In the Innerverse, in the Sword Sect, the disciple who had reported to the sect master was pale. Who would have thought that Liu Shaoqiu would be defeated? Liu Shaoqiu had even used the Third Sword, but he had still been defeated. Furthermore, he had been defeated by a Melder, which was unimaginable and a violation of the rules.
Behind everyone, an old man in white robes faced the screen with an indescribable expression in his eyes. "He's actually immune to Shaoqiu's Third Sword. What an interesting child. Send a message to Astral-10. The Sword Sect is willing to accept this child as a direct disciple with the same status as Shaoqiu."
Countless Sword Sect disciples were shocked. Direct disciples had the highest status among the disciples, and they could command countless people in the sect. Liu Shaoqiu's status was second only to that of the Ten Arbiters, and there weren't many people like him in the First Flowzone. This child had used a single battle to climb to the top and become the crown prince of the Innerverse's First Flowzone.
Under the dusky "Yōu" banner, the little girl clapped her hands excitedly and looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression.
The shock in the old woman's eyes had yet to dissipate. A mortal had stepped into the heavens.
In Astral-10's space station, Madam Nalan was in a daze. She didn't even realize that the wine in her cup had spilled as she stared at the screen in shock.
She recalled the first time they had met, when she had mentioned Liu Shaoqiu's legend to Lu Yin. At that time, she had only wanted him to not be dispirited by his loss and focus on studying lockbreaking. She had never expected that this person would defeat Liu Shaoqiu in the blink of an eye. How long had it been?
Lu Yin's victory over Liu Shaoqiu had shocked the outside world far more than that. He also did not know that this battle had caught the attention of the Ten Arbiters.
Regardless of how shocked the bystanders were, the sixth battle had ended, and the top eight had emerged. They were Dao Bo, Liu Xiaoyun, Han Chong, Grandini Mavis, Starsibyl, Feng Shang, Nightqueen Yanqing, and Lu Yin. These eight were the strongest of this year's Astral Combat Academy, and the seventh battle would begin in a day to determine the top four. The finals of the tournament were getting closer and closer.
It was worth mentioning that all of the geniuses who had recently joined the Astral Combat Academy had been defeated without exception.
Before the Astral Combat Tournament, countless people had guessed that the original students of the Astral Combat Academy would be targeted by the various freaks, such as Liu Shaoqiu, Yue Xianzi, Chao Zhi, Calcifer, Cang Shi, and so on. A series of geniuses had appeared one after another, but they had all been defeated. As time went on, the ones who had displayed even greater strength were the students who had been hiding in the Astral Combat Academy, such as Sha, Xia Luo, Silver, Lu Yin, Grandini Mavis, and Tu Bo.
This result shocked all of the major powers in the universe. Although the Astral Combat Academy was known as the universe's top institution, it was still only an academy. Many of the major powers did not send their elite disciples to the Astral Combat Academy, as they believed that the academy's teachings were not as good as theirs. However, this result had slapped those people in the face. There were too many powerhouses in the Astral Combat Academy, and they were all too monstrous. Even Liu Shaoqiu, who was publicly recognized as the strongest, had been defeated.
The Astral Combat Academy was very satisfied with this tournament. Although they had purposely separated the student leaders and prevented them from killing each other, everyone could see that the various student leaders were more than enough to crush the geniuses from the various great powers.
It was foreseeable that after this tournament, many powers would place more importance on the Astral Combat Academy, and they would send even more outstanding disciples there.
At the border of the Erudite Flowzone, Shui Chuanxiao was shocked as he watched the screen. He praised, "Not bad, not bad. The Astral Combat Academy is really not bad. They actually managed to train a student who defeated Liu Shaoqiu from the Sword Sect. Not bad. Right, when he comes, let him become a war drummer."
Behind Shui Chuanxiao, a blonde woman in a military uniform immediately said, "The war drummer must be a space-exploring powerhouse. Otherwise, they won't be able to pick up the attack hammer, and they won't be able to withstand the attacks of the astral beasts."
"He's immune to the Third Sword, so he's qualified to wield the attack hammer," Shui Chuanxiao replied nonchalantly.
The blonde woman frowned. "Commander, I have to remind you that our agreement with the Astral Combat Academy was only to let these students experience the cruelty of the battlefield, not to send them to their deaths. Ever since you arrived at the border, a total of 127 war drummers have died, which is 127 space-exploring powerhouses. This student is far from being qualified to become a war drummer. You're sending him to his death."
Shui Chuanxiao sighed. "I say, Enya, I didn't call you here to go against me."
En Ya coldly replied, "I'm not going against you. I just don't want to see this student die in vain."
Shui Chuanxiao laughed. "Alright, then let me tell you something. Do you really think that the Astral Combat Academy is sending these students to the battlefield just to experience it?
Let me tell you something: the Astral Combat Academy is about to change. "
"Change?" En Ya was confused.
Shui Chuanxiao's lips curled up. "The Astral Combat Academy has been the top academy for too long, and it can only fall and not rise. As time passes, the ten academies will drift further and further apart, and they might even completely separate and form independent academies. Astral-10's ambush by the Blaze Realm is the best example of this. That's why the Astral Combat Academy wants to send their students to the battlefield so that they can preserve their lives as much as possible at the borders of the Star Field. They're also starting to change, and they're interacting with the military to form a top academy that sends talents to the border."
"Why?" En Ya did not understand. Even if the Astral Combat Academy wanted the students to experience the battlefield in advance, there was no need for them to ally with the border army.
Shui Chuanxiao sighed. "Do you know how high the mortality rate is for students who graduate from the universe's top academies?
Let me tell you something. "Shui Chuanxiao stared into En Ya's eyes." There's a 90% chance that those students will die at the border. "
En Ya was shocked; she had never heard of such a thing before.
"Now you know. There are very few graduates from the Astral Combat Academy, but regardless of whether they've graduated or been expelled, they'll all come to the border. Less than 10% of them will return alive, and it's the same for the other academies. This is the fate of the students. Even if they don't enter the Astral Combat Academy, they'll still have to go to the border if they want to gain some experience in the universe and become stronger. This includes the descendants of the various great powers, and this is the law of the entire Human Domain. The Astral Combat Academy's transformation is inevitable in order to preserve the lives of these students as much as possible. Protecting the students is also protecting the Astral Combat Academy itself, so it's necessary to let them experience the battlefield in advance." Shui Chuanxiao paused and patted En Ya's shoulder.
"Yes," En Ya replied and respectfully watched Shui Chuanxiao leave. Suddenly, she felt that something was amiss. What did the Astral Combat Academy's transformation have to do with this student becoming a war drummer? That bastard was playing with her again.
At Astral-10's trial zone mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes and stretched.
The others gathered around him once more. "Brother Lu, you're amazing!" Coco exclaimed in admiration.
Lu Yin smiled and swept his gaze across the crowd, pausing on Hui Daynight's face for a moment. Hui Daynight awkwardly turned his head away.
Silver beamed as he walked up to Lu Yin. "You're amazing. You're barely on par with me when I used 30% of my strength."
Lu Yin disdainfully replied, "I only used 20% of my strength."
"I only used 10% of my strength to defeat that guy with three swords."
"I didn't even use 10%."
Everyone else was bewildered.
At that moment, Liu Xiaoyun walked over, and the crowd unconsciously made way for her.
She looked at Lu Yin seriously, her eyes still filled with disbelief. "How was the first strike?"
Lu Yin thought for a moment. "It was swift and fierce."
"What about the second strike?" Liu Xiaoyun continued to ask.
Lu Yin blurted out, "It covered a large area and had a strong attack."
"Then, what about the third strike?" Liu Xiaoyun stared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin smiled back at her.
Liu Xiaoyun was disappointed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
Lu Yin smiled. "Madam Nalan saved my life, so I can tell you about the third strike." He paused for a moment as everyone stared at him. "I didn't feel anything from the third strike."
Everyone else was stunned, as they didn't understand. Only Liu Xiaoyun stared at Lu Yin in a daze and bitterly said, "So there really are geniuses like you in this universe who are immune to the third strike. You might be the Daynight clan's nemesis."
This shocked Hui Daynight, and he turned to look at Lu Yin in confusion. Why would he be immune to the third strike of the Sword Sect be the Daynight clan's nemesis?
Lu Yin knew what Liu Xiaoyun meant. The Daynight clan's battle techniques all had the same spirit-destroying effect as the third strike. If Lu Yin was truly immune to spirit-destroying attacks, then the Daynight clan's battle techniques would just be ordinary techniques to him. Of course, even though he knew this, he didn't show it. He just looked at Liu Xiaoyun in confusion.
Liu Xiaoyun looked at Lu Yin deeply. "Be careful of the Nightking clan." She then turned and left.
Lu Yin exhaled. Perhaps he had made a mistake, as he shouldn't have been completely ineffective against Liu Shaoqiu's third strike. If even Liu Xiaoyun thought that he was the Daynight clan's nemesis, then what about the Daynight clan itself?
He couldn't help but recall the scene when he had first entered the Daynight clan's inheritance corridor and the name at the top of the stone tablet outside: Nightking Zhenwu.
He had a feeling that this was a mountain that he had to cross.
Just as Lu Yin was about to rest, his expression changed. He walked out of the trial zone mountain and arrived at the trial zone entrance, where he bowed respectfully to the Trialmaster. "Mentor, you were looking for me?"
The Trialmaster opened his eyes, and a trace of surprise appeared on his aged face. "You were able to defeat an inheritor of the Sword Sect's Thirteen Swords. Kid, you're quite astonishing."
Lu Yin modestly replied, "I was just lucky. He wasn't able to use the fourth strike."
The Trialmaster smiled and shook his head. "It wasn't that he wasn't able to use it, but that you destroyed it."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed.
The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin seriously. "When you attacked him, you deliberately destroyed the iron sword that he created with his star energy, but you didn't completely destroy it. You were waiting for the moment when the iron sword couldn't withstand his strength and would disrupt his aura, which would then allow you to deal the fatal blow. Am I right?"
Lu Yin smiled. "I can't hide anything from you, Mentor."
The Trialmaster smiled. "Kid, you're very smart. Not only did you do that during the battle, but you also didn't reveal that technique."
Lu Yin's heart trembled. He had long since guessed that these mentors would be able to see through the Sirius Art. The Rainmaster and Sandmaster had both vaguely mentioned it before, and the crazy headmaster had even helped him simulate the ninth star. However, this was the first time that the Trialmaster had mentioned it, and he had even mentioned it directly. "Please give me some pointers, Mentor."
The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin seriously. "I don't know where you obtained this technique, but regardless of whether it's the right or wrong path, it has nothing to do with us. I just want to remind you that this technique came from an extremely terrifying sect. That sect's strength is even greater than the Sword Sect's."