Northgate Kong sighed. "It's that serious. One Lu Yin is nothing. Even if he dies, my Northgate family can bear the consequences. Lockbreaker researchers, Astral-10, and the Outerverse won't cause trouble for us over an accidental death in battle. But now, he's representing the Ten Arbiters and the Ten Arbiters Council. If he loses, it means that the Ten Arbiters have assigned the wrong person, and they'll be mocked. Have you thought about the consequences of the Ten Arbiters' anger?
The next time they send someone, it won't just be a student. It might even be an expert ranked at the top of the Top 100 Rankings. You should know how many such experts there are in the Ten Arbiters Council. "
Northgate Lie and Northgate Gang's expressions changed.
"And if something like this happens, Lie 'er's future in the Ten Arbiters Council will definitely be affected," Northgate Kong said helplessly.
"Father, Lu Yin hasn't joined any of the Ten Arbiters," Northgate Lie said.
Northgate Kong tiredly replied, "Whoever arranged for him will be the one you've offended if you defeat him."
Northgate Lie immediately thought of the Ten Arbiters Scholar.
What was worse was that the Scholar, Wen Sansi, was from the Erudite Flowzone's Wen family, and the Erudite Flowzone wasn't too far away from the Northline Flowzone.
Northgate Lie regretted his decision, as he had been too impulsive.
"Father, what should we do now?" Northgate Lie asked for help.
Northgate Kong frowned and pondered for a moment. "Think of a way to make Lu Yin cancel the battle."
"He probably won't. Otherwise, it'll be too embarrassing." Northgate Gang pouted.
Northgate Kong was furious, and he sent Northgate Gang flying ten meters away. Northgate Gang couldn't hold his breath and spat out a mouthful of blood. "Unfilial son, you still have the face to say that? It's all because of you."
Northgate Gang immediately shut his mouth and lowered his head, trembling.
Northgate Lie sighed. "Father, let me think of something. We can't embarrass him, and we can also smoothly cancel the battle."
Northgate Kong rubbed his head and waved his hand, hoping that everything would go smoothly.
From start to finish, none of them had thought that Lu Yin had any chance of winning. Many of them felt that Lu Yin's battle record was brilliant, but no matter what, he was still a Limiteer, and he could challenge someone who was a Realmbreaker. The Top 100 Rankings were different, as all of the experts there could challenge someone who was a Realmbreaker. Battling someone on the Top 100 Rankings was equivalent to challenging a Cruiser who was two Realms above him. No one believed that Lu Yin could win.
Regardless of how the Northgate family thought of ways to cancel the agreement, when Lu Yin returned to his restaurant to rest and closed the door, an earthquake seemed to shake the earth and the sky. An incomparably huge astral eagle descended from the sky, and its screeching shook the entire Northgate Platform.
Everyone at the Northgate Platform raised their heads and stared at the sky in horror. A super expert had arrived.
Lu Yin also saw the giant eagle that covered the sky, and he knew who it was. It was the Ross Empire's Duke Blackhawk, a powerhouse with a power level close to 200,000. He was almost a peak Hunter, and he was only one step away from breaking through to become an Enlighter.
He did not know if there were any powerhouses in Northgate Platform who could restrain Duke Blackhawk. If there weren't, then Duke Blackhawk's first appearance in the Northline Flowzone would have been enough to establish his might.
But before anyone could react, another valiant force descended, and the sky was split in two.
On the Northgate Platform, everyone's faces turned pale when they saw a mountain floating in the sky. No, it wasn't a mountain, but rather an astral beast formed from a mountain. This was the Beast Tamers Flowzone's famous Giant Devil Mountain, and very few people could control it. The Beast Tamers Flowzone's powerhouse, Fayde, who had been sent to the Northline Flowzone as a witness, was taming the Giant Devil Mountain.
The appearance of the Giant Devil Mountain meant that Fayde had arrived.
One was Duke Blackhawk from the Blazing Mist Flowzone's Ross Empire, and the other was Fayde from the Beast Tamers Flowzone's First Class Hall. Two peak Hunters had appeared all of a sudden, and this caused the entire Northgate Platform to become unstable.
Just in terms of power level, these two surpassed Firesmelt Planet's master, Yan Wujiu, and there was no need to even talk about their battle techniques. Yan Wujiu could not even compare to these two. They were true super powerhouses, and to Lu Yin, they were out of his reach.
"Fayde, it's actually you." The giant astral eagle stared at the top of the Giant Devil Mountain, where a man was standing. It was Fayde, and just by standing there, he caused the void to distort.
Fayde looked at the astral eagle with a complicated expression. "I didn't expect you to come either. It's been a long time since we last met."
"We haven't met since we parted ways in the Chaotic Star Realm. Back then, you left a deep impression on me."
"Aren't you the same? There are very few powerhouses in the Ross Empire who don't rely on technological weapons to fight, and you're one of them."
Duke Blackhawk sneered. "Even in the Beast Tamers Flowzone, there are very few freaks who can cultivate their physical bodies to such a level. You're one of them."
The two glared at each other, and although there wasn't any animosity in their words, many people felt their anger grow. It was as if their previous encounter had not been a good thing.
On the Northgate Platform, the Northgate family, the Lily family, the Barthe Jacques family, and the other ruling families all looked up at the sky. They all had powerhouses who could intervene, but if they wanted to intimidate these two super powerhouses, they would need an Enlighter to act.
The Northgate family's patriarch, Northgate Kong, the Lily family's patriarch, Lily Liana, and many others looked at the Barthe Jacques family.
The next moment, the Northgate Platform turned scarlet, and the air became visibly scorched. A painful pressure descended, causing countless people to turn pale.
Lu Yin clenched his fists as he felt an unimaginable pressure above his head. He had experienced this pressure before; it was the pressure of an Enlighter from the nine-headed ape.
Duke Blackhawk and Fayde lowered their heads at the same time, but they didn't see anything. Suddenly, they seemed to sense something, and they immediately turned around. A man had appeared behind them at some point and was quietly watching them. He wore a scarlet coat, and his entire person was sinister and terrifying. He gave off the feeling that he had walked out of blood.
"Scarlet Hand, Tie Sa," Fayde said solemnly.
The man looked at Fayde and then at Duke Blackhawk. He slowly said, "Give me some face. Please don't fight in the Northline Flowzone."
Fayde and Duke Blackhawk exchanged glances, and they both saw the unwillingness in each other's eyes. But so what? The person in front of them was an Enlighter, and anyone who could become an Enlighter was a genius. When they were young, they could challenge those who were a Realmbreaker, and they were considered freaks by many. The stronger such people became, the more powerful they would become. They didn't even have the confidence to fight someone at the same level as them, let alone someone who was one level lower. The difference between one level was like the difference between heaven and earth.
"My apologies, but we don't want to fight," Duke Blackhawk said as his body began to transform. The enormous astral hawk quickly disappeared, and a weathered middle-aged man appeared in front of everyone's eyes. He was the Ross Empire's Duke Blackhawk.
Tie Sa looked at Fayde.
Fayde waved his hand, and the Giant Demonic Mountain disappeared and transformed into a tattoo on his arm.
Both sides withdrew from their battle state.
Tie Sa nodded. "Thank you. On behalf of the Barthe Jacques family, I welcome the two of you." He then vanished.
After Tie Sa disappeared, Fayde and Duke Blackhawk let out a sigh of relief. The pressure of facing an Enlighter was too great.
The people on the Northgate Platform also relaxed, as they no longer had to worry about being caught in the crossfire.
Enlighters were existences that controlled the destiny of large organizations, and they would not be easily mobilized. No one knew how much the Barthe Jacques family had paid to recruit Tie Sa, and no one dared to even think about it.
However, Tie Sa's existence was very obvious. Together with Granny Chan and Boss Northland, they were three Enlighters from Northline Flowzone, and the other Flowzones did not dare to provoke them.
Lu Yin watched as the sky returned to normal and sighed. He was still too weak, and he didn't even have the qualifications to watch such a battle. He suddenly thought of a problem; the nine-headed ape had been trampled into a daze by a giant lightning rabbit, so what about Tie Sa?
If the rabbit came and trampled on him, would he also be trampled into a daze?
That was very likely.
Lu Yin was looking forward to seeing the thunder rabbit again and seeing it trample someone. He was even more excited to see that trace of thunder again, which would allow him to instantly kill a Hunter.
Time flew by, and soon, it was the day of the Northgate Platform Competition.
The Northgate Platform had a large central plaza that spanned several thousand kilometers. It would take a normal person several days to walk across the plaza, and ordinary cultivators would not even be able to see the other end of the plaza. Only space-exploring powerhouses could do so.
The plaza's surface was sturdy, and there were statues of seventeen families around it. This was where the previous Northgate Platform Competitions had been held.
At this moment, Lu Yin walked up to the highest stone platform in the plaza. Besides him, there were also Duke Blackhawk, Fayde, and a few other witnesses.
It could be said that all of the witnesses on this stone platform were space-exploring powerhouses, except for Lu Yin himself.
When he saw Lu Yin appear, Duke Blackhawk's brows rose in displeasure. He was a powerhouse who was close to becoming an Enlighter, and since when could a junior be on equal footing with him?
However, he had already known that Lu Yin represented the Ten Arbiters Council, which meant that the Ten Arbiters had the qualifications to be on equal footing with him.
However, qualifications were only one aspect. Even if Lu Yin wanted to be on equal footing with the Ten Arbiters, he still needed to have the ability to do so.
At this moment, regardless of whether it was the witnesses on the stone platform or the surrounding families from the Northline Flowzone, everyone was looking at Lu Yin. They wanted to see if he had the ability to take that seat.
Lu Yin glanced at the stone platform and felt a chill run down his spine. He was a little depressed, as he had only come to witness the competition, but he had no other choice. His status was not proportional to his strength, and the contrast between the two was too great. If Northgate Lie had taken his place, this situation would not have happened.
There were two different levels between space-exploring powerhouses and non-space-exploring powerhouses.
The higher Lu Yin went, the greater the pressure.
It was not just from Duke Blackhawk, but also from the others. This was a form of rejection, or rather, it came from the dignity of space-exploring powerhouses, which made them feel disdain for sitting with a Limiteer.
Lu Yin frowned, as this was not the first time he had felt such pressure. Fortunately, he did not know if it was because he often recited the Stonewall Scriptures or if it was for some other reason, but this pressure was not enough to break his spirit. As long as he could maintain a bit of clarity, he would be able to walk up to the stone platform.
On the stone platform, tiny specks of dust floated up before disappearing. The pressure had reached a point where it could be seen with the naked eye.
At this moment, Northgate Kong walked out and stepped onto the stone platform. His appearance was like a pebble stirring up the calm surface of a lake, causing the pressure on Lu Yin to completely vanish.
"Everyone, the Northgate Platform Competition is about to begin. I'll have to trouble you all to bear witness," Northgate Kong said politely. He then looked at Lu Yin and nodded in a friendly manner.
Lu Yin exhaled. If the pressure had increased any further, then even if his mind was clear, his body might not have been able to withstand it. These old fogeys were too shameless, and so many of them were ganging up on him. In fact, if Northgate Kong had not acted, then Lu Yin would have had to use his trump card.