"My father is asking you a question. Speak!" a young man shouted. With a wave of his hand, a man behind Lu Yin lunged forward, punching at his stomach. A murderous glint flashed in Lu Yin's eyes. He raised his hand and swiped. Blood splattered on the wall. The man died instantly.
"How dare you!" Several Limiteer experts simultaneously attacked Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. Three-Pattern Battle-Qi materialized on his body, stunning everyone. The strongest Limiteer cultivator, in particular, felt his pupils shrink and a chill run down his spine.
Three-Pattern Battle-Qi made short work of ordinary techniques. Even though Lu Yin was too injured to use his own techniques, relying solely on his battle-qi, he quickly finished off two Limiteer experts.
The strongest Limiteer cultivator roared, his Star Energy turning into crackling lightning as he punched at Lu Yin. Lu Yin raised a hand to block but was sent flying out of the main hall, crashing into the corridor.
Countless Leiao family soldiers rushed over, firing Star Energy pistols at him, but these weapons couldn't harm him.
Whoosh! Lightning crackled before him again. Lu Yin's eyes focused. He dodged to the side, circulating the Heavenly Star Art. The lightning's slightest movement became clear. He dodged again, evading the strike. He condensed battle-qi on his fingertip and jabbed, aiming straight for the man's heart. This man truly was the Leiao family's strongest Limiteer; he managed to dodge, continuously retreating.
From the sides, more Limiteer experts charged in.
Lu Yin coughed up blood. His internal organs couldn't withstand repeated attacks. While these Limiteer cultivators were no match for the Academy's Domain Masters, they were all rich in combat experience. Lu Yin couldn't take them down quickly. Seizing the moment they all attacked, he suppressed his injuries and used Flash-Step, appearing beside the young man. He grabbed his neck with one hand and turned to glare at the crowd.
The Leiao family members froze. "Let the young master go!"
"Let my son go!" the middle-aged man roared.
Lu Yin's eyes glinted. "You let me go, and I'll let him go."
"Fine! We'll let you go! You release the young master first!" one man shouted.
Lu Yin scoffed. "Do I look like an idiot? Scram!"
Everyone retreated, glaring at Lu Yin.
The young master in his grasp was already scared stiff, trembling uncontrollably, having never seen such a confrontation.
Lu Yin tightened his grip on the young man and hissed in his ear, "Take me to the engine room."
The young man was terrified. "What... what do you want to do?"
Lu Yin squeezed his neck hard. "Shut up if you don't want to die! I just want to damage the engine room so you can't track my ship. Now! Or I'll break your arm first!"
Frightened, the young man quickly led the way.
Lu Yin wasn't afraid of him pulling any tricks. It was hard to deal with him inside the ship. They'd need a human wave, but the Leiao family's important figures were all here. He could grab any of them. He just wanted to leave. This grudge would have to wait until his injuries healed. As long as he could use his techniques, he wouldn't care if their numbers doubled.
"Are you this family's patriarch?" Lu Yin suddenly asked, staring at the middle-aged man.
The man nodded, his gaze calm. "As long as you release my son and tell me what happened on Toflo, I can guarantee your release."
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "Prepare ten million cubic Star Energy Crystals immediately, to ransom your son's life."
Everyone was horrified. Even the young man being held hostage was stunned.
"Ten million? Are you insane?!" the middle-aged man roared in fury. The others also glared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Was that too much? Ever since Wu Shan mocked his previous extortion attempt as a mere "greeting gift," he felt he should be more ambitious. But now it seemed... it was indeed too much. Wu Shan, as the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire, had only given him a hundred thousand. The Leiao family couldn't compare to the Empire. Those pirate crews had only plundered a hundred-thousand-plus over decades. Ten million... the Leiao family could maybe produce it, but they would never use it for the person in his hand.
"How much can you offer?" Lu Yin said coldly.
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth. "500,000, tops. Not a crystal more."
That was a steep bargain, but after a moment's thought, Lu Yin nodded. "Fine. Go prepare it."
The middle-aged man gave a meaningful look to a Limiteer cultivator behind him, who immediately left.
With the hostage guiding him, Lu Yin smoothly arrived at the engine bay. This was the control hub for the super-massive ship, heavily guarded.
As Lu Yin approached, the expressions of the Leiao family members changed. The middle-aged man, in particular, shot his son a murderous glare for leading the way.
"Kid, what do you want? Release my son, now! I can let you go!" the middle-aged man shouted. He couldn't let Lu Yin get any closer.
Lu Yin waited right where he was. "My money?"
"It's here! For you!" The cultivator who had left tossed a Null-Ring to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin casually sent out a gust of wind, slapping the Null-Ring into the engine bay, through the hatch, and right into the most critical spot.
The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically. "Get it out, quickly!"
The Limiteer cultivator who threw it instantly paled and rushed inside.
Lu Yin's eyes were icy. "I knew you were pulling a trick." He then shoved the young man in his hand into the engine bay as well, while he himself punched a hole in the ceiling and escaped.
The middle-aged man roared and gave chase. Red alarms blared throughout the ship.
An explosion erupted from the engine bay. The middle-aged man stopped, his face contorting. He finally gave up on Lu Yin and rushed to the engine bay. That place could not fail.
Lu Yin didn't flee. He thought for a moment and rushed toward the ship's outer layer. There... was the weapons bay.
Countless soldiers pursued him, and many Limiteer cultivators tried to block him, but no one could stop him. He had to suppress his injuries and try. He had planned to get revenge later, but the Leiao family would most likely go into hiding. If he let them escape, he didn't know when he'd find them again. He already had a plan for revenge.
The engine bay explosion was finally contained, but when the middle-aged man heard Lu Yin was heading for the weapons bay, his face changed completely. He ignored the ship's damage and, just like Lu Yin, blasted through the walls to get there.
But Lu Yin was one step ahead. The weapons hadn't been locked down; they were still aimed at Toflo. Lu Yin easily dispatched the Limiteer guard and tried to redirect the planet-bombarding beam... inward. But the warship had its own self-preservation protocols. It couldn't be aimed at itself. However, every warship had a self-destruct mechanism, precisely to prevent capture.
Lu Yin didn't know where the self-destruct was, only that he could detonate the weapons.
The moment the middle-aged man arrived, the entire weapons bay had begun to explode. His expression twisted. "Stop!"
Suddenly, the ship's alarms shrieked. The self-destruct mechanism had activated.
Lu Yin laughed. What great luck! The self-destruct is right here in the weapons bay!
The middle-aged man roared and charged at the self-destruct panel, trying to stop it.
Lu Yin rushed out. Phịch! The two collided and were both knocked back.
"Who in the hell are you!?" the middle-aged man screamed, his eyes bloodshot.
Lu Yin's voice was ice. "Someone forced into a desperate corner... by your Leiao family."
"I can pay any price!" the middle-aged man yelled, charging for the panel again.
Lu Yin swept his leg. The Three-Pattern Battle-Qi was too terrifying. Even with his Star Energy depleted and unable to use techniques, he could suppress the patriarch of a great family. The middle-aged man was helpless against Lu Yin's battle-qi; every clash injured him. More and more Leiao experts were arriving. Lu Yin couldn't hold them all off. Helpless, he turned and left.
Only two Limiteer cultivators chased him. The others rushed to the self-destruct panel. But... because of the recent fight, the system was malfunctioning. The self-destruct could not be stopped.
The middle-aged man roared, "Quick! Get the young master and escape!"
The entire ship was engulfed in terror.
Lu Yin suppressed the intense pain in his body, blasting his way through walls until he found the personal hangar bay. He turned, both fists punching out. The two Limiteer experts attacked. One of them even had a talent, releasing a grating noise. Lu Yin's mind went blank, his attack stopping. He was hit, crashing through several personal ships, and spat out blood. The Three-Pattern Battle-Qi slowly faded.
Battle-qi wasn't infinite. His body was already severely injured. He couldn't sustain it.
The two Limiteer experts lunged for him.
Lu Yin looked up and thrust his palm. Ninth-Stack, Nine-Layer Rippling Palm! He knocked one back with a single palm, but was still hit by the other. However, he grabbed that man's arm, roared, and flung him away with pure physical strength. But this put a huge strain on his organs, and he spat out blood again.
Seizing the moment they were repelled, Lu Yin climbed into a personal ship and started it.
The two Limiteer experts charged again.
Lu Yin yelled, "This ship is about to explode! You want to be buried with it?"
The two men froze, looking at each other.
At that moment, many Leiao family soldiers appeared, all looking for ships. The two Limiteer experts gritted their teeth, hijacked their own ships, and started them.
The super-massive ship carried many personal craft, hundreds of them. But it was far too few for the Leiao family's population. And now... there were less than 15 seconds until self-destruction.
Lu Yin's ship was the first to launch, quickly clearing the massive vessel and jumping into space. One after another, more ships fled.
Tragically, perhaps due to the system malfunction, only a dozen ships made it out. The main hangar bay doors slammed shut, trapping the rest. Desperate screams echoed.
Inside the massive ship, the middle-aged man was in despair. The Leiao family, built over so many years, was finished... destroyed by an unknown nobody. He was unreconciled! He turned to look outside, just in time to see Lu Yin's personal ship escaping.
The middle-aged man's eyes were crimson. "We're dying, but you won't live either!" he roared, aiming the weapons at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's scalp tingled. An endless chill washed over him. Extreme danger. This feeling... it was identical to the one at Pirate Harbor, when he faced that beam of light. He looked back, his gaze seeming to pierce through space, seeing the despairing Leiao family patriarch.
"Die!" the middle-aged man bellowed, manically firing the beam.