, many people had to pay attention to the attitudes of certain people on the ark in order to enter the Innerverse.

Back when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy’s training zones, Gu Er had told him that even Explorers would have to kneel to him if they wanted a chance to enter the Innerverse. Right now, Lu Yin would have a chance to witness that scene for himself.

Under the gazes of countless people, an Explorer took out his cosmic ring while begging for the opportunity to enter the Innerverse.

The Innerverse held an irresistible attraction to people from the Outerverse. Many people held the opinion that they could only become a true powerhouse after entering the Innerverse, and this mindset had caused many Explorers to swallow their pride.

They believed that they would be able to get revenge after becoming a powerhouse in the Innerverse. However, the people on the Astral River Ark weren’t worried about such a possibility. After all, there were only a handful of people who would successfully become a powerhouse after entering the Innerverse. And besides, the people running the ark were quite powerful in their own right.

Before long, it was Lu Yin’s turn. He was idly looking around in boredom when he suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette: Gu Er.

Although they had only met once before, Lu Yin had a strong impression of Gu Er. When they first met, Explorers had still been completely out of Lu Yin’s league, but he had heard stories about Explorers kneeling before Gu Er. That story had left a very strong impression on Lu Yin.

Furthermore, Gu Er was Elder Gu De’s son.

Every spacecraft had to undergo an inspection since, apart from paying a certain fee, one had to have a valid reason to enter the Innerverse. The role of the Astral River Envoy was both to care for the ark and prevent too many people from entering the Innerverse. This was an unspoken rule of the Innerverse.

Lu Yin watched people on the spacecraft in front of him dejectedly leave the line one after another. When he saw Gu Er’s satisfied expression in the distance, Lu Yin smiled; it was finally his turn.

“Where are you from?” a voice asked from his spacecraft’s communication panel.

Lu Yin answered, “The Frostwave Weave.”

“You’re not allowed to enter. Leave.”

Lu Yin paused. “Why?”

“No one from the Frostwave Weave can enter today. Come back tomorrow,” the voice replied in an irritated tone.

Lu Yin was speechless. “What’s the reason?”

“No means no.”

At that moment, a voice rang out from the spacecraft behind him. “Brother, this is one of the Astral River Ark’s rules. Every day, they draw lots, and whichever weave is drawn is barred from entering for the day. They then draw lots again the next day. You won’t be able to enter right now, so just leave and try your luck another day.”

Lu Yin was stunned. How is this allowed?

“Fine, you seem to know quite a lot, and since you know so much, you don’t have to enter either,” the inspector standing next to the track sarcastically informed the person behind Lu Yin.

“What? Sir, I just wanted to help you, sir, since I saw that you didn’t feel like talking. That’s why I gave him an explanation. Please don’t blame me, sir. Please let me in!” the person on the spacecraft behind Lu Yin cried out anxiously.

The inspector smirked. “I really don’t feel like talking today, and since you’re so helpful, you can stay here and explain things to everyone for me. You can head on in after my shift’s over.”

The person was helpless.

Lu Yin watched this scene unfold with a frosty expression. The people on the ark had horrible attitudes, and they were constantly thinking of new ways to prevent people from the Outerverse from entering the Innerverse.

“Hey, why are you still here? It’s fine if you don’t leave. Just stay there if you want. If you can stay here for a while, then I won’t need to deal with so many idiots,” the inspector said haughtily.

Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when Gu Er walked over to the inspector. “What’s going on?”

The inspector’s attitude instantly became respectful when he turned to Gu Er. “Oh, Young Master is here. Please have a seat, Young Master.”