Mandy smiled, "This is our gift to you, Student Lu. We'd like to thank you for taking care of the Mavis family."
"You mean Lulu?" Lu Yin asked.
Mandy smiled and nodded, "There aren't many Mavis family members, and we're well aware of how well you've taken care of Miss Lulu. The star crystals that you've taken today will be given to you in increments of ten. This is the most I can do."
"What do you mean?" Lu Yin was puzzled.
Mandy smiled, "The exchange rate between star crystals and star essence is one to 100,000. No matter how many star crystals you take, we'll increase it to ten in increments based on the exchange rate."
Lu Yin's heart skipped a beat, "I have 710,000 star crystals."
"We can give you ten star essence, and you can keep 10,000 star crystals as change," Mandy said with a smile.
Lu Yin was speechless, as he felt like he had spoken too early. Based on this woman's attitude, even if he only had one star crystal, she could increase it to ten star essence. Was she giving it away for free?
Did she have to be that rich?
This woman was just a manager!
"Manager Mandy, your gift is too extravagant. Besides, Lulu doesn't need me to take care of her. She's much more powerful than I am, and she can even tame an Explorer realm beast as a Melder."
"This is the Mavis family's goodwill. Please don't reject it," Mandy said with a smile. One of the staff took the purple crystal card away, but she returned a moment later, "Student Lu, this is yours."
Lu Yin took it and took a deep breath. Ten star essence was equivalent to a million star crystals, which meant that he had nearly 300,000 extra star crystals. And this was just the authority of a manager. The Mavis Bank was just too rich, and he even had the urge to chase after Lulu and become her son-in-law.
Mandy left, as she had only wanted to give him the money. As for Lu Yin, he generously took out all ten star essence and placed them in his cosmic ring, along with the 10,000 star crystals he had saved for his pocket money. Although he had many Mavis Bank cards, he did not have a single cent left.
The exchange rate between star crystals and star essence was at a ridiculous rate of one to 100,000. This wasn't just based on the quality of the star essence; more importantly, the rate at which star essence could be absorbed was much faster. Many disciples from large organizations would directly absorb star essence to reduce the obstacles in their path of breaking through to the Explorer realm. More importantly, they would be able to adapt to such pure energy, which was especially important to the Innerverse since the Astral River was made up of pure energy. No one could guarantee that they would not fall into the Astral River while cultivating in the Innerverse, regardless of whether it was the main stream or a branch of the Astral River, as long as one could adapt in advance, their chances of surviving in the Astral River would increase.
Lu Yin had wanted to obtain some star essence before coming to the Innerverse, but he had found that he didn't have enough money, and he didn't have the means to do so. He hadn't expected the Mavis Bank to give him some, and he would remember this favor.
He looked back at the Mavis Bank and couldn't help but admire them. They used universal currency to show off their wealth and reduce the bank's risk. They would occasionally show kindness to talented cultivators like him, which was an alternative investment. Even if they lost money, they wouldn't lose much, and if they made a profit, they would make a huge profit. The Mavis Bank had invested a small amount of money, but they had earned a favor that could never be repaid.
The Mavis Bank had been able to survive in the universe for so long not only because of money, but also because of their methods.
Just as he walked out of the bank and was about to head back, his gadget beeped. Lu Yin looked at it and saw that it was an unfamiliar number. He thought of something and quickly answered, "Hello."
"Little Seven."
"Uncle Reuben, you finally contacted me!" Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised.
"Little Seven, it's good that you're fine."
"I'm fine, but Uncle, what's going on at the pirate port?
Why is Da Chong there?
How is he? "Lu Yin asked.
"Do you remember when we escaped from the Innerverse to the Outerverse?
We were also ambushed in the Outerverse. "
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed, and his voice grew cold. "Are you talking about the Leo Clan?"
"That's right. It was the Leo Clan who ambushed us, but we weren't sure at the time. That's why we sent Da Chong to investigate the pirate port, but he was discovered. The Leo Clan didn't want their past to be exposed, so they destroyed themselves and wanted to hide. That's why the pirate port was destroyed."
Lu Yin frowned. "It's no secret that the Leo Clan operates the pirate port, and it won't affect them if this matter is exposed. They're probably trying to hide the person behind the scenes."
"That's right. It's also possible that the person behind the scenes told them to do this, but there are no clues for now. The Leo Clan has also been destroyed. Do you know who did it?"
The old man's figure from Driftcharge Planet appeared in Lu Yin's mind. "I don't know that senior's name, but he single-handedly killed all the Explorers from the Leo Clan. However, I was the one who destroyed the Leo Clan's spacecraft."
"I see. It's good that you survived. Da Chong has always regretted not being able to save you."
"As long as he's fine." Lu Yin smiled.
"You're going to the warfront?"
Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, I'll be there soon."
The person on the other end was silent for a while. "Try your best to survive. Don't think that five-lined battle force can save your life. It's normal for Cruisers and even Hunters to die at the warfront. Your defense won't even be able to withstand a single claw from a powerful beast."
"I understand, Uncle."
"Also, if possible, try your best to obtain glory."
"Glory?
That's useless to me. I'm a Lockbreaker. "
"I know that you're a One Star Discerning Junior Lockbreaker, but being a Lockbreaker is only a guarantee. Glory is power. Don't ask too many questions. Try your best to obtain glory, but don't push yourself too hard. If you have a choice, don't overthink it. Just choose glory." Uncle Reuben's tone was very serious.
Lu Yin nodded. "Got it."
The call was cut off.
Lu Yin put down his gadget. He had finally solved some of the mysteries in his heart, but it also reminded him of some unpleasant memories. He shook his head and left to follow the soldier back to the space station.
After fifteen days, the warship finally arrived at the Innerverse's Erudite Flowzone's border from Frostwave Weave's Astral-10. The speed of the express passage was astonishing, and it showed how much importance the various powers of the universe attached to the Astral Wars. They had even specially constructed express passages to recruit soldiers.
After passing through the Erudite Flowzone's Astral River, Lu Yin saw a spectacular sight through the warship. Countless stars were lined up in a row, blocking the Astral River. This was the Astral Domain's border, and countless warships were densely packed together.
A single warship had the power to destroy an Explorer, and it was impossible to count just how many of them there were.
The entire region of space was sealed off, and with the planet at the center, defensive formations were formed. Occasionally, terrifying beast roars could be heard from the distance, causing space to collapse.
"The commander of our Erudite Flowzone's border alliance is Shui Chuanxiao, and the powerful astral beast on the other side is the Skyblaze Emperor," the captain whispered to Lu Yin.
"Skyblaze Emperor?" Lu Yin was puzzled.
"It's a super astral beast with three fiery bodies that can control black, white, and red flames. It's one of the seven strongest in the Astral Beast Domain's Desolate Beast Alliance, and it has a terrifying power level of over 200,000."
Lu Yin was shocked. A power level of over 200,000?
This was a powerhouse that far surpassed a Hunter, and they were known as Enlighters in the Human Domain. These powerhouses were also known as almighty beings. It turned out that they were facing such a terrifying creature on the other side of space.
"Did you just mention the Desolate Beast Alliance?" Silver asked curiously.
The captain glanced at him and answered, "The Desolate Beast Alliance is an organization formed by seven super powerful astral beasts to deal with the humans. It's similar to the Blaze Realm and the Sword Sect. Don't underestimate these astral beasts, as their intelligence is no less than that of humans. In order to invade the Human Domain, they've been constantly seeking out our weaknesses. They're used to using star energy to forcefully alter their body structure to maintain a human form. They've even imitated humans and established academies to discuss ways to deal with us.
They've been constantly improving. "Using star energy to forcefully alter one's body structure was not difficult, but the pain involved was immense. If these astral beasts were truly so daring, then the threat that the humans faced would be even greater than imagined.
There was a loud rumble as the warship landed on a desolate land. The surroundings were sealed off by ripples, creating a huge space. Not far away was a metallic base that reflected a cold light.
"We're here. This is one of Planet Conan's bases. The higher-ups ordered me to send you here," the captain said to Lu Yin and Silver.
Lu Yin was grateful. "Thank you for your care, captain."
The captain smiled and patted Lu Yin's shoulder. "Remember, you'll survive here. Be careful."
Lu Yin grunted and slowly walked out of the warship.
Not long after, the warship lifted off and flew into the distance.
Lu Yin looked around and saw nothing but yellow land. Strong winds blew, but there wasn't a single trace of green in sight. The ground beneath his feet was dry, and as the winds swept past, a layer of yellow sand was blown into the air, revealing the dark red soil beneath. This was the color of coagulated blood. This was a battlefield.
There were many soldiers patrolling the area, and aircraft would occasionally take off into the distance. Even further away, another warship landed. It seemed to be transporting supplies.
Lu Yin and Silver were brought to the bottom of a cliff, where someone was already waiting for them. A veteran was training the new recruits.
"Astral-10's Lu Yin reporting for duty."
"Astral-10's Silver reporting for duty."
Everyone looked at Lu Yin and Silver in amazement, but the two were not surprised. The Astral Combat Tournament had been broadcasted across the entire universe, so many people knew who they were.
The veteran nodded, his weathered face calm. "My name is Gildor, and I'm one of the hundred captains of this base. From now on, I'll be your instructor. I won't be teaching you how to fight, but rather how to survive on this land."
"Yes, Instructor," Lu Yin replied seriously.
"Yes, Instructor," Silver also replied with a smile on his face.
Gildor nodded. "Go to the barracks next door and change your clothes. You have one minute to put all your miscellaneous items into your cosmic rings. Now."
Lu Yin and Silver hurriedly entered the barracks and changed into their uniforms.
Gildor looked at the barracks and muttered to himself. He had thought that these two would be difficult to discipline since they were both top students of the Astral Combat Academy, but now it seemed that they would not be so troublesome.
When the new recruits first arrived at the barracks, Gildor did not teach them any combat techniques, just as he had said. All he did was make them stand and talk about various adaptations on the battlefield as well as introduce some astral beasts.