Lu Yin looked up and continued, "If the Chief Judge hadn't spoken up, the Eastern Frontier Alliance wouldn't have enjoyed peace these past two years. I'm also grateful for the Chief Judge's impartiality during my trial."
"If impartiality itself must be thanked, what purpose does the balance serve?" the Chief Judge replied coolly.
"You're right, Chief Judge," Lu Yin said.
Silence fell. Lu Yin had wanted to ask why the Chief Judge had helped him, but the words wouldn't come. In front of the Chief Judge—the person with the greatest power over life and death in the Human Starfield—he didn't know how to begin. This place was simply too oppressive.
It was like standing before an executioner: a cold, merciless executioner, shrouded in mystery. Even after being hunted by a Semi-Progenitor, Lu Yin still felt nervous in the Chief Judge's presence.
"You don't need to thank me. My master never specifically instructed me to, but since he accepted you as a disciple, I have a duty to help you," the Chief Judge said, leaving Lu Yin bewildered.
"Your master?" Lu Yin asked, confused.
The Chief Judge was shrouded in darkness, and his voice held not a hint of emotion. "Mr. Mu."
Lu Yin was stunned. "You—you're also Mr. Mu's disciple?"
"More precisely, one of his disciples," the Chief Judge replied.
Lu Yin found the situation absurd. The person he had always respected and worried about was actually his fellow disciple?
The Chief Judge's mysterious, inscrutable image collapsed in an instant. Lu Yin's mouth fell open. "You're my senior brother?"
"Yes."
"You knew all along that I was Mr. Mu's disciple?"
"That's right."
"So you helped me on purpose during my trial?"
"If you had truly been modified, you would have been killed without mercy."
Lu Yin blinked. "Master never told