Chapter 244: Target
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, and the muscles in his right arm swelled up. Since he could use Flash with his legs, then he could also use it with his arms. His right arm trembled rapidly after he activated Flash with his arm as multiple afterimages appeared. The chunk of metal in his hand soon split into two, and then three images, completely blocking Silver’s attack trajectories with banging sounds.
Sparks flew throughout the entire gravity training room as the speed of the two steadily increased. Silver had been able to rely on his domain and his innate gift of seeing through weaknesses to remain undefeated up until now, but Lu Yin’s Cosmic Art was his natural nemesis, as every move of Silver’s was in turn seen through by Lu Yin.
A minute later, the two simultaneously retreated, breathing heavily.
Silver’s face fell, and he shook his butterfly knife once to remove all the sweat that had gathered on the blade.
Nicks had appeared in the piece of metal in Lu Yin’s hand, but it still remained sharp.
“I was overthinking it. You haven’t seen through my attack trajectories. Rather, you’ve only reversed my trajectories to block my attacks.” Silver’s face sank for a moment, but then he commented on their exchange in a relaxed manner.
Lu Yin nodded. “I’m indeed unable to replicate your attacks that are a combination of your domain and innate gift.”
“Captain, this won’t do. If I don’t act, then will you not be able to attack either?” Silver asked with a teasing smile.
Lu Yin laughed before saying, “Fine, then let’s see whether you will act.” With those words, Lu Yin lifted a hand that transformed into a claw as the 96th form of the Skybeast Claw technique suppressed the entire gravity training room. The howl of a beast rang through the void.
Silver’s eyes flashed, and his butterfly knife swept out, directly slicing the Skybeast Claw apart. However, Lu Yin had already appeared in front of Silver, and the metal piece in his hand was streaking forward. Silver raised his butterfly knife in an attempt to block Lu Yin’s attack, and a loud bang rang out as the shockwave from the collision distorted the void. Multiple spatial cracks extended out and tore at the walls as the piece of metal in Lu Yin’s hand snapped in half. However, Lu Yin was not shocked at all, and he took advantage of this opportunity to strike out with his palm. The palm squarely hit Silver in the chest, and Lu Yin followed up by using Nine Stacks to forcefully pin Silver to the ground as he was unable to resist the pressure.
After the ninth stack disappeared, Silver spat out a mouthful of blood and stared intently at Lu Yin. He smiled, though he looked rather miserable with his bloody teeth. “Captain, it’s only a spar. There’s no need to be so ruthless.”
Lu Yin coldly looked down at Silver. “I’m running out of patience. Tell me. What is it about the Great Yu Empire that attracts you people? What exactly is your identity?”
Silver remained on the ground as he put away his butterfly knife before casually replying, “You want to kill me?”
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes.“I’m someone who has made contributions at the warfront.”
Lu Yin then squatted down beside Silver. “I have Honor Points.”
Silver’s expression did not change. “So what? You can try killing me whenever you want.”
Lu Yin looked at Silver and sighed. He then stood up as there was nothing he could do to this person who seemed to be completely unafraid of death.
Silver stood up too, and marvelled, “Captain, I’m really curious. How did you read the trajectories of my attacks?”
“Tell me your identity, and I’ll explain it to you,” Lu Yin casually replied as he clenched his fist.
Silver wiped the trickle of blood from his lips. “I thought that I would be able to give you a good fight if you didn’t use battle force, but I never thought that you were this strong even without battle force. You’re about at Starsibyl’s level.”
Upon hearing these words, Lu Yin was reminded of when Silver had immediately given up when he was matched up against Starsibyl in the Astral Combat Tournament. “Why did you admit defeat in your match with Starsibyl?”
Silver helplessly replied, “I can see through weaknesses, but Starsibyl can see the future.”
It was that same phrase once again. Lu Yin had heard it many times, but he still did not truly believe in divination. If Starsybil could really see the future, then the woman would be unparalleled. Instead, it should be the power of some innate gift or battle technique that outsiders did not know about, although it sounded like Silver actually knew. The Neohuman Alliance was truly powerful and secretive.
Before Silver left, he warned Lu Yin, “Be careful of Undying Yushan.”
Lu Yin did not understand what Silver was saying. Undying Yushan was indeed powerful as he was a Hunter who had even entered the top twenty in the Astral Battle Rankings. But still, he had long since retired from the universe’s stage and was now only an emperor in his twilight years. If not for Lu Yin himself, then Undying Yushan would have already died. Was there some kind of underlying meaning behind Silver’s warning?
Lu Yin wanted to ask for more details, but Silver had already left.
“Hey, what’s his ranking in your Astral Combat Academy?” the Ghost Monkey asked.
“None of your business,” Lu Yin coldly replied.
The Ghost Monkey continued talking, saying, “With his strength, he could challenge one of the Spiritual Academy’s Academy Masters. Although he’d probably be defeated, it would still be worth a try. He should be at the level of one of your academy’s student leaders.”
Lu Yin did not bother talking with the monkey and instead returned to his quarters where he started to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. This had long become a habit, and he now made sure to recite a little of the Stonewall Scriptures every day.
His days at the border warfront as well as his battles during the Astral Combat Tournament had made him realize the usefulness of the Stonewall Scriptures. The elder from Driftcharge Planet had been right; reciting the scriptures would allow Lu Yin to transform. Even if the scriptures held no offensive capabilities, they would still help him build up a resistance to any attacks that targeted spiritual force.
Using one of the expedited military routes, their warship quickly returned to the Frostwave Weave and docked at Astral-10’s space station.
Lu Yin and Silver disembarked and looked around at the familiar space station and could not help themselves from feeling emotional. Although their time at the border had been short, they had gained a great deal of experience.
“Brother Lu, you’re back!” Coco cried out with a cheer.
Lu Yin was amused. “Coco, why are you so happy?”
“Brother Lu, hurry up and tell me about your battle stories from the warfront! I’m really curious!”
“Curious?”
“Yes, some of the seniors of our Windrift Hall visit the border warfront every year. I’ll probably have to go there someday too, so it’s better for me to learn while I can.”
Lu Yin nodded. “Got it. Are Xia Luo and the rest back yet?”
Coco shook her head. “No, and Sister Michelle and the rest aren’t back either.”
“Wait, Michelle? She went to the border?” Lu Yin was astonished.
Coco nodded. “Yes, to the warfront battlefields.”
“Shouldn’t it be only the top thirty two talents have been sent there?”
Coco considered her response before saying, “It’s because there were students like you who made achievements and received great appraisals. Thus, other students were also requested to serve for at least a month.”
Lu Yin was rendered speechless. This situation worked out for him, and although it was a minor detail, it was still better for the students to grow accustomed to the battlefield earlier if possible. Lu Yin was more eager to know when the battles for the final four of the Astral Combat Tournament would start. The final rankings still needed to be determined.
Lu Yin met Old Cai at the treasury.
Old Cai gave Lu Yin an odd look. “Little brat, you’re really quite capable. You achieved such a great contribution at the warfront after spending just two months there. You were even able to gain an Honor Point. Not bad. This gives some face to Astral-10.”
Lu Yin remained respectful. “Mentor, when will the battle for the top four begin?”
“Why, are you eager?” Old Cai glanced at him.
Lu Yin did not deny it.
“There are many benefits to be had since the battle for the top four hasn’t started yet. Did you really think that you’re invincible just because you have five-lined battle force? If this was a previous season, then even a four-lined battle force user would have easily dominated everyone else. However, the tournament this time is different; you were matched up against the toughest opponent.”
“Starsibyl?” Lu Yin tried to find out more.
Old Cai shook his head. “It’s not just her; there’s also Han Chong from the Erudite Flowzone, and that Mavis girl as well. Do you think that any of them are easy to handle? Your biggest opponent might not be Starsibyl but Han Chong instead.”
Lu Yin was shocked. He knew that Han Chong was definitely powerful, but he had never imaged that it would be to that level!
“It’s no use telling you just this, but the Erudite Flowzone is not simple, and one of the Ten Arbiters comes from there. That’s a level that you cannot understand. Those cultured scholars may look delicate, but in reality, they are quite ferocious.
“Alright, there’s still some time before the battle of the top four begins. It seems that they’re waiting for some sort of event to occur, but I’m not sure either,” Old Cai impatiently answered.
Lu Yin muttered and seemed to recall something. “Old Cai, I’ve entered the top ten in this tournament, and I’m also Astral-10’s student leader. Can I enter the Council of Astral Academy now?”
Old Cai’s face fell, giving Lu Yin a bad premonition.
“After the tournament, one of the Ten Arbiters, Nightking Zhenwu, ordered that those who have not yet become Limiteers cannot join the Council of Astral Academy,” Old Cai said, seeming a bit unhappy.
Lu Yin’s brows quirked up. “What does that mean? Is he targeting me?”
Old Cai looked at Lu Yin. “By defeating Nightqueen Yanqing, you have stepped on the Daynight clan’s face. Nightking Zhenwu’s action is clearly targeting you, but you have no choice but to bear it, as he is one of the Ten Arbiters.”
A cold glint flashed through Lu Yin’s eyes. Just his victory over Nightqueen Yanqing should not have been sufficient to cause one of the Ten Arbiters to act. It must have been the fact that he had been immune to Liu Shaoqiu’s Third Sword that had caused the Daynight clan to grow cautious and want to completely suppress Lu Yin. He thought about it before inhaling deeply and saying, “I understand, Old Cai. I will break through to become a Limiteer as soon as I can.”
“There’s no hurry. Let nature take its course. The Council of Astral Academy is very appealing, especially for our Astral-10 since no one from Astral-10 has entered the council for a long time. That brat Nightking Zhenwu, is just trying to use this as an obstacle to disturb your mental state and obstruct your breakthrough. He’s hoping that you won’t ascend smoothly, or that you might even fail. Take your time.”
“Since he wants to harm me, then it won’t end with just this.”
Old Cai laughed weirdly. “I know, but so what? Astral-10’s already been driven out, so does he still want to directly suppress us? Alright, don’t bother worrying about all this and just do what you can to successfully break through to the Limiteer realm.”
“Alright,” Lu Yin acknowledged before leaving with an ugly expression.
The Ten Arbiters had the authority to educate and judge the younger generation, and they even had the power to dismiss or judge the various educational institutions. Not even the Astral Combat Academy could escape from their authority, and Astral-10 had been exiled to the Outerverse precisely because the council had submitted a report to the Ten Arbiters Council in favor of it. Nightking Zhenwu knew how strongly Astral-10 desired to have a student enter the Council of Astral Academy, and this was an overt plot to stymy their rise back to power.
However, Lu Yin would definitely break through to become a Limiteer; it just required some time, and he would enter the Student Council sooner or later. There was definitely someone behind this move specifically targeting him.
Lu Yin did not want to wait anymore and wanted to quickly break through to become a Limiteer. After he joined the Council of Astral Academy, everything would be settled, and not even the Ten Arbiters would be able to do much.
It looked like his best chances were rolling Time Stop; something that he had rolled nearly every time he had rolled his die. This time was no exception.
In the early stages of cultivation, the first hurdle that one had to cross was breaking through from the Sentinel realm to the Melder realm. It wasn’t as difficult for a Melder to break through to the Limiteer realm; it just required the feeling of a breakthrough. The second bottleneck was when a Limiteer attempted to reach the Explorer realm. Becoming an Explorer was also the largest obstacle on one’s path of cultivation, though Lu Yin did not have to worry about that just yet.
It merely required some time to break through and become a Limiteer. The Daynight clan also needed more time to plot against Lu Yin, so the two sides were actually fighting to see who was quicker. Fortunately, Lu Yin was not afraid of such a race.