It could only be said that polarium was too valuable, and a large portion of the Nine Allied Nations' economy was supported by it. Shuta Planet was also the planet that produced the most polarium in the Darkmist Weave. Without Shuta Planet, the Nine Allied Nations' economy would collapse, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
Lu Yin sighed as he read the news on the screen. Darkstar Gorge had clashed with the Nine Allied Nations, which would temporarily alleviate the Shenwu Continent's crisis and buy him some time.
Across from him, Barley gave Lu Yin a strange look. Others might not know, but he was very clear that Lu Yin was the mastermind behind all of this. However, he could not understand why Lu Yin would incite a war between Darkstar Gorge and the Darkmist Weave to deal with Puyu.
Impossible, as both sides would not go all out for just one Shuta Planet. At most, they would just drag it out, but such a move would not be enough to deal with Puyu.
War would not start so easily, and neither Darkstar Gorge nor the Darkmist Weave would casually start a war. What they were doing now was wasting time.
In the eyes of the Nine Allied Nations, Lu Yin was a troublemaker who had stirred up their conflict with Darkstar Gorge, but he had also stood on the side of humanity. This caused them to suffer without being able to voice their grievances.
"You want to know my strength?" Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin in astonishment.
Lu Yin solemnly replied, "I want to see how big the gap is between the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings."
Wendy Yushan's eyes flashed. "Top twenty?
It'll be more than that soon. "
Lu Yin was stunned. "You've already learned it?"
Wendy Yushan shook her head. "It's not that easy, but it won't take long. I'm confident."
"Impossible, a secret technique isn't that easy to learn. Otherwise, those terrifying powers with secret techniques would have mass-produced experts long ago." The monkey was the first to reject the idea.
Lu Yin also felt that it was impossible, as he had never heard of anyone possessing a secret technique. If it was that easy to learn, then it would have been spread long ago. However, this was Wendy Yushan, a nobody from a fringe weave of the Outerverse who had relied on her innate gift to enter the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings. More importantly, she was Undying Yushan's daughter and a descendant of the Seven Courts with the surname Yu. It was not impossible for her to learn the Yu Secret Art.
"Let me give you a piece of advice. Even if you succeed, don't take Zhang Yang with you. You won't be able to protect her. Think about how powerful the Great Yu Empire is, and yet it only has thirteen filaments after so many years. Think about what happened to Royal Uncle in the Starfall Sea."
Wendy Yushan calmly replied, "I know." She then raised her hand to reveal her sword, which was still sheathed in its scabbard. "I'll only attack once. Feel it for yourself."
Lu Yin's expression turned solemn as he took a deep breath and adjusted his aura. Then, his muscles bulged as his right palm vibrated like a heart, causing layers of ripples to spread out and distort the void.
Wendy Yushan's eyes narrowed when she saw this scene, and she inwardly sighed in admiration. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had been able to defeat Bazeer and Yan Feng's combined attacks. This power was enough to rival an expert at the bottom of the Top 100 Rankings. When she had been Lu Yin's age, she had not been this strong. This was the strength of a true Ten Arbiters' candidate.
"You can attack first," Wendy Yushan said.
Lu Yin did not hesitate and used Flash to appear beside Wendy. A dark golden light flickered as he released his five-lined battle force without hesitation. He then raised his palm. "Thirty Stacks, Fortyfold Shockwave Palm." Wendy Yushan did not move as Lu Yin's palm drew closer and closer. He stared intently at her as nine stars revolved around his body. His domain was fully activated, and he wanted to feel the difference between him and Wendy Yushan in his peak state.
The palm drew closer and closer, and just as Lu Yin was hesitating whether or not he should continue attacking, there was a whoosh as an endless sword light tore through the void. It then transformed into a white sword light that cut through his domain and caused his dark golden five-lined battle force to collapse. This attack had broken through the Overlaying Stacks Path, and the tip of the sword was pressed against Lu Yin's neck. It was exactly the same as it had been a few days ago.
Lu Yin maintained his attacking posture, but his attack had been forcefully stopped by his instinctive reaction to danger. He had a feeling that if he attacked, his palm would be gone. This was the ultimate sense of danger that Wendy Yushan had brought to him.
The two stared at each other, and the shock in Lu Yin's eyes slowly faded away. He smiled bitterly. "It's just one sword. I can't even block one of your attacks."
Wendy Yushan sheathed her sword and stood in front of Lu Yin. "The Myriad Swords Peak's sword techniques are very simple. Sword light fuses into one, and what I used just now was the Myriad Swords Peak's Unification technique. It's a simple technique that returns one to their natural state."
Lu Yin did not understand.
Wendy Yushan continued. "Our Myriad Swords Peak does not have as many sword techniques as the Sword Sect. We only pursue one path, and that's just one sword. When facing an enemy, we only need one sword. If we lose, we lose. If we win, we win. It's that simple."
"Was that your strongest attack?" Lu Yin asked.
Wendy Yushan looked at him, and a sly glint flashed through her eyes. "What do you think?"
Wendy Yushan had always been cold, and Lu Yin had never seen any other colors in her eyes. She was as charming and beautiful as a fairy, and he was momentarily stunned.
Wendy Yushan's expression turned cold once more.
Lu Yin pursed his lips and thought back to that attack. Had it really been her strongest attack?
Impossible. Even a fool would not believe that someone who could enter the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings had not comprehended a domain or battle force. However, that attack really did not contain a domain or battle force. Right, there was also an innate gift. He did not even know if this woman had an innate gift. That attack had only represented the Myriad Swords Peak and not Wendy Yushan at her peak.
The further up the Top 100 Rankings one went, the more terrifying it became. Lu Yin had experienced it firsthand. He had been defeated in a single attack, and the key was that he did not even know how big the gap was between them. He had been too naive to think that he would be able to tell just by fighting Wendy Yushan.
"Ever since the Top 100 Rankings was created, very few powerhouses at the bottom of the rankings have been able to enter the top fifty just by cultivating for a long time. That's because those at the top are all terrifyingly powerful, and it's not something that can be compensated for with time. Unless you awaken an innate gift or obtain a tyrannical technique, such opportunities do not appear so easily." Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin seriously.
Lu Yin probed, "Then how high do you think I'll be on the Top 100 Rankings once I become an Explorer?"
"You'll be able to enter the top fifty in a year or so, and then you'll be able to enter the top ten," Wendy Yushan answered without hesitation.
Lu Yin was astonished. "You have that much confidence in me?"
Wendy Yushan answered matter-of-factly, "You're a true Ten Arbiters' candidate. The Ten Arbiters are above the Top 100 Rankings, and I've already lowered my estimate. Everyone who breaks through to the Explorer realm will experience different changes. If you maintain your current cultivation talent, then you'll definitely surpass the Top 100 Rankings one day."
Surpassing the Top 100 Rankings? How tempting was that?
"Congratulations, Seventh Bro! Your fiancée seems to approve of you!" the Ghost Monkey exclaimed, but he quickly changed the topic. "However, if a strong woman like your fiancée thinks that you have a chance of surpassing the Top 100 Rankings, then everyone else will think the same, including the Astral Beast Domain. In that case, we're guessing that your position on the Celestial Vanquisher's List might be a little low. You might even be ranked higher."
That one sentence ruined Lu Yin's good mood, and he blocked the monkey off again. He then asked Wendy Yushan, "The Ross Empire is very strong, right?"
Wendy Yushan nodded silently and then turned to look outside. "They're one of the three great powers of the Blazing Mist Flowzone, so they definitely have powerhouses with power levels over 200,000. You're right, I was too impulsive."
Lu Yin was shocked. "You actually admitted it?"
Wendy Yushan frowned. Yes, she had actually admitted it, but why?
She clearly would not have admitted it a few days ago, as no one else had the right to judge her. So why had she admitted it to this man?
Was he different to her in some way?
The two did not linger on this topic for long. Wendy Yushan went into seclusion to cultivate her secret technique while Lu Yin paid attention to the dispute between Darkstar Gorge and the Darkmist Weave. He was prepared to add fuel to the fire at any time.
Elsewhere, at the Great Yu Empire's Zenyu Star space station, Schutz had returned.
Schutz took a deep breath as he looked at Zenyu Star and the three rings of land above his head. He was finally back, and he felt a sense of homesickness. Although he had not been away for long, the great distance made it feel like he had been away for a very long time.
He wondered how Yu Academy was doing. The Second Prince, Duke Yushan, had betrayed the empire and taken away some of Yu Academy's elites. Were his old friends and rivals still around?
Schutz walked out of the space station and was about to head home when a sharp gust of wind blew past him. Someone was attacking him. His gaze turned cold, and he dodged to the side. He turned around and saw another lightning arrow flying towards him.
When he saw the lightning arrow, he knew who it was, and a rare smile appeared on his face. He raised a hand and flicked his finger, easily shattering the lightning arrow and causing it to fall to the ground.
"Gerbach, come out," Schutz called out.
"Hahahaha, I knew that you wouldn't forget about your opponent." Gerbach walked out from a corner, followed by Rockne, Huo Zhong, and Tianming. All five of Yu Academy's Hall Masters were present.
Schutz smiled and swept his gaze over them. "Judging from your expressions, you want to fight?"
"I can't wait!" Huo Zhong shouted. He raised his hand and used the Skybeast Claw. On the other side, Rockne and Tianming did not hold back either. Schutz had been the strongest back then, and now that he had returned from the Astral Combat Academy, none of them believed that they could deal with him alone, even if they had all broken through to the Limiteer realm.
Schutz smiled. He really missed this feeling. In the Great Yu Empire, he had been like a frog at the bottom of a well. He had not come into contact with domains or battle force, and his usage of star energy had remained at the most primitive level. He watched as Gerbach took out a fruit that flickered with lightning. As expected, they were unable to use star energy to imitate natural forces. They were too weak. If he had not left the Great Yu Empire, he would have been the same as them.
The Fifth Princess had been right to look down on them. It was only after entering the Astral Combat Academy that Schutz finally understood how much she had disdained them.
"Too weak." Schutz raised his hand and easily shattered the Skybeast Claw. He then grabbed Huo Zhong and tossed him into the distance. At the same time, he used a single palm to strike Tianming. Tianming's Overlaying Stacks had been raised to Five Stacks, but it was instantly shattered by Schutz's palm. Schutz then sent Rockne flying with a kick. Facing Gerbach, Schutz dodged the lightning arrow and raised his hand. Lightning flickered from his fingers as the arrow transformed into a bow. His star energy transformed into lightning, and he released an arrow that brushed past Gerbach's cheek, leaving behind a trail of blood.
In an instant, the four Yu Academy Hall Masters who had once been Schutz's match were defeated without any suspense.