The defeat at the Astral Combat Tournament had nothing to do with the Astral Combat Tournament, but it had been used by some people to recruit soldiers. It had to be said that this method was very effective. At the very least, those who could not enter the Astral Combat Academy would choose to join the military, which was enough. Besides, the tournament's main purpose was to raise morale and reverse the negative effects of the defeat.
From Lu Yin's perspective, the Astral Combat Tournament was more like a way to cover up the haze of defeat. However, it did not matter. The higher-ups sometimes had no choice but to make decisions, and it was not bad for the students to be given a stage like this.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he looked at the geniuses fighting below the peak. He recalled the scene at the pirate port and the desperate situation on Driftcharge Planet. This was not the position that he wanted. He looked to his side, where the ten student leaders stood at the peak, looking down on the masses. They seemed high and mighty, but in reality, they were just being toyed with by others. Those people could strip them of everything they had at any time. That was the position that Lu Yin wanted.
Lu Yin smiled. He was overthinking things. He did not have the qualifications to think about such things right now.
At this moment, Nightqueen Yanqing's face suddenly sank.
Lu Yin looked down and saw that many people were watching as well. Hui Daynight had been defeated.
The Daynight clan was the focus of attention everywhere, even in Astral-10. Hui Daynight had attracted a lot of attention from his first battle, and his defeat had also caused a commotion.
The one who had defeated him was a girl who looked very ordinary, but she had blocked Hui Daynight's battle techniques and left him helpless. In the end, he had been defeated.
There were too many geniuses in the Astral Combat Academy, so Hui Daynight's defeat was not strange.
However, not far from Hui Daynight's arena, a corpse fell down and attracted Lu Yin's attention. It was not just Lu Yin; Astral-6's leader, Dao Bo, also stood up and stared at the scene.
Dao Bo's actions attracted the attention of others, and they all looked at the arena.
The corpse that had fallen down was Uro.
Lu Yin's face turned solemn as he looked at the man standing not far from Uro. His eyes were filled with disbelief. Uro had been instantly killed by this person. What incredible speed! No, rather than speed, it was more accurate to say that this person had broken through space. It was like a domain. Lu Yin's eyes lit up. Right, this person's domain was very similar to Silver's, and it seemed to have been comprehended for the sake of killing others.
Many people looked at the person in confusion. This person was unfamiliar, but he had instantly killed Uro. Uro, who was an Area Master? Who was this person?
Nobody recognized the man who had instantly killed Uro. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air. At first glance, he appeared quite ordinary, but he had unleashed a thunderous attack.
"So it's him. I didn't think that he'd come as well," a pleasant voice rang out not too far away from him. When he turned around, his pupils shrank. When had this happened?
The first seat, which had originally been empty, was now occupied by a woman with a veil covering her face. Her appearance was similar to the woman who had paid respects to the ancestors, and she had a graceful temperament that seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind. However, this woman had appeared without Lu Yin noticing, and he had only noticed her when she spoke.
That girl was Astral-1's leader.
"You know him?" Dao Bo asked in a deep voice.
"Calcifer, an assassin from a hundred years ago."
"You know someone from a hundred years ago?" Feng Shang was surprised.
The girl turned around, and a trace of a smile appeared in her resplendent eyes, as if the stars themselves were smiling. "Because he tried to assassinate Starsibyl."
That one sentence shocked all the student leaders, and even Liu Yin, who had been shaking his head from side to side, was stunned. He looked at Astral-1's leader in disbelief.
"You're saying that he tried to assassinate Starsibyl?" Liu Xiaoyun was shocked.
Astral-1's leader nodded. "Yes. Although he failed, it was recorded in the dossiers. Who would have thought that after being frozen for a hundred years, he would join the Astral Combat Academy as soon as he came out. I don't know what he's thinking now that he's exposed to the entire universe."
"You guys allowed him to live?" Nightqueen Yanqing looked at Astral-1's leader strangely.
Astral-1's leader smiled. "It's fine."
Lu Yin was puzzled, but he did not ask any further questions. These people did not acknowledge him, and it would be even more awkward if no one answered his questions. However, Nightqueen Yanqing's words caught his attention. Who was she referring to?
What did Calcifer's assassination of Starsibyl have to do with Astral-1's leader?
Calcifer's strength had shocked countless people, but not many had recognized him, so the news had not spread.
Soon after, another unexpected battle overshadowed Calcifer and attracted all of Lu Yin's attention. Big Pao was in danger.
Ever since they had teamed up to challenge Kuang Wang, Big Pao's and Little Pao's reputations had been constantly rising, attracting the attention of the entire Astral Combat Academy and even the outside world. After all, anyone in the younger generation who could rival a Realm Master was considered a genius.
However, at this moment, Big Pao was not in a good state. He was panting heavily, and his entire body was in a sorry state. His shoulder had been pierced, and fresh blood was flowing down his arm.
It was a Melder realm sylvan dragon that had forced him into such a desperate situation.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. He was no stranger to sylvan dragons, but a Melder realm sylvan dragon had been able to force Big Pao into such a desperate situation. Its strength was comparable to that of Xia Luo and the others.
"So it's Long Yi. The sylvan dragon tribe has really invested a lot for the Astral Combat Tournament," Feng Shang said in surprise.
Lu Yin looked at him. "You know him?"
Feng Shang smiled. "Of course. This sylvan dragon is very famous. Fifteen years ago, he challenged one of the Ten Arbiters."
Lu Yin was shocked. The Ten Arbiters referred to the current generation's ten authoritative figures of the Universe Youth Council. None of the previous generation's authoritative figures had been referred to as the Ten Arbiters, which meant that this sylvan dragon had challenged one of the Ten Arbiters, even if it had been fifteen years ago.
"I remember now. Fifteen years ago, an absolute genius appeared in the sylvan dragon tribe. He had a terrifying innate gift, and the tribe called him the symbol of their rise. It was him, right?" Nightqueen Yanqing asked disdainfully.
Feng Shang nodded. "That's right. Fifteen years ago, that Arbiter was only a Sentinel. The two of them battled, and this sylvan dragon suffered a crushing defeat. According to the bet, he should have become that Arbiter's mount, but the sylvan dragon tribe acted shamelessly and hid him away. He was sealed in ice for fifteen years before coming out."
Kuang Wang sneered. "He didn't come out just because of the Astral Combat Tournament. Perhaps he also wants to curry favor with the Ten Arbiters. Being their mount isn't shameful at all. This tribe is becoming more and more shameless."
"You guys seem to hate the sylvan dragon tribe." Lu Yin was curious.
Feng Shang glanced at him and smiled without saying anything.
"No one likes traitors," Dao Bo said.
Lu Yin nodded and did not ask any more questions.
Down below, Big Pao looked at the sylvan dragon in front of him and smiled bitterly. He had been careless. He had thought that he would be easy to deal with, but he had not expected to be heavily injured by a strange ray. If he had known earlier, he would not have held back and would have ended the battle right from the start.
Across from him, Dragon One's enormous body pressed down and split into five. This was the sylvan dragon's extreme speed, and it left afterimages in the void. It was impossible to distinguish the dragon's true form, and each of them opened their mouths.
Big Pao's scalp went numb, and battle force patterns appeared on his body. He had already used his strongest power, but a ray still pierced through his body and killed him instantly.
Many people lamented in front of their screens. Two-lined battle force was already very strong, and Big Pao was definitely an Area Master, but he had still been defeated.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and stared at the ground. This was Dragon One's innate gift.
Big Pao's corpse fell to the ground, but it had not completely disappeared. Dragon One stepped on it with a claw and raised his head to roar fiercely. He then turned back to face the peak and let out another roar that shook the void.
"This thing is still so disgusting." Kuang Wang's gaze was cold, as if he hated the sylvan dragon clan.
Lu Yin's gaze was cold as he stepped on Big Pao's corpse. This was an insult, and this thing deserved to be taught a lesson.
In the second round, Coco was defeated by the muscular man. No matter how fast she was, the muscular man attacked the entire arena indiscriminately, and the intensity of his attacks exceeded Coco's limit. Just like Zhao Yilong, she could only lose.
Many Area Masters were defeated in this round as well, and many powerhouses were exposed. Most of these people had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy.
This result displeased the various student leaders, as those who had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy could not even be considered students. They were just outsiders, yet they had continued to provoke them.
Lu Yin could already feel a few people on the verge of exploding with anger. These people were too arrogant and thought that defeating an Area Master would allow them to dominate the Astral Combat Academy. The true powerhouses of the Astral Combat Academy were all here.
Astral-10's results exceeded many people's expectations. Xia Luo, Silver, Darkvoid, Lulu, Little Pao, and Michelle had all won. Astral-10 only had fourteen students, and with Lu Yin, more than half of them had won.
The Sandmaster and Rainmaster were watching from the sidelines, and they were very satisfied with this result. These students had only been under their tutelage for about half a year, so this result was already quite good. If this had happened when they had just entered the academy, none of them would have been able to defeat them.
After the second round, there was also a three-hour break to allow the spectators to catch their breaths.
At this moment, the arena plains had undergone another huge change. The number of arenas had increased to fifty-four, and there were now 108 participants. Once again, one person had advanced to the next round.
At this point in the competition, no one was relying on luck anymore. The remaining participants were the true elites of their respective academies, and almost all of them were ranked in the top ten. Almost a quarter of them were Area Masters, which meant that anyone had a high chance of defeating an Area Master.
Apu felt that he was very lucky, and he was sincerely grateful to the heavens for allowing him to rush through the Three Academies with the majority of the students. In the first round, his opponent had been a Melder. Although a Melder who had reached this stage was definitely a genius, geniuses still needed time to grow. That person had obviously not yet matured, and Apu had narrowly defeated him. In the second round, Apu had advanced to the next round.
Apu's original goal had been to reach the second round at most, and that would have been enough to bring glory to his ancestors. Although he was ranked in the top fifteen of his academy, he knew how monstrous those who could reach this stage were. He wasn't greedy, and all he wanted was to enter the second round. But now, his thoughts had changed. When he looked at the youth in front of him, he felt as if the God of Luck had descended upon him.
Another Melder. The youth in front of him … No, although he looked young, he should be around twenty years old. Let's call him a youth for the time being. That youth in front of him must have relied on luck to reach this stage. What a pity, he had actually met Apu. That youth's luck had reached its end, but Apu didn't know when his luck would end.