Lu Yin got closer and closer as he sized up the beast statues. He activated the Sirius Art, and what he saw was a solid energy that was as deep as the sea that formed the two ferocious beasts. Less than a third of the energy on the surface had been unlocked.
This had to be done on purpose!
Lu Yin guessed. Otherwise, how could someone have unlocked these beasts? But were there Lockbreakers on the Shenwu Continent?
Or was it a real Lockbreaker who had made a move but had met with an accident halfway through?
"Who goes there?"
A cold voice came from the Ming Constables. No one appeared, but Lu Yin could feel a murderous aura around him. If he made any sudden movements, he would be met with disaster.
Lu Yin did not say anything. He took out the letter and raised his hand, causing it to disappear in an instant.
Lu Yin waited outside the Ming Constables.
After a while, the cold voice came again. "Come in."
Lu Yin took a deep breath and stepped into the Ming Constables. This was the place that trialtakers feared the most, as it was stained with the blood of trialtakers. It was rumored that the Master was a Martial Sovereign, which was equivalent to a Cruiser. Lu Yin would either successfully join the Ming Constables, or it would be very difficult for him to leave alive.
"Wait, this place is so cold. Hey, where are you?" The monkey's voice suddenly rang out, giving Lu Yin a fright.
Lu Yin could not speak, so he silently entered the Ming Constables.
"What a heavy murderous aura. This is a good place to bury the dead. Also, why do I feel that it's quite dangerous?
There are powerhouses here that can threaten your life. Damn it, Lu Yin, what's wrong with you?
Don't you know that you have to avoid those powerhouses? "the monkey shouted in dissatisfaction.
Lu Yin frowned and wanted to block the monkey, but he did not dare to act rashly. He could only allow the monkey to yell and shout.
The Ming Constables' decorations were simple, and the entire capital was in a celebratory mood for Ming Zhaotian's birthday. However, this place did not seem to have any of that, and it was still as eerie and terrifying as ever.
Suddenly, there was a miserable howl, and Lu Yin looked up with a cold gaze.
He did not walk far before turning into a courtyard. A row of people appeared in front of him, standing there quietly as if they were not breathing. There was a pool of blood on the ground, and a man was twitching. Blood flowed down his neck and dyed the ground red.
"Every year, outsiders try to join the Ming Constables, and this land is stained with the blood of countless outsiders...."
Lu Yin walked over to the row of people and stood there....
"Eh, wasn't that guy the one who came in with you?" the monkey exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Yin's eyes darted around, and he glanced to the side at the man that the monkey had mentioned. There were three people between them, and the man looked unfamiliar. The man's expression was cold, and his eyes were devoid of any emotion.
"That's right, it's him. No disguise can escape my eyes. Even though he's changed his appearance, I can still recognize him at a glance," the monkey said proudly.
"I'll give you one chance. Outsiders, step forward. As long as you tell me everything, I guarantee that I won't kill you." A sinister voice descended.
No one stepped forward.
"Very good. I hope that you won't be discovered." Then, a wave of energy swept past them. It was very weak, but it was very fine, and it was ten times more powerful than the heavenly globes.
Lu Yin inwardly rejoiced that he had dispersed the star energy very cleanly, and that he had hidden everything that had come into contact with star energy, including his cosmic ring, somewhere else. Otherwise, he might not have been able to escape this detection.
Suddenly, there was a repulsive reaction. Lu Yin's gaze turned cold, and he immediately raised his hand to slap the man who was repulsed. The person that the monkey had recognized who had arrived with Lu Yin also attacked at the same time. Their reactions were the fastest, and their attacks landed before the others could react. There was a loud bang, and the man who had been repulsed was sent flying by the two of them.
The others looked over in shock.
Lu Yin and the other person who had attacked exchanged glances, and then they stared at the man who had been sent flying.
The man stood up and patted himself before looking at Lu Yin and the other person with admiration. "Not bad. You attacked me subconsciously, which proves that you really want to kill outsiders. The two of you pass, but the rest of you don't. Leave."
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed as he sized up the person.
The man smiled. "I'm Ming Zhaochen." Then, his face changed to that of a middle-aged man, and he looked somewhat similar to Ming Zhaoshu.
"Greetings, Master." The other person who had attacked immediately bowed, and Lu Yin followed suit. "Greetings, Master."
The Ming Constables' Master was Ming Zhaochen, and he was of the same generation as Ming Zhaotian and Ming Zhaoshu. He was a Martial Sovereign, and he was also the Shenwu Empire's sharpest blade.
Ming Zhaochen's gaze swept across the two. "The Ming Constables recruit many people every year, but very few are truly qualified to join. Not only do they need strength and temperament, but they also need courage and quick reflexes. The outsiders are very strong, and to them, our Shenwu Continent is just a training ground. Thus, those who dare to participate are all experts. What you need to do is to become stronger than them."
"Yes, Master," the two answered.
Two days later, outside the capital, Lu Yin lay on the grass with the heavenly globe in his hand that occasionally emitted fluctuations.
Many of the Ming Constables' Ming Vanguards were hidden outside the capital, and they were constantly monitoring the surroundings in search of outsiders.
Lu Yin felt that this method was not very effective, as most of the outsiders would replace their star energy with martial power, so it was impossible to find them. However, this was the Ming Vanguard's job, and they could not slack off.
Lu Yin had changed his name to Ah Qi in the Ming Constables, and the person who had joined with him was called Wu Shang.
"Are you sure that guy is the one who entered the Shenwu Continent with me?" Lu Yin asked again.
The monkey was unhappy. "I'm sure, I'm sure. How many times do you want me to repeat myself? Nobody can hide from my eyes, and neither can you."
"Shut up," Lu Yin suddenly barked as he stared into the distance. Sirius suddenly circulated on the surface of his body, and the space around him began to fluctuate slightly. Someone was traveling at an extremely fast speed, even causing the void to distort.
Only an Explorer or a Limiteer genius could cause the void to distort on the Shenwu Continent. Lu Yin was confident that he could cause the void to distort, but there were very few trialtakers who could reach his level.
There was a whoosh as a strong gust of wind swept through the area. Lu Yin stared at the figure that was passing by, and it was a woman. He did not hesitate to chase after her, relying purely on his physical strength to move and retracting his aura so that the woman would not be able to discover him.
The more he moved, the stranger Lu Yin felt. The woman was also relying on her physical strength to move without using any martial power, so she would not attract any attention.
To be able to display such strength and even cause the void to distort, the first person that came to his mind was the Mavis family. If his guess was correct, then that woman was very likely Grandini Mavis.
Four mountains surrounded the capital, and there were many other mountains outside of the capital.
The woman avoided the crowd and appeared in a thatched cottage behind a small mountain. Lu Yin stopped and quietly approached her.
"You're late," someone said from within the cottage.
"There were too many things to do, and I couldn't help it. It's better than some people not coming."
"It's fine if they don't come. The Darkmist Weave will launch an attack on the birthday celebration, and all the experts above the Explorer realm on the continent will be pinned down, including the guardians of the four mountains. Our mission is to attack the Tower of Resonating Light."
On the roof of the cottage, Lu Yin calmed himself and looked down.
There were no less than ten people in the cottage, and when he heard the words "Explorer," he knew that they were trialtakers.
"Are you sure that the Tower of Resonating Light is one of the nodes of the five sealing zones?" the woman who had arrived last asked.
Lu Yin only glanced at her, not daring to stare at her. Experts like her could sense the gazes of others, so he could not be certain that this woman was Grandini Mavis.
"I'm ninety percent sure. Our sect has been in hiding for more than a thousand years, and one of our ancestors protected the Tower of Resonating Light several hundred years ago."
"That's good. I don't want to work for nothing."
At that moment, Lu Yin's expression changed; someone else had arrived.
The cottage fell silent as everyone stared outside.
The newcomer did not hide his presence, and he simply pushed open the door and entered.
"Oh, isn't this the top scholar? How come you have the time to visit a small place like ours?" the woman teased.
The person who had entered the cottage was Han Chong. "Even the manager of the Bank of Wuyun doesn't mind, so what's a mere top scholar worth?"
"I never thought that Han Chong, one of the top four students of the Astral Combat Academy, would actually become the top scholar of the Shenwu Empire. Just based on this alone, Brother Han's results won't be bad," someone said enviously.
The woman was disdainful. "What's so strange about someone from the Erudite Flowzone becoming the top scholar?"
"That's right. Let's get down to business. But before that, we need to clean up a bit." Han Chong suddenly looked up at the roof.
Lu Yin's eyes widened, and he used Flash to disappear from his original spot. The cottage crumbled, and a shockwave swept out in all directions. Han Chong's gaze swept across the cottage before he stared in the direction that Lu Yin had disappeared. He raised a hand, and his martial power swept through the air. He used his martial power to draw a picture of a vast landscape that no one could escape from.
Lu Yin was shocked as he looked at the strange martial power that covered the surrounding void. This was Han Chong's strength. "Who's there?" the woman shouted as she punched at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin turned around and swept out with a single leg. There was a thump, and a violent shockwave swept out from where the two had collided. The mountain range crumbled, and the ground crumbled. Both of them retreated at the same time, and the Giant Emperor's third eye appeared in Lu Yin's left hand. He activated the Sirius Art and stared at Han Chong's Myriad Mountains and Rivers Painting. He struck out with a palm, and the martial power was disintegrated.
Han Chong was shocked that his battle technique had been so easily dispelled. Although he hadn't used his full strength, the technique should have been able to trap an Explorer for a while, but it hadn't been able to stop that person. That person was a Lockbreaker.
The woman was furious after being pushed back by Lu Yin's kick. She wanted to chase after him, but Han Chong stopped her. "There's no need. You won't be able to catch up."
The woman was unwilling to give up, and she clenched her right fist. She was shocked that this person had been able to block her direct punch and even dispel Han Chong's seal. He was extremely powerful, and he wasn't even an Explorer. This person had the power to rival all of them.
The rest of the group rushed out as well. "Brother Han, how was it?"
Han Chong shook his head. "He's very strong. I couldn't stop him."
"Then what do we do?
He must have found out about our plan. "Someone was annoyed, but they didn't blame Han Chong. Han Chong and Grandini were the strongest in the group, and if even they couldn't stop this person, then the rest of the group had nothing to say.
Han Chong calmly replied, "Don't worry. We'll continue as before."
"But we don't know who he is. What if he's from the Ming Constables?" someone questioned.
Han Chong was certain. "He's definitely a trialtaker."
"I think so too. His attacks are completely different from those of the Shenwu Continent's natives," Grandini said.
The others looked at each other and sighed helplessly. "Let's confirm it again."