Hart had transformed into an unrecognizable person. He looked up at the peak with an undisguised arrogance on his face. His brother had always been a Realmbreaker, and he had even fought against Explorers as a Melder. He had only defeated a Limiteer Area Lord, which was not his limit. He had already broken through the Undying Bird and become a different kind of lifeform. His goal was to become a Realm Lord, and Lu Yin was no longer qualified.
Many people knew that this Astral Combat Tournament would attract many powerhouses, but they had not expected that several Area Lords would be eliminated in the first round of the tournament. They were Area Lords, after all. In the previous Astral Combat Tournaments, Area Lords would usually fight until the third round, and they would only be eliminated when they met a Realm Lord. This time, however, several had been eliminated in the first round, which was unbelievable.
At this moment, flames soared into the sky and even changed the temperature of the land. Countless people looked over and saw a man standing tall in the sky, looking down with cold arrogance. Flames roared all around him, but these weren't flames simulated by star energy. These were real flames, and they were accompanied by a black hue that distorted the void and caused spatial cracks to appear.
In the arena below, a woman knelt and looked up in fear.
The man laughed maniacally and rose even higher until he was level with the peak and the student leaders of the various academies. "Feng Shang, it's been so many years since we last met. I didn't expect you to become a Realm Lord."
His words shocked countless people.
On the peak, Astral-8's leader, Feng Shang, looked at the man in astonishment. "You are?"
The man laughed. "Old friend. You really don't remember?
I was the one who turned you to ashes back then. It's been so many years. Do you even know how to speak now? "
In front of their screens, countless people stared blankly at this scene.
Feng Shang's expression suddenly turned cold. "I remember now. So it's you, Arikar."
"I finally remember. I didn't expect that the impulsive junior from back then would become a Realm Lord. You're quite capable," Arikar laughed strangely.
Feng Shang's expression was icy. "You lost to Big Brother Nail when you fought for the position of Realm Lord, and then you ambushed him. It's been so many years since we last met, but you were able to rejoin the academy. It looks like your bone age has been frozen."
Arikar's eyes narrowed, and a bone-chilling light flashed through them. "There's no need to mention the past. This time, I broke out of the ice in order to wash away the humiliation from all those years ago. Nail has already died on the battlefield at the border of the Star Field, so it's up to you to repay everything he owes me." After he finished speaking, he slammed his palm down, and the void flames transformed into a black palm that covered the entire arena. With a bang, the woman who had been fighting against Arikar vanished, and a part of the arena disappeared as well.
Countless people were shocked, as this person had actually competed with Astral-8's previous Realm Master. He was another frozen genius.
Feng Shang's expression was gloomy as he stared at the burnt arena. He recalled the battle that he had witnessed when he had first joined the Astral Combat Academy. It was because of that battle that he had gained a new understanding of power, and this person had been one of the main characters of that battle.
"What a powerful palm technique," Lu Yin praised. "Why is this person's attack style similar to that of the Blaze Realm's?"
Feng Shang replied calmly, "He's a powerhouse from the Blaze Realm. He was ranked first on the Blaze Realm Rankings before Jia Er."
"So that's how it is. No wonder he was so annoying," Lu Yin muttered.
To the side, Astral-9's leader, Liu Yin, took off his headphones and looked confused. "It's so hot. What happened?"
Lu Yin glanced at him strangely. Is this guy really the leader?
The first round of drawing lots eliminated half of the participants, leaving 217 people to advance.
The arena plains changed once again, and this time, the 217 arenas were split into even larger arenas. There were now only 108 arenas, and numbers appeared in front of each participant once again. Everyone didn't need to be reminded; they just raised their hands and tapped lightly. The scene before them changed, and they all appeared in their respective arenas. Among them, a short man stood in a daze with a confused look in his eyes.
"Um, Mentor, what about me?" the short man asked as he looked up.
"You advanced." The loud voice gave everyone a fright.
The short man was ecstatic, as one of them had indeed advanced in a two-on-one battle. He was just too lucky.
Coco looked at him enviously, but when she looked forward, she was on the verge of tears. There was a muscular man standing in front of her. He was at least three meters tall and had a square face. One look and one could tell that he wasn't someone to be trifled with. How did she end up with someone like him?
"Rest for three hours. The competition will begin in three hours," the loud voice rang out once more.
A strong gust of wind appeared in the middle of the arena, separating the two participants.
The break was not only for the sake of the participating students, but also for the sake of the countless spectators. It wasn't a good idea to end the Astral Combat Tournament so quickly.
A day had passed between the first round of the Astral Combat Tournament and the end of the first round of drawing lots. The Astral Combat Tournament would last for at least three days, which meant that there would be a break after each round of drawing lots.
Lu Yin sat in the tenth seat at the peak. He had to admit that he felt a sense of superiority from where he sat, and it wasn't unreasonable for all the other students to fight for this seat.
The competition was temporarily paused, and countless people in front of their screens focused on the ten student leaders. They were the ten strongest people on the surface.
Aside from Astral-1's student leader, who had yet to arrive, the other nine were the focus of everyone's attention. Lu Yin was the only one who attracted the most attention because he was the only Melder.
Astral-10 was good at creating miracles, and this was what many people thought. Silver had defended the valley's last line of defense, Lulu had beaten the war drums, and Xia Luo had lit the ancient incense. These were all things that only a Limiteer could accomplish, and Astral-10 had only sent out Melders. However, no matter how miracles were created, it was impossible for a Melder to be able to match the student leaders. Only the Ten Arbiters had managed to do so, so what did this person have?
Lu Yin's identity was revealed layer by layer, and there was nothing special about him. The Great Yu Empire was just a weak power that could be destroyed with a flip of their hand, and Earth was something that no one had even heard of.
Even though countless people were cheering in the Great Yu Empire and on Earth, there were too few of them, and they were like dust to the universe.
However, Lu Yin sat there with a clear conscience. He didn't care what others said, but the chair was a little hard.
Feng Shang sized Lu Yin up curiously.
Lu Yin felt his gaze and smiled. "Senior Feng, do you have any advice for me?"
Feng Shang smiled. "I thought that I was already very ambitious, but I didn't expect you to be even more ambitious. Junior, how does this seat feel?"
Lu Yin nodded. "Not bad. Aside from the fact that the chair is a little hard, everything else is fine. Right, it would be even better if there was something to eat."
"Haha, interesting." Feng Shang laughed, but he didn't say anything else. He couldn't sense any great power from Lu Yin. Either way, Lu Yin was hiding it too well, or he was really just a front that Astral-10 had created. No matter what, no Melder other than the Ten Arbiters had been able to stand side by side with a Realm Master, and it was even more impossible for Lu Yin to do so. It could only be said that Astral-10 was too careful, as they were afraid that others would rob them of their hopes of rising up.
On Feng Shang's other side, Liu Xiaoyun's gaze was fixed on a certain arena where a very young man was sitting. He was about the same age as Lu Yin, and he was sitting cross-legged with a rusty iron sword condensed from star energy resting on his lap. He was just sitting there silently, but Liu Xiaoyun's gaze never left him. He was Liu Shaoqiu.
Lu Yin's gaze moved past Feng Shang and the others to Nightqueen Yanqing. Aside from Astral-1's leader, he was most curious about this Nightqueen Yanqing. She was a Nightqueen from the Daynight royal family, and she was just like Qingyu, one who stood above the rest of the Daynight clan.
He still remembered the name at the top of the stone tablet when he had first entered the Daynight clan's inheritance corridor: Nightking Zhenwu, but he didn't know who that person was.
Nightqueen Yanqing sensed Lu Yin's gaze on her, and she glanced at him and frowned.
Lu Yin retracted his gaze, closed his eyes, and exhaled.
Nightqueen Yanqing snorted, as a mere piece of trash was actually sitting at the same table as her. It was a pity that she hadn't been able to kill Astral-10 with a single blow and had only managed to expel them from the Innerverse.
In the Innerverse, in the Erudite Flowzone, a giant tributary of the Astral River flowed behind the Innerverse, adorning the starry sky. It looked beautiful, but it also contained a threat that could kill a Hunter.
Outside the Erudite Flowzone's tributary was a giant defensive net formed by numerous planets that stretched for an unknown distance. This was one of the borders between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain.
In the command room of an enormous warship, a man stood there. He was thin and not very tall, but his presence seemed to exude a boundless charm that caused all the soldiers on the battlefield to go crazy. This man was Shui Chuanxiao, the commander of the Human Domain's border war. He was known as one of the most strategic commanders in human history.
As he watched the Astral Combat Tournament's screen, Shui Chuanxiao's lips curled up into an indescribable smile. His eyes were filled with an unfathomable thought.
Three hours quickly passed, and as the energy in the center of the arena dissipated, the second battle was about to begin.
This time, many people had their own targets. For example, Feng Shang had his eyes on Arikar, Nightqueen Yanqing had her eyes on Cang Shi, and many other veteran Area Masters from the various academies had their own supporters.
Jared's face was gloomy, as Arikar's appearance had caused him to lose all of his glory. The Blaze Realm had invested all of its resources into Arikar, and even the vessel for the Blaze Realm's inherited battle technique, the Karmic Flame Sword, had been given to Arikar. Jared had been stripped of everything, and he was unwilling to accept this.
As he looked at the attacking student in front of him, Jared's suppressed anger erupted. He waved his hands and created a strange ripple that clashed with the Limiteer student. In an instant, the Limiteer student's eyes went blank, and he collapsed to the ground, dead.
This scene was witnessed by many, especially Craynor, who had been paying attention to Jared, who felt a chill run down his spine. This was the battle technique that Jared had inherited from the Dao of Illusions. It was strange, unpredictable, and unpredictable.
Jared was not the first Area Master to erupt. The appearance of Arikar and the others made the veteran Area Masters of the Astral Combat Academy feel a sense of crisis, and they all began to erupt. Instantly, many familiar battle techniques and powerhouses were revealed, creating a visual feast for the eyes of countless people watching the screens.
The effects of the Astral Combat Tournament were beginning to show. Many people felt that if the Astral Combat Academy students were this powerful, then the other astral domains would not be able to compare. Furthermore, even more people wanted to showcase themselves on such a glorious stage.
Now that a considerable portion of the universe's network had been connected, such a glorious stage could be seen at any time. This completely ignited the passion of countless people.