Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out. Everyone turned around to look. A small boat had been smashed into pieces. Several students on the boat had been killed by a Fighting Soul. They had no power to fight back.
Kuang Wang's expression changed. "A Realm Master's battle prowess … This war spirit's original form is a Realm Master from the academy."
Lu Yin raised his hand and aimed his palm at the war spirit. "Spacerender Palm!"
The air pressure formed by the Space-Splitting Palm crossed the surface of the Dead Sea and fiercely attacked the Fighting Soul. The Fighting Soul turned around and stretched out both of its palms, colliding with the air pressure formed by the Space-Splitting Palm. However, in an instant, its body collapsed and disappeared into the Dead Sea.
Lu Yin's Spacerender Palm had easily killed a Realm Master, which shocked Feng Shang and Kuang Wang. How had this guy become so strong?
Lu Yin retracted his hand. It was not that he wanted to help anyone, but since this war spirit had appeared, if he did not destroy it, it would continue to attack until everyone was destroyed. In the end, he would still have to take action, so he might as well deal with it now.
"Thank you for your help, chief disciple Lu."
"Thank you …"
…
In the distance, many students were grateful.
Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin in amazement. "Brother Lu, your strength has long since surpassed the limits of the Astral Combat Academy's students. Thirty Stacks is rumored to have tied the record of the Ten Arbiters. You really are strong."
"Pervert," Kuang Wang muttered.
Lu Yin smiled and shook his head. "The records of the Ten Arbiters only exist in legends, and no one knows exactly what they are. Brother Feng, there's no need to place too much importance on them."
Feng Shang sighed and looked towards the depths of the Ocean of Death. "The Ten Arbiters are the benchmark of the younger generation, and they are the benchmark of this universe. Everyone's goal is to surpass the Ten Arbiters, but not a single person has managed to do so. Thirty Stacks is the record that the Ten Arbiters left behind." At this point, Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin seriously. "If Brother Lu can surpass that, then it will definitely be recorded in the annals of history."
"That's not a good thing."
Feng Shang looked at him seriously, but he didn't say anything.
To the side, Xia Luo glanced at Lu Yin. He didn't say anything either, but there was an inexplicable smile on his face.
Another half a day passed, and Zora's face was pale. It was obvious that she could not hold on any longer. "Coco, take her place," Lu Yin said.
"Oh," Coco replied, and she hurriedly used her star energy to form a boat.
Zola said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I didn't think that I wouldn't even last two days."
Lu Yin shook his head. "The deeper you go, the greater the Ocean of Death's ability to decompose star energy. You don't have to blame yourself; anyone else would have done the same."
Feng Shang nodded. "That's right. Quite a few people have changed boats behind you. You're not bad."
"It's considered average," Kuang Wang said lazily.
Coco frowned and glared at Kuang Wang. "Sister Zora isn't average. She's definitely one of the top students in the Astral Combat Academy."
Kuang Wang sneered. He wasn't making fun of Zola. This was his attitude.
However, this attitude made Coco very unhappy. The little girl rarely got angry, but as long as it involved Zola, she would get serious. Now, in her eyes, Kuang Wang was looking down on Zola. This made her very unhappy, so she took out the syringe and stared straight at Kuang Wang.
Both Kuang Wang and Feng Shang were stunned. "What is this?"
Coco glared at Kuang Wang. "I want to give you an injection."
"Are you kidding? I'm not sick!" Kuang Wang shrieked. Even someone like him panicked when faced with such a long syringe. Even though he was far inferior to Kuang Wang, he still felt an indescribable chill.
Coco snorted. "Your breath stinks."
Kuang Wang was speechless.
Zora smiled bitterly. "Alright, Keke, I don't have any other intentions. Take back your innate gift."
Coco pouted and glared at Kuang Wang again before the syringe disappeared.
Kuang Wang was helpless. "Brother Lu, your academy is quite unique. You have all sorts of innate gifts."
Feng Shang was shocked as well. "Such a large syringe is more intimidating than any weapon."
Lu Yin felt a chill every time he looked at the syringe. "This is Coco's innate gift. She was born in Windrift Hall and is very skilled in healing. Who wants to try it?"
"No need."
"No need."
The two spoke up at the same time.
Although Coco's battle prowess couldn't compare to Zola's, her star energy was much more resilient. Even so, she could only last for a day before collapsing. The further in they went, the more difficult it became. Next up was Xia Luo.
According to Feng Shang and Kuang Wang's estimates, Xia Luo would last for at most a day, which was already a very high estimate. If Coco had been in his place, she wouldn't have been able to last even half a day. However, Lu Yin was very confident in Xia Luo's abilities. He had specially observed Xia Luo and found that his rune lines were no less than Kuang Wang's or Feng Shang's. In other words, Xia Luo had the power of an academy leader.
During this period of time, Lu Yin had been improving, and Xia Luo had improved quite a bit as well. During the Astral Combat Tournament, he had possessed the power level of an Area Master, and now, he had risen to the power level of a Realm Master. This was no simple improvement.
Of course, rune lines couldn't completely see through a person. For example, when Lu Yin had used his domain and battle force on the Sky Platform, his rune lines had increased, but they weren't fixed. The same was true for Xia Luo, Feng Shang, and Kuang Wang.
It could only be said that the three of them were about the same if they didn't use their battle techniques or innate gifts. But once external forces were added, it was hard to say who was stronger.
Xia Luo steered the boat, and only three boats followed behind him. One of them was from Wu University's newspaper, and Lu Yin didn't recognize the other two.
"They're still following us at a time like this. Not bad," Lu Yin said as he glanced behind them.
Feng Shang glanced back. "One is from the newspaper, one is from Shamrock Enterprises, and the last one is from who knows where."
Kuang Wang glanced over. "It's the spirit hunters."
The words "spirit hunters" attracted Lu Yin's attention, as there had always been spirit hunters in the trial zones. These people all came from large organizations, and they didn't compete for the trial zones. Instead, they specialized in hunting war spirits.
"What's the purpose of the spirit hunters' existence?" Coco asked.
Kuang Wang replied, "Hunting war spirits. I don't know the exact reason, but before I came to the Astral Combat Academy, the seniors from the Divine Grade Hall warned me that if I couldn't become the student leader, then I should form a spirit hunter team."
"They didn't tell you the purpose of hunting war spirits?" Lu Yin asked.
Kuang Wang shook his head. "I heard that it's related to the trial zones' inheritances, but so many years have passed, and I've never heard of anyone obtaining an inheritance by hunting war spirits. At most, they'll be able to comprehend the battle techniques of past powerhouses. There are many such inheritances, and you can run into one just by walking around. There's no need to hunt war spirits at all."
"It should be related to the phenomenon that occurs when a war spirit dies. The formation of a war spirit is related to the trial zones' greatest inheritance, and everyone wants to obtain it. It's not a pity to pay a high price for it," Feng Shang said.
Lu Yin looked at the spirit hunters. They didn't know the reason, but he did. They definitely wanted to experience the power of the Rune Technology through hunting war spirits and use it to get closer to the inheritance. However, this method wasn't very useful, and they might as well reach the top of the Sky Platform. Of course, even the student leaders couldn't do so, let alone the spirit hunters.
This was a dead end, but it was also the only way.
Since the seniors from the large organizations had warned these people to form a spirit hunter team, did they know about the Rune Technology?
A day passed, and the Ocean of Death still had no end in sight. Xia Luo's expression was normal, and he didn't seem to be affected at all.
Feng Shang and Kuang Wang looked at each other in shock. They had just been discussing who would be the next replacement, but now they realized that Xia Luo didn't need to be replaced at all. This was strange, as this person's strength far surpassed the other students.
They hadn't paid much attention to Xia Luo at first, as there were so many students in the Astral Combat Tournament, and it was normal for a few to be comparable to an Area Master. But now, they had to reevaluate Xia Luo, as ordinary Area Masters couldn't do what he did.
At this moment, there were only two boats following behind Lu Yin's group. One belonged to Shamrock Enterprises, while the other belonged to the spirit hunters. As for Wu Da and the others, they were all gone.
"It's about to begin," Kuang Wang said solemnly.
Everyone looked at him.
"The illusion is about to begin," Kuang Wang said once more.
Coco was afraid, and she leaned closer to Zora.
Lu Yin's eyes flashed, and he silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures. He had already formed a habit of reciting the Stonewall Scriptures whenever he encountered an unpredictable situation.
There was a fluctuation in the void, and Lu Yin and the others turned to look. The spirit hunter's boat gradually disappeared, and a war spirit appeared beside it.
The spirit hunters were definitely not weak, as they had at least an Area Master. However, they still couldn't resist a war spirit, and it was another war spirit with strength comparable to a Realm Master.
It was indeed easy to encounter a powerful war spirit in the Ocean of Death.
Shamrock Enterprises' boat was the closest to the war spirit, and Lu Yin and the others could only watch as the war spirit attacked Shamrock Enterprises' people. Tu Bo attacked first, but his attack directly pierced through the war spirit, causing it to disappear into nothingness.
"It's an illusion!" Kuang Wang shouted.
Everyone was shocked, and they looked over again. The spirit hunter's boat was unscathed, and the students on it looked at Lu Yin's group strangely. On the other side, Shamrock Enterprises' boat was also fine.
Lu Yin frowned. If this was an illusion, then was the Stonewall Scriptures useless?
"If Tu Bo hadn't attacked in the illusion, what would have happened?" Xia Luo asked.
Kuang Wang's expression turned serious. "One of us would have died."
Coco's face went pale.
Lu Yin's brows rose. "Was the attack diverted?"
"I don't know. I've been to the Ocean of Death several times, and I've encountered such a situation before. The illusion seemed to be attacking Tu Bo, but it was actually attacking one of us. If we were hit by the illusion, one of us would have had their spiritual force wiped out and died," Kuang Wang explained.
Zora hugged Coco tightly. Women were naturally afraid of such strange scenes, and she subconsciously looked towards the depths of the Ocean of Death to see if there was an end. However, the moment she turned her head, a pair of blood-red eyes stared straight at her. Blood flowed from the eyes and dripped onto Zora's hands.
The blood was cold, and Zora's entire body turned cold. Her pupils shrank as she screamed in fear.
Lu Yin and the others immediately looked over, but they couldn't see anything.
Coco jumped in fright and hugged Zora. "Sister Zora, what's wrong?"
Everyone looked at Zora.
Zora was still in shock, and her eyes flickered as she gasped for breath. Her face was pale. "I- I saw a pair of blood-red faces."
Kuang Wang said, "This is an illusion. Remember, you must defend against the illusion's attacks, because being hit means death."
Lu Yin frowned. This was very troublesome. Couldn't they sense it beforehand?
He suddenly thought of something, and star energy condensed in his eyes as he looked at the Ocean of Death. At this moment, the Ocean of Death had become countless rune lines in his eyes, and many of them were gradually condensing behind Coco.