Lu Yin casually strolled around the lounge, spotting a star map of the surrounding domains, the marked location of the Star River, and not far from it, a specially marked place with the words—"Pirate Harbor."
Pirate Harbor? Lu Yin stared at the location. It was less than ten domains away from here. By traversing a wormhole, he could probably reach it in five days. That was the secret port where countless pirates gathered, and one of the darkest places in the Outerverse.
"Who are you?" A heavy voice sounded by Lu Yin's ear. Crazy Snake stood up, his eyes filled with malice.
Lu Yin turned his head and smiled. "I heard that the 'Crazy Snake' graduated from the Starry Sky Academy. I would like to ask for some pointers."
Crazy Snake's eyes widened, a murderous glint flashing within. "A good plan,a pincer attack, trying to wipe out my Viscount pirates? Not so easy!" As he spoke, Star Energy erupted from his body, condensing into a tangible python-shaped form that opened its great maw to bite at Lu Yin. All the lights in the lounge shattered simultaneously.
Lu Yin retreated. The spot he was just on was struck, the floor shattering. A trace of green liquid splashed out, corroding the metal walls.
Poison? Lu Yin's brows twitched. From his side, Crazy Snake's cane thrust out. The surrounding area was forcibly imprisoned by Star Energy. Lu Yin was surprised. The Myriad Changes realm of Star Energy! This guy's not bad. He was definitely a well-educated Limiteer expert; perhaps he really was from the Academy.
Boom!
With a loud bang, the lounge walls shattered, unable to withstand the clash of Limiteer experts.
Lu Yin used Flash-Step to dodge. Crazy Snake 's strength was impressive, far surpassing all the pirates Lu Yin had encountered before. He was strong enough to crush ordinary peak Limiteers in the Outerverse. Not only had his Star Energy control reached the Myriad Changes realm, but he also had a powerful technique that incorporated poison. But none of this was useful against Lu Yin. This man's strength wasn't enough to threaten him. If he really was an Academy student, he must have been among the weakest.
Huu! Lu Yin tore through the python-shaped Star Energy with one hand and slammed his palm into Crazy Snake's body. He not only shattered the Limiteer-realm ring-armor the man had just donned but also crushed his Star Energy, forcibly embedding him into the wall. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide with shock.
"A Realm-locked expert!" Crazy Snake was horrified. Lu Yin's palm made him feel as if he were back at the Academy, witnessing those batches of despair-inducing prodigies. Back then, he had been completely overshadowed by them. Today, he had run into one again.
The room was plunged into darkness, but relying on the dim starlight, Lu Yin approached Crazy Snake step by step, ready to collect his spoils. But at that moment, a flash of sword light appeared. Lu Yin leaned to the side to dodge. The sword's edge sliced the entire lounge in two. An incredibly sharp aura emanated from behind him, and in an instant, the entire area was filled with an aura that seemed to want to cut down everything.
Lu Yin's expression changed. This is a Domain? He raised his hand, covering it with battle-qi. As the Heavenly Star Art circulated, a longsword thrust at his back. Lu Yin easily dodged and struck out with his palm—Heavenly Star Palm!
Nine stars exploded, accompanied by the indomitable force of battle-qi. It not only snapped the attacker's sword but also slammed directly into her body, sending her flying out of the lounge and into the distance, crashing through countless walls.
Clang. The broken sword hit the ground, drawing Lu Yin's attention. He looked at the broken blade and frowned. Red? So familiar. This is... Zhuo Baiye?
Lu Yin's face changed, and he hurriedly rushed out of the room.
In the lounge, Crazy Snake spat out more blood. He struggled to pull himself from the wall, panting, and looked outside in terror. Where did these terrifying experts come from? One has a Domain, the other has battle-qi, and they're so young! Are they Academy prodigies?! He gritted his teeth, a deep-seated hatred in his eyes. He hated those high-and-mighty prodigies who made it impossible for people like him to ever make a name for themselves.
Cough, cough... Crazy Snake dragged his heavily injured body out of the lounge. By now, the entire pirate ship was enveloped in the stench of blood. Countless pirates were dead, the hallways stained red. Even the other two Limiteer experts had been decapitated.
Lu Yin rushed through several shattered rooms and, a hundred meters away, found the unconscious Zhuo Baiye. Her face was pale, and she still clutched a piece of her broken sword.
"It really is you," Lu Yin said with a bitter smile. In the darkness just now, he hadn't seen clearly and had struck too hard. But he couldn't be blamed; she had attacked first.
Lu Yin took out a healing agent and fed it to her. Zhuo Baiye coughed twice, forcing her eyes open. In a daze, she saw Lu Yin. "It's... it's you."
Lu Yin was exasperated. "Why are you here?"
Zhuo Baiye looked at him weakly, blood still at the corner of her mouth. Her pure, pale face was pitiful. "What... about you... here?"
"I was accidentally... robbed," Lu Yin replied.
Zhuo Baiye's gaze swept her surroundings, then looked at her broken sword. She let out a breath, coughed again, and fresh blood trickled from her lips. Her eyes gradually lost focus, and she fainted once more.
Lu Yin quickly shook her, but it was useless. Her internal organs were too heavily damaged. That was the nine-star Heavenly Star Palm, a terrifyingly powerful move. Even Uro would have been in trouble if hit head-on, let alone Zhuo Baiye. It was a miracle she wasn't dead.
Lu Yin sighed and lifted her horizontally into his arms. He couldn't just let her die here. This woman had plotted against him, but she wasn't a bad person. And from the looks of it, she was cleaning up pirates again. That's right, this route is on the way back to the Innerverse. It's not strange to run into her.
Oh no, Crazy Snake! Lu Yin suddenly remembered the man and hurried back to the lounge with Zhuo Baiye in his arms, but the pirate was long gone.
A personal spacecraft flew out of the Viscount's main ship. Crazy Snake, dragging his injured body, stared viciously at the pirate ship. "Die! All of you, die! Be buried with my ship!" He pressed a button, self-destructing the entire vessel.
Inside the pirate ship, red lights flashed. Alarms blared. Lu Yin's expression changed. He quickly used Flash-Step, carrying Zhuo Baiye and rushing toward the docking bay.
Xiao Ba and the others also saw the red lights. They knew the ship was about to explode and immediately ordered a departure, not caring if Lu Yin lived or died.
Luckily, at the last second, Lu Yin made it.
Xiao Ba immediately rushed over, his expression priceless. "Boss! If you were any later, you'd be... They wanted to leave, but it was me, Xiao Ba, who held them back, dead set on waiting for you, Boss!"
"Shut up! Find a doctor!" Lu Yin snapped.
Xiao Ba immediately gave the order, one part urgent (to leave the meteorite cloud), one part to find a doctor.
Not long after, the meteorite cloud erupted. The Viscount pirate ship turned to cosmic dust. Except for Crazy Snake, everyone else was gone.
Lu Yin sighed. All that work for nothing.
"Boss, we just saw a ship escape. It must have been Crazy Snake", Xiao Ba said nervously.
Lu Yin nodded, then remembered something. "I recall you said the Viscount crew had at least five Limiteer experts. Why were there only three on that ship?"
"The Viscount crew has two ships. They usually just send one out to rob," Xiao Ba said.
Lu Yin frowned. "Cunning, indeed. In the grand scheme of the universe, this crew isn't even that strong, yet they spent a huge sum to buy two ships. 'A clever rabbit has three burrows.' No wonder he could scheme a Star-wanderer (Explorer) to death."
"It's a pity we let him get away. Otherwise, with his fortune, your haul would have at least doubled, Boss," Xiao Ba said regretfully.
At this, Lu Yin felt a pang. It's all that woman Zhuo Baiye's fault. It was going so smoothly. What a waste.
"Boss! Brother Ba! That woman is too heavily injured! Our conditions aren't good enough to treat her. And there are no planets in the surrounding domains that can heal her. We can only take her to Pirate Harbor," a pirate reported.
Lu Yin grunted. "Go to Pirate Harbor."
"Yes!"
"Boss... you and that woman...?" Xiao Ba probed.
Lu Yin looked at him with a slight smile. "What? You recognized her?"
Xiao Ba gave a wry smile, a trace of fear in his eyes. A member of the White Night clan! He had recognized her at a glance. Although his pirating experience was lacking, he had heard of the universe's famous great clans. Why was a White Night woman on the Viscount's ship? He didn't dare to imagine.
"It's best you forget this. Otherwise, I don't know what it might bring you," Lu Yin said lightly.
Xiao Ba looked confused. "What thing? What happened? I don't know anything."
Lu Yin smiled faintly. This guy's quick. "Alright. Tell me about this Pirate Harbor."
Xiao Ba said, "Pirate Harbor is where pirates resupply. It's called a 'harbor,' but it's actually a planet. It's a gathering place for the universe's underground forces: pirates, assassins, fugitives, traitors... any dark element you can think of, you can see it there. Of course, occasionally, disciples from great cosmic clans like the White Night... no, I mean, like the Mebis clan... will go there for training..."
Through Xiao Ba's introduction, Lu Yin got a basic understanding of Pirate Harbor. In short, it was a "three religions, nine schools" melting pot. The entire Umbral-Mist Territory was full of such people, and Pirate Harbor was the "essence" of it. Many people there didn't use their real names, because the price of exposing their identity was enormous. An old enemy might just show up.
"Pirate Harbor is so close to the Star River. Doesn't anyone manage it?" Lu Yin asked curiously.
"They do! Of course, they do! But they just send the army to scare them off occasionally. After all, the harbor doesn't just serve pirates; it also serves the military, and travelers passing between the Innerverse and Outerverse. As long as you have money, you can get anything there. So, to pirates, it's Pirate Harbor. But to the outside world, it's just a supply planet, covered by the glorious shadow of the Leiao family," Xiao Ba said.
"The Leiao family?" Lu Yin was puzzled.
Xiao Ba's expression turned serious. "This harbor was founded by the Leiao family. That family was once incredibly glorious, ruling an entire territory. But their talent pool 'withered' (dwindled). Their ancestors were quite bold; they gathered the entire family's strength, came to the Umbral-Mist Territory, and established this harbor. Think about it: a harbor built with the power of a family that once ruled a territory... who could destroy it? Besides, the Leiao family once produced a Hunter-realm expert. Even now, in their decline, they still have a Cruiser-realm expert guarding it, enough to protect the harbor."
Lu Yin understood. No wonder they could build a pirate harbor in such an obvious place. The Leiao family, huh?
"Xiao Ba, you know quite a lot," Lu Yin said, looking at him searchingly.