There was no order in the seats, but the stronger one was, the more they sat in the center.
Lu Yin kept a low profile and sat to the side. Beside him was the gloomy man from the Tempest Flowzone who had a scorpion tattoo on his face, which made him look rather strange.
This person did not seem to care about Lu Yin at all, and he had not been present when the crowd had been pressuring him.
"Seventh Bro, these bastards are shameless. You have to be careful not to get ambushed," the monkey said unhappily.
Lu Yin naturally knew that Duke Blackhawk was from the Ross Empire, so it was normal for him to dislike Lu Yin. Fortunately, Fayde from the Beast Tamers Flowzone had not made a move against him, or else he might not have been able to withstand the pressure.
The stone platform was where the witnesses were located. Around the stone platform, there were 17 floating platforms that surrounded the entire plaza, each representing the 17 clans.
Seventeen families were too many, and Lu Yin did not pay them much attention after a single glance. The only ones he really needed to pay attention to were the three families.
Of these three, Lu Yin was most concerned about the Barthe Jacques family, as they were rich.
He swept his gaze across the crowd and looked at the Barthe Jacques family's floating platform. The rich aura that greeted him left him stunned.
The other families' floating platforms had simple decorations, but the Barthe Jacques family's was the same as Northgate Mansion's. No, it was even more extravagant than Northgate Mansion's. This was not reflected in the decorations, but more importantly in the food and wine. Lu Yin did not recognize any of them, but the star energy fluctuations coming from the food indicated that they were astral beasts.
Lu Yin gulped. This was too extravagant and too arrogant. This family was clearly trying to tell everyone that they were rich.
On the Barthe Jacques family's floating platform, Family Head Hoba suddenly turned to look at Lu Yin. His lips curled up, and he raised his wine glass to toast Lu Yin from afar.
Lu Yin nodded and maintained his smile, but he was cheering internally. This family was too rich! These were all resources! If the entire Barthe Jacques family's wealth was given to him, he would dare to challenge everyone in the Top 100 Rankings.
"Father, that's Lu Yin," a youth behind Hoba spoke up. His name was Harrow, and he was one of the Barthe Jacques family's heirs. He was the same age as Northgate Lie, but he was only a Limiteer. This family did not care about battle prowess, as they could hire any powerhouse as a bodyguard if they had the money, such as Tie Sa.
"I know. He's a very motivated young man with great investment potential," Hoba smiled.
Harrow's eyes flashed. "Father wants to rope him in?"
Huo Ba could not help but laugh. "Rope him in?
You're thinking too simply. This young man isn't someone that a corporation like us can rope in. Even the Sword Sect failed, so we just need to maintain a good relationship with him. "
"I heard that he offended the Daynight clan," Banicho spoke up from beside Harrow. He was also one of the heirs and one of Harrow's competitors.
"It's just a fight between the younger generation," said Harold.
Barnijo was disdainful. "Given the temperament of the Daynight clan, this Lu Yin will be unlucky sooner or later."
"That might not be the case. The one who proved Lu Yin's innocence was also someone from the Daynight clan, which means that there are people in the Daynight clan who support Lu Yin," Harold replied.
"But he offended Nightqueen Yanqing. She's Arbiter Zhenwu's younger sister, and she's a powerful figure in the Nightking clan."
"Nightqueen Yanqing doesn't have the right to make decisions for the Nightking clan."
…
Huoba frowned. "That's enough. It's not your place to argue about other people's matters. We're just a business family, so don't get involved in this kind of thing."
"Yes, father."
"Yes, father."
Lu Yin didn't know that a single look of respect from him had caused a fight between the two successors of the Barthe Jacques Family. He was no longer a nobody, and his status and influence were great, especially in certain situations.
As the time for the Northgate Platform Tournament approached, the sky suddenly became scorching hot. Everyone looked up and saw a bluish-green flame burning through the void. It was followed by a bone-piercing chill that caused everyone's hair to stand on end. This was not cold, but rather a reaction to a life-threatening threat.
Suddenly, a scarlet light flashed once more, dispersing the bone-piercing chill. "Mr. Poison Flame, please take a seat on the platform."
The last person to appear was the Blaze Realm's Poison Flame. It was rumored that his flames were extraordinary.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed when he saw Poison Flame. Out of everyone present, if there was anyone who could truly threaten him, it would be Poison Flame. Neither Duke Blackhawk nor Fayde would truly act against a junior like him, but Poison Flame might not. Lu Yin was well aware of the Blaze Realm's character, and they had a grudge against him.
The Astral Combat Academy was a miniaturized version of the universe, and the conflicts within it extended to the various great powers. Lu Yin had suppressed the Blaze Realm in the Astral Combat Academy, so to them, he was their enemy.
Poison Flame landed on the platform and suddenly looked at Lu Yin. Lu Yin's heartbeat quickened, and his entire body went on guard.
Poison Flame frowned. "Why is there a Limiteer sitting here?"
Northgate Kong stood up and smiled. "That's Lu Yin, representing the Ten Arbiters to witness the Northgate Platform Tournament. Please don't take offense, Mr. Poison Flame."
Poison Flame stared at Lu Yin with a cold glint in his eyes. The high temperature caused the platform to change color, but Lu Yin could feel it even more clearly. Poison Flame was targeting him. Unlike Duke Blackhawk and the others, who only gave him pressure because of their status, Poison Flame had a grudge against him, so the pressure was naturally different.
Lily Liana, the head of the Lily family, stood up and was about to intervene when Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Where are the mentors?
Why aren't the mentors from Astral-10 here? "
With that one sentence, Poison Flame's pressure disappeared. He could oppress Lu Yin, but he did not dare to be rude to Astral-10. Others might not know, but how could the powerhouses of the great powers not know how terrifying Astral-10 was? It was a cage, and those who were qualified to guard it were all monsters.
Lily Liana smiled. "We've already sent out invitations to the mentors of Astral-10, but they're all busy with internal affairs and have no time to attend the ceremony. I'm sorry, but I forgot to inform Student Lu."
Lu Yin smiled and said a few polite words before sitting down. He glanced at the indignant Poison Flame and heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had the foresight to bring Astral-10 here. These guys were all shameless, and he would not place his hopes on the Northline Flowzone. They would definitely help him, but it might be too late by then. It was better to have the initiative in his own hands.
Around the plaza, the disciples of the seventeen families all looked at Lu Yin strangely, as if they were looking at a god. How hateful was this person? The stronger they were, the more they targeted him.
Lu Yin felt helpless, as this was the result of obtaining an identity that did not match his strength at such a young age. At his current age, he should be playing around freely in the academy, not here to join in on the fun. The consequence of joining in on the fun was to be targeted.
He suddenly envied Xia Luo and the others, as they were all carefree. No, he envied Lulu the most, as she was rich and could still play around.
Not long after Poison Flame arrived, there was a loud bang in the sky. The Northgate Platform Competition had officially begun.
In order, each family reported their contributions and emphasized what they had done for the Northline Flowzone and what they had gained. In any case, it was just self-praise. This process was very long, and many people were distracted. Some even went straight to sleep.
Lu Yin looked around and saw that even Fayde had closed his eyes to rest. It was obvious that this was not the first time that these people had witnessed the Northgate Platform Competition. Their appearance was just to show their friendliness and to publicize the Northline Flowzone's strength.
Lu Yin was bored, so he silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures.
The man with the scorpion tattoo next to him did not even look at him from start to finish.
After a few hours, the seventeen families finally finished praising themselves and began to flatter each other. The most impressive ones were still the three great families, especially the Barthe Jacques family. When it was their turn to report their contributions, Lu Yin listened carefully and was stunned. According to this family, almost half of the Northline Flowzone's economy was supported by them.
They were too rich, and Lu Yin estimated that he could not even count how much wealth this family possessed.
His gaze towards the Barthe Jacques family became gentler and friendlier. He wished that he could run over to their floating platform and have a chat with them.
The entire Northgate Platform Competition was complicated, and the only thing that attracted Lu Yin's attention was the Juniors' Tournament.
The seventeen families had more than a hundred members of the younger generation, and when it was time for the Juniors' Tournament, they all went up to battle. To be honest, there was nothing special about them, and they were much weaker than the Astral Combat Academy's Astral Combat Tournament.
Of course, there were also space-exploring powerhouses among these juniors, but their strength was only so-so. According to the Astral Combat Academy's standards, they were roughly on the level of a student leader. However, the academy's student leaders were only Limiteers.
Northgate Lie was the one who truly shocked everyone. Even Duke Blackhawk, Fayde, and Poison Flame were shaken by his appearance. After all, he was an expert on the Top 100 Rankings. Even if he was ranked at the bottom, he still represented the top hundred of the younger generation. If nothing unexpected happened, this person's reputation would definitely surpass theirs in a few years' time. They had not been able to reach the level of the Top 100 Rankings when they were younger.
Northgate Lie was the Northgate family's representative, and he was also the Northline Flowzone's representative. The Northgate family had joined forces with Shangwu Academy and poured all of their resources into nurturing him, so his strength could not be underestimated.
Lu Yin was also rather concerned about him. The Divine Fist had said that he had defeated an expert at the bottom of the Top 100 Rankings with Thirty Stacks. However, times had changed, and Lu Yin felt that he could rival an expert at the bottom of the Top 100 Rankings. Still, a feeling was just a feeling.
At the center of the plaza, Northgate Lie looked up and scanned his surroundings. Finally, his gaze settled on Lu Yin.
His family had asked him to find a way to cancel the battle agreement, so he would force Lu Yin to back off. Then, he would use other methods to protect both sides' reputation. If Lu Yin was not stupid, then he should know that he was definitely not Northgate Lie's opponent.
Everyone looked at Northgate Lie. His opponent was the strongest member of his family's younger generation, and he also had the power level of an Explorer. In fact, his power level was about the same as Northgate Lie's, which was around 30,000.
"Brother Northgate, please make your move."
Northgate Lie's gaze was indifferent. "I won't be courteous. To show my respect, I'll use my full strength."
His opponent's expression turned ugly when he heard this. His strength was only above average among his peers, and he could barely be considered a genius of the Northline Flowzone due to his family's nurturing. However, he was still far from Northgate Lie's level. He had originally thought that he would be able to put up a fight, but when he heard that Northgate Lie was going to use his full strength, his heart sank. He hurriedly smiled and said, "Brother Northgate, this battle isn't that important. There's no need for Brother Northgate to-" However, he was unable to finish his sentence because a circular flywheel was spinning around his neck. If he had moved a little closer, his head would have been separated from his body.