Yan Chen slowly stood up and said, "I've heard too many rumors recently. Regardless of whether it's the border weaves' war, the Great Eastern Alliance's invasion, or the fate of the Amethyst Company, all of them have made many people uneasy. Some believe that Endless Borders should contact certain people to seek connections, while others believe that we should join a faction as soon as possible. Today, I'll tell you that they are wrong."
"Wrong, wrong. We are an adventurer's guild, and our nature is adventuring and hot-bloodedness, not war. No matter what happens in the outside world, we have our own stance. Border wars are dangerous, and we pledge our lives to protect humanity. However, the internal struggles of humanity have nothing to do with us. Today, I'll solemnly tell everyone that Endless Borders will not participate in any power struggles. Similarly, we are not afraid of anyone's threats, and no one can threaten us or harm us."
Yan Chen's words stirred up the ambitions of countless cultivators in Endless Borders. Indeed, they did not participate in any power struggles, and the outside world had nothing to do with them. They were just adventurers who were purely adventurers, and they were not weak.
They looked at the floating spectator stands around the plaza. These were all exploration teams, and there were Hunters and Enlighters among them. They did not fear anyone.
The members of the Wind Flower Team all had awkward expressions. They could tell that this was directed at the Great Eastern Alliance, which meant that it was directed at Lu Yin. Was Lu Yin really that influential?
The two old men looked at each other and regretted their decision. They had originally thought that Lu Yin's influence would only extend to the central weaves, and they had invited Lu Yin to join them to improve their relationship. After all, having more friends was always better than having more enemies. Furthermore, they might even need Lu Yin's help in their future adventures. But what was the situation now?
The internal competition's morale-boosting speech had actually been directed at Lu Yin, which left them at a loss.
Vice Captain Mo looked at Lu Yin speechlessly. How terrifying was this person now?
Everyone was talking about him.
Lu Yin himself was speechless. He admitted that his influence was great, and that it had already extended to the central weaves and unified a third of the Outerverse. But was it really worth it?
Just an opening statement was enough to cause trouble for him.
Yan Chen was very satisfied with his opening statement. "Alright, I'll solemnly announce that Endless Borders' internal competition will now begin. Prepare to draw lots."
As he spoke, the images of over 10,000 cultivators appeared on the central screen. They were all participants of the competition, and Lu Yin's image naturally appeared as well.
Although Lu Yin was famous throughout the universe, most people had only heard of his name and had never seen his face. It was just like how people at the bottom of society did not recognize the rulers of other countries. Only those who were also rulers could recognize him, such as President Yan.
He had just sat down when he looked at the images of the contestants. He wanted to see who had the most potential. He decided to recruit two more teams this time to boost morale.
However, as soon as he glanced over, he was stunned. He stared blankly at one of the images and rubbed his eyes.
As an Enlighter, his eyesight was very good, and it was impossible for him to do something as crude as rubbing his eyes. However, he still did it, and he felt like he was dreaming. How had that person appeared?
"C-Guild Leader, why does that person look like …?"
Someone beside Yan Chen spoke up, but before he could finish, Yan Chen stopped him. "Go investigate this person."
The person hurriedly nodded. There was no lack of people in the universe who looked alike, and logically speaking, it was impossible for Lu Yin to appear here. He hurriedly checked, feeling nervous.
Very quickly, that person said in a low voice, "This person's name is Seven, and he was recommended by the Wind Flower Team to join Endless Borders three days ago."
Yan Chen's eyes flashed. The Wind Flower Team?
It should be fine, as the Wind Flower Team had been exploring the Astral Wilderness all this time. Perhaps that person really did look similar to Lu Yin. As he thought about it, he looked at the screen that displayed the Wind Flower Team's images and saw Lu Yin standing next to the two captains. With a single glance, he was certain that that person was Lu Yin.
Their appearances might be similar, but their aura could not be faked. That person's position was even higher than the two captains', and he did not seem to care at all. In the current universe, aside from Lu Yin and a few others, who would not care about an Enlighter?
Yan Chen felt like he had swallowed a fly. Why was this person here?
"Eh, President, that person?" someone else cried out in surprise, but Yan Chen quickly suppressed his voice. Soon after, more and more people recognized Lu Yin.
Yan Chen could only warn them one by one to not spread the news, or else this competition would be over.
He had used Lu Yin as an opening statement, and he could not afford to lose face like that.
Everyone who recognized Lu Yin was speechless. This was too much, and why had this person come to the Simo Star Cluster?
And he had even joined Endless Borders?
Couldn't he just change his appearance?
How much did he care about Endless Borders?!
Yan Chen contacted the captains of the Wind Flower Clan and found out how Lu Yin had joined them. He really wanted to curse the two old men to death, but when he remembered that they were both Enlighters, and not just any ordinary Enlighter at that, he forcefully restrained himself.
The two old men looked at each other. They felt that the situation had become serious, so they simply refused to admit that they had recognized Lu Yin. Their unified statement to the outside world was that this person was called Ah Qi, and that he was a cultivator with an extraordinary innate gift and a genius.
The two old men instructed everyone in the Wind Flower Clan to maintain a unified statement, and everyone understood.
Lu Yin did not mind. His gaze swept across all of the competitors, and his evaluation of Endless Borders' strength increased once again. If all of these people were used by Endless Borders, then the organization's strength would be terrifying, and they would definitely become a great enemy in the future.
Martial strength could only intimidate for a short period of time, but one's thoughts could influence an entire lifetime or even countless years.
Endless Borders had recruited countless experts based on their adventurous mindset, and even the Hall of Honor had been attracted to them. That was the most frightening aspect of the organization.
Lu Yin's gaze deepened as he looked at Yan Chen on the screen. Up until now, Endless Borders had not revealed any intentions of vying for power. However, if a certain generation's president wanted to do so, it would bring about trouble.
Lu Yin felt that it would be better to control Endless Borders if possible, and it would be best if he did not have the position of president. It would be best if the management level of Endless Borders kept each other in check.
Yan Chen and the others did not know that this internal competition had already caused Lu Yin to have some thoughts about them.
The lots were quickly drawn, and the battles in the plaza began.
Most of the participants were Limiteers, followed by Explorers and Cruisers. Hunters were generally from exploration teams, and many of the competitors just wanted to make their presence known. They either wanted to be valued by a good team, or they would be able to do things in the future.
The battles in the plaza were divided into many areas, and a hundred battles could be started at once. Some battles ended very quickly, while others ended very slowly.
Not long after, it was Lu Yin's turn to compete. His opponent was a Limiteer, and when the Limiteer sensed that Lu Yin was an Explorer, his expression turned bitter. "Bro, can you give me a chance?
Let me show off my cultivation results. "
Lu Yin nodded and casually looked around him.
The Limiteer roared, but he did not attack Lu Yin. Instead, he used a battle technique on the spot. It was a rather strange move, but he was also quite smart. He knew that no matter how he used a battle technique, it would not affect Lu Yin at all. Thus, he decided to use it himself so that he would not have signed up for the competition in vain.
Yan Chen and many others who recognized Lu Yin looked at him. They were speechless when they saw this strange scene.
The Limiteer gratefully walked away.
Lu Yin was amused, and it was his second match. His opponent was an Explorer who had cycled through four cycles, just like Lu Yin.
This person seemed to be quite confident, as he swung a giant hammer at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin raised his hand, grabbed the hammer with his fingers, and squeezed it hard, shattering it.
The Explorer was stunned. "This is made of an extremely rare metal. Even a Cruiser can't break it. You-" Before he could finish, Lu Yin pressed down on his head. "You've lost."
The Explorer felt bitter, and he turned to leave.
Endless Borders' internal competition started quickly, and it ended quickly as well. After all, it was just an internal competition, and it was only meant to boost morale.
A day later, only a few hundred people remained out of the original 10,000 participants. It was still an elimination round, but instead of a hundred battles starting at the same time, they would be fought one at a time. It was similar to the Astral Combat Tournament.
Lu Yin only wanted to participate as a formality. He looked up at the screen and saw Yan Chen and many others staring at him. He knew that these people had recognized him, and he smiled.
Yan Chen felt uncomfortable.
A few more days passed, and there were only twenty participants left.
The more time passed, the more exciting the battles became. At the same time, the information of the remaining participants would be checked. This was especially true for the exploration teams, which would try to recruit free cultivators.
In a corner of the plaza, the people that Yang Hai had sent to participate in the competition had already been defeated. He had not paid much attention to this competition, as the most outstanding people would either form their own teams or join the exploration teams in the Astral Wilderness. It had nothing to do with him. However, one of the remaining twenty people caught his attention, and he was stunned. "Why is it him?"
It was not just Yang Hai; more and more people were looking at Lu Yin.
When there were only twenty people left, Lu Yin stood out. Cries of surprise could be heard from outside the plaza, and then someone would be seen using a gadget to search for something.
Yan Chen was helpless, as he could not hide this any longer. This person was too famous, and someone would definitely recognize him. If one person recognized him, the others would naturally investigate.
In the floating stands outside the plaza, Captain Shi looked at the Wind Flower Team's stand in shock. He looked at the young figure and asked, "Why is he here?"
Beside Captain Shi was the popular Little Stone Man. When he heard Captain Shi's exclamation, he looked up at the Wind Flower Team's stand and asked, "Captain, do you know that person?"
Captain Shi's expression turned serious. "There's no suspense in this competition."
The same scene occurred in the various floating stands. Although not all of the exploration teams had shown up, more than half of them were present, and most of the remaining participants were from these teams.
Now, these people all knew that there was no suspense in the competition.
In the crowd outside the plaza, a person held an empty bottle and stared blankly. He was the one who had suggested that Lu Yin would participate in the competition. It had been a joke, but who would have thought that it would come true?
There was a lot of discussion outside the plaza, and many people were curious as to why Lu Yin had appeared. Many people looked at Yan Chen, and when they recalled his words, they were filled with admiration. It turned out that the president had already known about Lu Yin's presence and had said those words for Lu Yin to hear. This was a provocation.
"Ahem, Alliance Master Lu, it looks like you've been exposed," Captain Feng said.
Lu Yin looked at Yan Chen on the screen, and it just so happened that Yan Chen was also staring at him. Lu Yin leaped out and landed in the plaza. He raised a hand and pointed at the images of the remaining participants, hooking his finger. His meaning was obvious; he wanted to challenge everyone.