Out of the many students in the Astral Combat Academy, Jared was the most famous illusionist. He had relied on his illusory battle techniques to become an Area Master and the strongest of the Blaze Realm's younger generation. Unfortunately, his illusory battle techniques had been too weak, and he had been defeated by Xia Luo.
Now, Ben's illusory technique had struck fear into everyone's hearts, and he had instantly defeated an Astral Combat Academy Limiteer. What a terrifying ability.
However, as time passed, everyone began to feel that something was amiss. Ben's illusory technique had clearly enveloped the entire battlefield, but there was nothing abnormal about it at all. It was terrifyingly calm.
To the west, Yun's expression grew even more solemn, and the disdain in her eyes gradually turned into astonishment. She seemed to have discovered something extraordinary.
Suddenly, Ben raised his head. His body was hidden under his black robes, but everyone could sense that his body distorted and then vanished.
This was not extreme speed, nor was it tearing through the void. It was more like he had merged with the void.
Lu Yin's eyes widened, as he had never seen such a strange technique before. Explorers could cross an infinite distance and tear through the void, but Lu Yin had never encountered someone who could merge with the void.
The next moment, Ben's figure appeared above Ben and stepped on him, pressing him into the ground. The void distorted again, and Ben's body disappeared. He had been swallowed up by the void, just like Liu Xiaoyun's battle with Tu Bo. Although she had won, she had been exiled into the void by Tu Bo, which had been equivalent to mutual destruction.
"Seventh match, Ben, victory."
Only then did everyone realize that the battle had already ended. This was one of the battles that had ended the quickest, second only to Starsibyl's battle. It had taken about the same amount of time as Yun's battle with Han Chong, and the outcome had been decided in an instant.
Was Ben weak?
Impossible. Of the Technocracy's participants, Yun's strength was unfathomable, Domi had forced Grandini Mavis into a difficult situation, and Yar Patel's speed had shocked everyone. Their overall strength surpassed most of the Astral Combat Academy's student leaders, but unfortunately, they had met the wrong opponent.
Three out of the four participants from the Astral Beast Domain had also been defeated. Just like the Technocracy, they were not weak and had strength that surpassed most of the Astral Combat Academy's student leaders. However, they had also met the wrong opponent. It could only be said that the Tournament of the Strongest was was too expensive. Even the Astral Combat Academy's student leaders, like Kuang Wang, could not enter.
Of the four participants from the Astral Combat Academy, only Han Chong had been defeated by Yun. Both participants from the Cosmic Sea had advanced to the next round.
The seven contestants who could participate in the next battle were Starsibyl, Grandini Mavis, Lu Yin, Tian Hou, Yun, Liu Shaoqiu, and Zi Jun.
"The first round of drawing lots has ended. The next round of drawing lots will begin in one day."
One day was enough for everyone to recover. After all, they had borrowed the bodies of the Lifeseek Realm, so they recovered quickly.
Although there were only seven battles, it was a feast for the eyes of countless people.
The Astral Combat Tournament was only a tournament between students of the Astral Combat Academy, and it did not represent the universe's top elites. However, the Tournament of the Strongest was different. Regardless of whether it was Starsibyl, Tian Hou, or Yun, all of them were at the top of their generation in their respective star fields, and there were very few who could match up to them. Through their battles, one could see just how strong a peak Limiteer was.
Unfortunately, a battle of this level was not suitable to be completely open.
Fortunately, the various powers in the Great Yu Empire, Earth, and East San Dios could all see it, but ordinary people could not.
While the Tournament of the Strongest was taking place, the Star Field Negotiations were also taking place.
"The continuous war has caused irreparable losses to all three of us. It is imperative that we stop the war."
"You humans are so hypocritical. You fight whenever you want, and you stop whenever you want."
"Isn't this Imperial Tutor Skymender's idea as well?
Otherwise, you wouldn't have dared to bring that Tian Hou into our star field. "
"The Imperial Tutor is kind, but that is not an excuse for you humans to be hypocritical."
"It doesn't matter if we fight or not, but the territories that we have invaded will not be returned."
"Although your Technocracy has powerful technology left behind from ancient times, your resources will eventually dry up. Resources are your foundation, and without them, you will slowly wither away."
"Before that happens, we can completely invade your Human Domain."
"Alright, there's no need to talk nonsense. Someone has already decided on the general direction of the negotiations. Let's talk about the details."
…
At Astral-10's trial zone mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes, and the other Astral-10 students followed suit. They all looked at Lu Yin at the same time, but did not disturb him. Only Xia Luo walked up to him. "Let's talk."
Lu Yin nodded. "What's the matter?"
Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin seriously. "What do you think of Han Chong's strength?"
Lu Yin was puzzled. Xia Luo and Han Chong did not know each other, so why was Xia Luo asking about him?
"He's very strong," Lu Yin replied.
Xia Luo's expression turned serious. "But he was still defeated."
"What are you trying to say?"
Lu Yin asked as Silver left. Their conversation at the space station had made Lu Yin suspicious of Xia Luo, and he was now on his guard.
Xia Luo smiled. "During the Astral Combat Tournament, Xiaye fought with Han Chong, but he was completely crushed. Han Chong's final landscape painting was very strange, and according to Xiaye's description, it had an unavoidable pressure. Even so, he still lost. That's why I wanted to remind you not to underestimate Yun. That woman is terrifyingly strong."
Lu Yin agreed. "I know."
"You don't know." Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin's shocked expression and continued, "There are many mysterious things in the universe, such as astronomical phenomena, sceneries, ruins, and so on. These things cannot be seen by ordinary people, and they cannot be remembered or imitated. But once they are imitated, they will possess a mysterious power. Han Chong's landscape painting is one such example. You haven't fought with him, so you won't be able to understand that pressure."
Xia Luo's words reminded Lu Yin of the Stonewall Scriptures. It was clearly just a combination of words, but it was impossible to recite the entire text. This was the so-called unmemorizable, unreadable, and mysterious power.
"Brother Lu, you and I have walked together. I hope that you can go even further," Xia Luo said sincerely as he looked at Lu Yin. He then turned and left.
Lu Yin was confused the entire time, as he had no idea what Xia Luo meant.
After Xia Luo left, no one disturbed Lu Yin. He rested for a while, and when he opened his eyes again, he entered the Lifeseek Realm.
Everyone was present, and the battlefield had returned to normal.
"Seven lots, one blank. You can advance to the next round," a loud voice said.
Lu Yin looked up at the sky and saw three colored lots spinning in the sky. The colors were constantly changing, just like in the first round. There was also a colorless lot that didn't change color, which clearly told everyone that they could advance to the next round.
With so many people watching, no one dared to take the blank lot, except for Lu Yin. Of course, there was another person: Grandini Mavis. Both of them conjured their star energy and grabbed the blank lot, while the rest of the people randomly picked a colored lot.
Two waves of star energy collided above the blank lot, but Lu Yin was slightly faster and grabbed it first. Grandini was so angry that she gritted her teeth. "Hey, are you a man or not? If you are, then fight fair and square."
Lu Yin glanced at her. "Aren't the Mavis family members all fond of fighting?
Why aren't you fighting? "
Grandini was furious, but the blank lot had already been taken by Lu Yin. She had no choice but to snort and take the last colored lot.
At this moment, everyone from Astral-10 had awkward expressions on their faces. Everyone else had casually picked a lot, but Lu Yin had taken a blank lot. It was obvious that he didn't plan on fighting this round, and many people felt that he lacked confidence.
Even Zenyu Star was speechless.
"The Royal Regent does things very casually," one of the ministers said helplessly after some thought.
"Yes, the Royal Regent is conserving his strength."
"Of course, he's a wise man, haha."
…
On Earth, Zhou Shan laughed heartily as he recalled Lu Yin's time on Earth. This guy was still the same as before, unwilling to suffer any losses or do more than necessary.
Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin on the screen, and her eyes lit up. This man was getting closer and closer to her. Now that the Yushan family had died out, perhaps he was the closest person to her. Marriage was out of the question, but she would just treat him like an older sister!
In East San Dios, Yan Feng heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Lu Yin voluntarily concede. From his perspective, this was Lu Yin showing weakness. Although Lu Yin was still far from being as strong as he was, the two of them would inevitably become enemies in the future. Furthermore, Lu Yin was about to marry Jenny Auna, which would further escalate their conflict.
In the Lifeseek Realm, Grandini looked at Lu Yin with even more displeasure. She was the first to fight, and her opponent was Tian Hou.
Lu Yin shrugged, feeling a little sympathy for Grandini. Although she was from the Mavis family, in terms of power, she should not be able to compare to Tian Hou. If he had given the blank lot to Grandini, then he would have been the one to face Tian Hou.
"Just you wait," Grandini threatened Lu Yin softly. She clenched her fists and stepped into the arena.
Lu Yin laughed, as this woman did not seem to be confident. Otherwise, with the Mavis family's belligerent nature, she would not have backed down.
Boom!
The ground trembled as smoke and dust flew everywhere. Giant cracks spread across the surface of the ground, and at the same time, multiple spatial cracks flickered as if lightning had torn through the sky.
Grandini's five-lined battle force glowed with a dark gold radiance, and just like when she had faced Domi, she covered the entire battlefield in her attack range.
Many were speechless, as this woman had used her full strength from the very beginning. This showed just how much pressure Tian Hou was exerting on her.
Lu Yin's gaze trembled. Five-lined battle force combined with Thirteen Stacks was the move that Grandini had used to defeat Domi from the Technocracy. He wondered how Tian Hou was faring.
When the dust settled, the void distorted, and Tian Hou slowly stepped out, his entire body spotless.
Grandini's pupils shrank, and she clenched her fists and punched out once more.
Tian Hou's figure distorted, and he merged into the void once more. Grandini's punch missed, and the wind from her fist pierced through the void, tearing a giant crack in the void. Unfortunately, although her attack was powerful, it was useless.
Everyone was shocked, as Tian Hou was too mysterious. Grandini had used her full strength, but she could not even touch him.
Suddenly, Tian Hou appeared behind Grandini and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing the void to distort. This scene was very familiar, as the Technocracy had been exiled into the void with a single attack and had not been able to retaliate.
Grandini felt an unimaginable tearing force, and her green clothes were torn apart. She growled as her dark gold five-lined battle force revolved around her body and forcefully pushed Tian Hou away. She turned around and kicked him, causing him to merge into the void once more. He retreated and stared at Grandini in shock.