Chapter 106: Old Friend
By the time Archino was defeated, almost everyone on Lu Yin’s path was either heavily injured or dead. The trio didn’t speak much, simply heading towards the light beam and stepping across to vanish from the Sentinel path. He heard a few words before disappearing: “Age: Passed. Cultivation: Passed. Trial: Passed. Astral-10 application approved.”
Up in the sky, Dorren Yushan and the others from the Great Yu Empire were looking at the ten paths nervously, unsure if anyone from the Great Yu Empire had gotten through. It would be a great embarrassment if not even one of their youths entered Astral-10 when the academy had effectively landed in their backyard. The Empire would become the laughingstock of the entire universe.
But no one could help them in this matter, either. There were three great powers of the Innerverse lying in ambush during this examination that no one had known about beforehand. Dorren didn’t dare hope too much because he knew just how powerful those elites would be.
“Look, screens are popping up on every path. They’re listing the people who passed,” Rocky Auna commented, prompting Dorren and the rest to look nervously at their screens while gripping their fists. Of the three screens on the Sentinel paths, one already had a name and origin upon it: Silver—Great Yu Empire. On another path was Zhao Yilong—Myriad Swords Peak.
Dorren and the others stared at the name of Silver in a daze, “Silver? Did we bring such a person?”
Someone examined the list of student names, “No one on our list, Your Highness; he should have come by himself.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes gleamed, “Investigate him. It isn’t simple to join the examination on his own.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Huo Qingshan gazed at the name Zhao Yilong and exclaimed, “It’s no wonder someone from the Myriad Swords Peak got through the blockade. This person should be a very powerful Sentinel.”
Dorren nodded, “I’ll ask Fifth Sister if she knows them.”
Of the ten paths, the battles among the Sentinels were relatively simpler. Not a single name appeared on the screens of the seven Melders’ paths; the battles there weren’t just more intense, but the paths were longer as well. Thus, Dorren Yushan and the rest all focused on the last screen from the Sentinel paths, where all of the youths from the Great Yu Empire had walked.
The first name to appear here was Lulu Mavis, with her origin listed as the Mavis Bank. There were no gasps of surprise here; the Mavis Family was an absolute monster that could easily surpass the three powers present.
Coco’s name caused a bit more conversation, “There are even people from the Windrift Hall here. Looks like the Innerverse didn’t ignore Astral-10 entirely.”
And then, the third name appeared. Lu Yin—Great Yu Empire. This one left Dorren and the rest jubilant; Lu Yin was someone truly of the Great Yu Empire, and he was even the Zishan King. His success would give some credence to the Empire in a way that Silver’s could not; a suspicious youth they hadn’t heard about could not compare to the absolute joy of a royal establishing himself.
Rocky Auna nodded in approval; the Zishan King truly was worthy of the Auna Family. Even if he was just an idle prince, Lu Yin’s status as a student of the Astral Combat Academy would be enough to cover up the humiliation of Princess Wendy rejecting his engagement.
Huo Qingshan’s eyes twinkled as he looked at Lu Yin’s name, and no one could tell what he was thinking. Jue Lang was silently staring at Lu Yin’s name as well. On the other hand, Dorren laughed in excitement and immediately contacted the Empire to relay the good news.
“Your Highness, wait a moment, let’s see the results of the Melder paths,” Huo Qingshan stopped him.
The Crown Prince patted his own head, “That’s right, we’ll wait a little. My bad, I was too impatient.”
To the powers of the universe, the Sentinel realm was just a starting point. Melderhood was the true beginning of cultivation, and a person’s power when they were a Melder was enough to determine their life. Astral-10 had explicit requirements for this enrollment that only passed Sentinels and Melders; the logic was that anyone beyond this point was a lost cause. To the Empire, any Melder that managed to enter the Astral Combat Academy would be a big surprise.
……
The beam at the end of the Sentinel Path brought Lu Yin’s trio to a limestone platform. The cozy place was full of lichen, but the first thing they noticed when they landed was the constant patter of raindrops. They looked up at the peculiar, towering plants and the rain that drowned the world. They were in the depths of some forest growing out of the limestone, the rain forming several rivulets on the ground that flowed down to some unknown place in the murky green sky.
“Silver?” As he looked around, Lu Yin was surprised by a familiar smiling face. He hadn’t expected to see Silver here, especially having passed the examination earlier than himself.
Silver nodded in greeting, “Long time no see, friend!”
On the other side, another figure stood silently and looked at the rain. There was an unsophisticated long sword on his back, and he gave off a sharp aura that seemed to cut the very rain apart. Lu Yin suddenly felt a great sense of pressure when he saw this person; he was certainly very strong.
“Someone from the Myriad Swords Peak?” Coco yelped, shocking Lu Yin as well. Wasn’t that the power Wendy came from? Meanwhile, Lulu looked at the man and then Silver with excitement, cracking her fists with bloodlust. Coco had to stop her in a hurry.
Lu Yin grew curious about Silver’s power once more. How had he passed so quickly despite the blockade from the Innerverse power? This person improved just as fast as himself. It had felt like they were around the same level when they first met, and that feeling held true even now. This person who was related to the Neohuman Alliance certainly wasn’t easy to deal with.
The man from Myriad Swords Peak kept staring at the rain and did not bother with Lu Yin and the rest. Lu Yin glanced at Silver and did not bother to reminisce, minding his own business to scan through the surroundings. However, there was nothing around except the green sky, green forests, and never-ending rain.
……
The path of Melders was considerably longer than the Sentinels’, but even so, some powerhouses had reached the end. Five Melders looked excitedly at the light beam in the distance, “Finally here, Brother Meng. The next part will be the hardest, where we have to face the obstruction from the Innerverse’s powerful elites.”
News of three powers from the Innerverse dispatching people to obstruct the examination had spread. Many in the paths had received the information—and some directly gave up—but the majority were unwilling to do so this close to the end. They had invested too much to give up.
Meng Tao’s face remained firm. He was from the Vastdearth Sect and was among the top three in its younger generation. They were the overlords of their own weave, and would never allow anyone to flee without at least trying battle. He wanted to personally experience the power of the elites of the Innerverse. His group joined up with others that were already waiting, quickly totaling more than twenty people who were facing off against an enormous sylvan dragon with a fearsome aura. The dragon had an immeasurable ocean of star energy, and every fluctuation caused cracks in the earth. Its breaths shot out blades of wind that could cut skin apart.
The sylvan dragon surveyed the people and let out an ear-splitting roar, “I am Dragon Nine. Remember the name of the person who will block your hopes of entering the Astral Combat Academy.”
All the Melders were enraged, and Meng Tao stepped forward, “Meng Tao from the Vastdearth Sect, here for a challenge.”
Dragon Nine lowered its head and looked at Meng Tao, then sneered and a powerful stream of air rushed out, “As you wish.”
Not half a minute later, Meng Tao cried in agony as his body was bitten by Dragon Nine and directly snapped. His blood dripped down its enormous body, all his dignity fading away into death. Everyone felt their scalps going numb; this was one of the strongest among them, and he had faced such an end. Who else would dare take the challenge?
“Everyone, let’s attack together. This joker is a sylvan dragon, and that meatball at its tail is its weakness,” a girl’s voice echoed, brightening everyone’s gazes.
“Who dares slander my race?” Dragon Nine bellowed, but all twenty Melders joined forces in the next moment. This was their only chance of victory; none of them were confident in beating this dragon in single combat.
Dragon Nine was irate, and its giant eyes desperately sought out the one that had dared utter those words. It specifically attacked the women in the group, leaving many of them heavily injured, but several people broke through and headed straight for the light beam. The dragon growled and showcased its extreme speed, its body rapidly splitting into five silhouettes that formed a watertight wall blocking the portal. The Melders were left stunned; the speed of an Innerverse genius was simply too scary.