Lu Yin could feel the power of the Desolate Palm, and it felt like his life force was being sucked away. He knew it wasn't weak, so he raised his own hand with a glint in his eyes. Since Meng Yue was courting death, he wouldn't hold back.
Bang!
The two unleashed their full strength at the same time. The Desolate Palm was an inherited battle technique of the Vastdearth Weave's Vastdearth Sect, and its power was unparalleled. Lu Yin's Sirius Palm had reached five stars, and he had once defeated Tyson, a Melder from Yu Academy. Gerbach had even said that he could rank in the top ten of Yu Academy.
With a loud bang, a shockwave tore through the earth like a storm, scattering the cold air and pushing away layer after layer. A group of Sentinels who happened to be passing by screamed in agony as the ground split in two. Lulu was surprised and immediately dodged.
The two's attacks were even stronger than an ordinary Melder's.
Meng Yue was shocked that his Desolate Palm had been blocked. He had used it to defeat many Melders.
Both Lu Yin and Meng Yue retreated at the same time; this exchange was almost evenly matched.
Meng Yue's strength surprised Lu Yin; very few Sentinels could defeat a Melder, and this person wasn't even an innate gift cultivator.
"Alright, there aren't many in the same realm who can block the Desolate Palm. What's your name?" Meng Yue asked excitedly.
Lu Yin frowned, "I don't have time to waste with you. Move aside."
Meng Yue fell into deep thought and looked at Lu Yin for a while before withdrawing his star energy. He recalled Lu Yin's speed, and with this person's attack power and speed, Meng Yue wouldn't be his match in a real fight. "My name is Meng Yue, remember."
Lu Yin was shocked, Meng?
Could it be a primeval surname?
He only knew of a few primeval surnames, so he wasn't sure.
"Hey, you want to fight?
I'll accompany you. "Lulu stared at Meng Yue, eager to fight.
Meng Yue glanced at her, "I'm not interested in women."
Lulu frowned. "Don't underestimate me." She suddenly vanished and reappeared right in front of Meng Yue, kicking out with her leg. It was a very ordinary kick, and although Meng Yue wasn't as fast as her, his reaction wasn't slow. He raised his arm to block, and with a bang, a shockwave rippled out. Meng Yue's pupils shrank as he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He was unable to block the force of the kick, and he was sent flying, smashing through three small mountains and sinking into the ground.
Lu Yin's face twitched as he looked at Meng Yue sympathetically; he'd underestimated Lulu. She was a Mavis, and her strength was abnormal. That kick shouldn't have been gentle!
"You dare to look down on me? Hmph! Let's go!" Lulu raised her head and waved at Lu Yin before leaping up and flying off into the distance.
Lu Yin shot another glance at Meng Yue, who was still covered in dust, and flew away.
Underground, Meng Yue clenched his teeth. His arm was unnaturally bent. That kick had actually broken his arm. "What a vicious woman." Meng Yue hurriedly took out some medicine to treat his wound. When he walked out of the ground, he saw that the two of them had left. He let out a sigh and bitterly looked at his right arm. He had underestimated her.
"Lulu, don't you think your attack — no, your kick was too heavy?" Lu Yin asked.
Lulu snorted, "Who told him to look down on me? He deserved it."
Lu Yin couldn't help but laugh, silently reminding himself not to provoke her in the future. She was just too strong, and that was probably her innate gift.
Lu Yin and Lulu didn't encounter any enemies for the rest of their time. Astral-10's exam was only the end of the path, and there was no limit to the number of participants. Few people would actively cause trouble in such an exam, and Meng Yue was considered an oddity.
There were no enemies, but the number of astral beasts kept increasing. Under the dark night sky and the icy winds, strange beasts walked on the ground. Many of them flew in the air, and many Sentinels were killed by them.
Lu Yin and Lulu encountered a terrifying beast. Although it was also a Sentinel, it was invulnerable. Fortunately, Lulu managed to crush its innards with a heavy punch, but even so, it wasn't injured at all. Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine; this kind of defence was too strong.
There was also another beast that could spit out lightning. It was fast and its attacks were fierce, far surpassing the lightning bolt that Gerbach had used on Lu Yin. In the end, Lu Yin and Lulu managed to evade it because it was too fast and difficult to attack. Fortunately, it didn't chase after them, as if it was protecting its own territory.
There were also many strange plants in addition to the beasts. Coupled with the terrible weather, the two of them found many more corpses on the ground every now and then.
Anyone who could make it here was a top Sentinel, and even the weakest was at Eddy's level. Even so, the shadow of death still loomed over them.
Far behind Lu Yin and Lulu, Raas hid in fear and trembled. The few people who had been with him had all died, and he was the only one left. He didn't dare leave and decided to hide until the end of the test.
After an unknown amount of time, the frozen sun in the sky suddenly exploded. Scorching heat and blinding sunlight showered down, making it difficult for many to adapt. Some even lost their lives due to carelessness in battle.
Cold and heat intertwined, and the sudden glaring light almost caught Lu Yin off guard. He instinctively flashed to the side, but the ground suddenly exploded as a strange flower emerged from the ground and released a white substance at Lu Yin. Lu Yin raised a hand and unleashed a Triple Shockwave Palm, shattering everything in its path. A terrifying gale blasted against the flower and crushed it to pieces.
Lu Yin looked up and exhaled; the temperature had changed again. This time, the heat had lasted for at least 48 hours.
"It's getting hotter and hotter. Look, the sun is getting lower and lower as we go in. The innermost part is almost the same as the ground," Lulu complained.
Lu Yin looked into the distance and saw that the sun was indeed getting lower and lower. The entrance was still far away, and although it was hot, the stronger commoners could still withstand it. However, this region was already extremely hot, and only Seekers could withstand it. Even Sentinels might not be able to withstand the heat if they went further in. Coupled with the endless beasts, plants, and enemies, the test was truly cruel.
The Sentinel path wasn't that intense, but the Melder path was. Jenny Auna and Huo Xiaoling were eliminated immediately, encountering Melder beasts before they could meet up. If not for Schutz's appearance, they would have died. Even so, the rest of the test was difficult to complete, and they had to give up.
Nearly eighty Melders from the Great Yu Empire had participated in the assessment, but in less than a day, more than half of them had been eliminated, and as many as thirty had died. These were the true elites of the Great Yu Empire, not just from Yu Academy, but also from the various great academies of the Great Yu Empire.
What was even more terrifying was that even one of the five Hall Masters, Locke, had been eliminated, leaving Dorren and the rest with grim expressions.
The Hall Master of Yu Academy was a powerhouse who stood at the peak of the Empire's younger generation, and his elimination cast a shadow over this test.
"Gerbach and Yan Gang are together," someone reported.
Dorren nodded; this wasn't a surprise; the attacks on the Sentinel path were just a result of ignorance. If Yan Feng really wanted to marry Wendy, Yan Gang would have to build a good relationship with the Empire.
However, Yan Gang was much weaker than Gerbach, so Dorren hoped that he wouldn't drag him down.
Time passed slowly, and more and more spaceships appeared around the ten paths. Explorers stood tall in space, looking at the ten paths in the distance.
On the Sentinel path, a young man was clutching his left arm and howling in pain. This was Wukai Mathers, son of Sigmund Mathers. He had also participated in the Sentinel trial, but he had just been attacked by a strange plant. His left arm had been shattered, and the plant had been destroyed as well.
Wukai Mathers had come to the trial behind Sigmund's back. He wasn't weak, about the same level as Raas, who was hiding in the distance and trembling. Wukai Mathers had used his astonishing willpower to advance, but in the end, he had fallen here, unable to move forward.
Wukai Mathers was bitter as his blood dyed the ground and mountain walls red. Was it over?
Suddenly, Wukai Mathers' gaze turned cold as he saw a strange pattern on the mountain wall. He stared at it and gradually immersed himself in it; it was a fist technique with no name or origin. It had been buried in dust for an unknown amount of time, but it had surfaced after Wukai Mathers' battle. This was his opportunity.
Lu Yin and Lulu flew forward. A few hundred kilometers in front of them, a giant beast was roaring like an ancient dinosaur. It was a hundred meters tall, its sharp claws easily tearing through the ground. It was exceptionally irritable in the face of dozens of Sentinels, opening its mouth and condensing a terrifying amount of star energy into an energy beam that cut across the sky and destroyed everything.
"No, our attacks don't work on it. We can't break through its defences."
"Let's try working together."
"No, it's very smart. It attacks whichever side has the most people. There's no room for us to work together."
…