Lu Yin felt a headache coming on. The universe was huge, and there were all sorts of monsters. Even a phoenix with antlers and a phoenix with a horn could exist?
It even had its own tri-colored light, but it was only ranked seventh on the Celestial Beast List. The fact that the Astral Beast Domain had been able to withstand the Human Domain's attacks for countless years was no exaggeration.
"Um, Seventh Bro, if you go up against Feng Jiu, can you go easy on her?" the monkey asked hesitantly.
Lu Yin was confused. "Why?
She's your friend? "
"Ahem, I'm just short of confessing to her." The monkey's voice was very soft, but Lu Yin's eyes widened in shock. "You?
A monkey and an ice phoenix?
Is that even possible? "
"Why not?" the monkey asked.
Lu Yin was speechless. Fine, he could not explain. "Does this Feng Jiu like you?"
"Of course." The monkey was very confident.
"Introduce the last one," Lu Yin said, not wanting to argue with the monkey over this.
"The last one is called Tian Hou. He's the only one of the four Academy Masters that I don't know much about. I once invaded his territory to investigate, but I was discovered. There's only one thing I know about him: he's Skymender's disciple."
Lu Yin raised a brow. "Skymender?
The Celestial Beast Empire's Imperial Tutor?
You mean that mysterious beast that can rival the Starsibyl Sect? "
"That's right. In the Astral Beast Domain, Skymender's status is supreme. Even the emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire treats him like a disciple. No one knows his true form, only that he possesses unfathomable power. Tian Hou is his disciple, and you can think of him as the Astral Beast Domain's Starsibyl."
Lu Yin frowned, as this was quite troublesome. The four Academy Masters of the Spiritual Academy were not easy to deal with, and there was also the Technocracy. Lu Yin did not know anything about that astral domain, as it had the most advanced technology from ancient times. It had modified humans, and it was not simple at all.
There was also the Cosmic Sea, which was even deeper than the Innerverse. His family had warned him that the Cosmic Sea might send out some super powerhouses, and they were all publicly recognized as Ten Arbiters' candidates. They should not be any weaker than Liu Shaoqiu.
As expected of the Tournament of the Strongest, even Liu Xiaoyun and the other defeated leaders did not qualify to participate. These people represented the top of the universe's younger generation of Limiteers.
"Seventh Bro, your true opponents in this tournament should be Starsibyl and that Tian Hou. I don't think the others are worth worrying about."
Lu Yin shook his head. Han Chong was not simple, and there was also Grandini Mavis. The Mavis family definitely did not only rely on brute strength. This tournament would be very difficult, and Lu Yin needed to improve himself.
Five-lined battle force was already somewhat insufficient, and he had just comprehended his domain, so he was not yet familiar with it. He could not bring the Giant Emperor's third eye into the trial zones, which meant that he had lost the Secret Sidestep and could not use his Cosmic Art. His strength had been restricted, and it was very disadvantageous for him.
Now, it seemed that things would be the same as the Astral Combat Tournament. He could only rely on Stacking Strength and Multiple Shockwave Palms. Thirteen Stacks was still not enough to deal with these people. Lu Yin looked up at the sky. It was time to go to the Rain Observatory. Leaving his name on the Rain List would allow him to receive guidance from the Rainmaster, so he should give it a try.
............................. of to............
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. The five ministers of the Imperial Cabinet had specially arranged for the Earthlings to watch the Tournament of the Strongest.
In Astral-7, Yue Xianzi had been feeling uncomfortable ever since she had returned to the academy. She had been played by Lu Yin during the Shenwu Continent's trial, and their conversation in the space station had made many people unhappy with her. She could not explain herself even if she wanted to.
"Young Sect Mistress, we're back." A pair of beautiful twins appeared and greeted Yue Xianzi respectfully. They were Can Xue and Can Mei, who had frozen Blackwater Lake.
Yue Xianzi opened her eyes. "What is it?"
"Young Sect Mistress, we received news that the Astral Beast Domain's participants will enter the trial zones from our academy," Can Xue said.
Yue Xianzi was shocked. "Our academy?"
"Yes. Our academy is the closest to the Erudite Flowzone, so they will use our trial zone mountain to enter the trial zones," Can Mei said.
Yue Xianzi nodded. "Got it. Don't cause trouble."
"Young Sect Mistress, I've heard that many people want to challenge the Astral Beast Domain's experts before the Tournament of the Strongest. They think that the Astral Beast Domain's Spiritual Academy is just an imitation of our Astral Combat Academy."
Yue Xianzi was disdainful. "The Spiritual Academy was built by the Celestial Beast Empire, so how could it be just an empty title? The academy head's power level is definitely comparable to our ten student leaders. Don't worry about them. If they want to die, let them."
Just like how the Astral Beast Domain looked down on humans, humans looked down on the Astral Beast Domain as well. Many people from Astral-7 were eager to teach the academy head a lesson.
Lu Yin's personal spacecraft docked at Astral-10's space station, and when he returned, he saw Xia Luo immediately.
"Long time no see. You've gotten stronger," Xia Luo praised as he sized Lu Yin up.
This time, Lu Yin could clearly sense the strange aura around Xia Luo. It was a domain that he had not been able to sense before. "Why are you here?"
"I was just about to head out for a mission," Xia Luo replied gently.
Lu Yin nodded and did not say anything else. Time was tight. "I'll head in first."
"Wait!" Xia Luo shouted. "Silver's gone missing."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "What do you mean?"
Xia Luo calmly replied, "Silver suddenly left. He didn't accept any missions, and he didn't tell any of the mentors either. He just left, and we can't contact him anymore."
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed and he tapped on his gadget, but there was no information on this person. Sure enough, Silver had disappeared. "When did this happen?"
"When you participated in the Outerverse trials. To be precise, it was after the death of the Great Yu Empire's Emperor, Undying Yushan," Xia Luo said solemnly.
Lu Yin found it strange. That was impossible. He had contacted Silver after leaving Shenwu Continent. If what Xia Luo said was true, then that meant that Silver had left Astral-10 after Undying Yushan's death. At the same time, Silver had blocked all communications with Astral-10, but not Lu Yin. Now, even Lu Yin had been blocked.
Lu Yin was not too surprised. Silver was from the Neohuman Alliance, and after Undying Yushan's death, the Neohuman Alliance had confirmed that the Yushan family was not part of the Seven Courts' Yu surname. Naturally, they had stopped paying attention to Silver's departure. "Got it. Forget it, don't worry about him. He's always been very mysterious."
Xia Luo smiled and nodded before boarding his spacecraft and leaving.
Lu Yin stepped into the teleportation device and was about to head to the Rain Observatory when he suddenly stopped. He turned around to look at Xia Luo's spacecraft and muttered to himself.
He had overlooked something. Even if Silver had left Astral-10 and never returned, no one would have noticed in the short term since no one would have been paying attention to him. However, Xia Luo had known that Silver had left after Undying Yushan's death. How did he know?
There was only one possibility: he had been paying attention to Silver all this time. Lu Yin thought about Xia Luo's attitude towards Silver and felt that something was off. Xia Luo definitely knew something.
Since he knew about Silver, why hadn't he reported it?
He obviously hated Silver.
Also, from Earth's trials to the Astral Combat Tournament, Lu Yin's progress had been unbelievably fast, and that had been with the help of luck and innate gift. Silver had achieved this with the help of the Neohuman Alliance, but what about Xia Luo?
He was not much weaker than the two of them, and he might even be stronger than Silver. Where had he come from?
Who was backing him?
If Xia Luo dared to keep an eye on someone from the Neohuman Alliance, then the power behind him was definitely not simple. Xia Luo and Xia Ye from Astral-5 looked similar, so they must be from the same power. Where were they from?
Why was he staying in the Great Yu Empire? Was it also for the Seven Courts?
Lu Yin stood beside the teleportation device and pondered. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he felt about Xia Luo. Which power did he represent?
Xia was a primeval surname. The first time he had seen Xia Luo outside the capital on Earth, he had felt that this person was not simple. Even now, Lu Yin had not discovered his true identity.
While Lu Yin was pondering, the teleportation device in front of him changed and a figure appeared a few centimeters away from him. He stared blankly at the figure.
The figure was Michelle. She had also accepted a mission and was about to leave, but she had not expected to run into Lu Yin.
The two were so close that they could feel each other's breathing.
Michelle hurriedly retreated, her expression changing as she glared at Lu Yin, "Why are you blocking the way?"
Lu Yin took a few steps back and awkwardly said, "Sorry, I was just about to go in."
Michelle glared at him and snorted. She walked past him, but after a few steps, she suddenly paused and turned back to glare at him.
Lu Yin was puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Michelle's eyes narrowed and she coldly said, "Do you really think that my sister is prettier than me?"
Lu Yin was stunned, blinked, and swallowed hard, "Well, of course it's fake. You're much prettier than Mira, and I was just trying to appease her. How can she compare to you?"
Michelle looked at him seriously, "Really?"
Lu Yin hurriedly nodded, "Really."
Michelle's lips curled up and she raised her gadget, "I recorded it and sent it to my sister. You're on your own now." With that, she swung her long hair and left, leaving behind a fragrant wind.
Lu Yi was speechless. What was this?
Had he been tricked by the two sisters?
"Seventh Bro, you're so stupid. Don't you understand the tricks of women?" the monkey shrieked.
Lu Yin glared at him, "Shut up." With that, he headed to the Rain Observatory with a gloomy mood.
Lu Yin had lost count of the number of times he had visited the Rain Observatory, but every time he came, he seemed to experience something new. This place had witnessed him grow from an ignorant kid in a fringe weave to one of the top four in the Astral Combat Tournament. He had broken through to the Melder and Limiteer realms here, so he had a special feeling for this place.
A continuous drizzle fell, and a thick layer of moss grew on the limestone platform.
Lu Yin walked out of the teleportation device and immediately saw Little Pao flying over.
"Lu Yin, you're back," Little Pao greeted.
Lu Yin nodded, "Senior, you've improved."
Little Pao laughed and landed in front of Lu Yin, "It's all thanks to you snatching the Heavenly Drum. We've all benefited from it, but you haven't."
Lu Yin smiled, "I'm preparing to go. Where are you going now?"
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