Lu Yin looked at the Rainmaster expectantly, “Tutor, could you help me get to nine stars?”
“Let’s see when you get onto the Rain List,” the Rainmaster dismissed indifferently. The man left soon after, but he left an excited Lu Yin behind. His current Cosmic Art was only limited to eight stars, and the ninth could be a part of the next set. That was something he might never achieve on his own, so it would be wonderful if the Rainmaster could help him figure it out. But could it really be deciphered so easily? He wasn’t sure. While he hadn’t seen the full extent of this technique’s powers, it was still terrifying.
“Getting onto the Rain List will have to wait until I become a Melder,” he muttered to himself. While he could technically continue practicing until he reached that point, he had no plans to wither away on these trees. The best thing to do was find a way to make money and integrate with even more powerhouses, experiencing their strength as a shortcut to his own. For now, he would head to the trial zone entrance and participate in ported battles.
As Lu Yin left, the Rainmaster chuckled behind the veil of the Observatory, “A technique based around the stars… Lockbreaker.”
“Meng Yue, 83 defeats,” the old Trialmaster shouted as a depressed figure walked out of the teleportation stone, and that figure’s expression turned uglier. Zhao Yilong entered the teleportation stone right behind, but returned just as quickly, “Zhao Yilong, one victory to 58 defeats.”
Lu Yin arrived just as Zhao Yilong’s results were announced, and he was rather surprised that any Sentinel managed a victory in the ported battles. He saw that there were only the two around and was about to head towards the stone himself, but Meng Yue grew excited upon seeing him, “Lu Yin! Let’s spar!”
“Haven’t you been thrashed enough in the ported battles?” Lu Yin found it funny.
“You don’t dare fight me?” Meng Yue snorted.
“Hold on, I want to fight,” Lu Yin dismissed him.
Meng Yue’s eyes gleamed in response, but the youth did not stop him. He was already close to a hundred battles fought, but life was far too cruel; he had lost every single one. It wasn’t even like he’d been spending all of his time here; in fact, the majority of his time had been spent improving greatly at the Sand Ocean.
“Oh right, who has the best results?” Lu Yin asked curiously.
“Darkvoid. 13 to 47, and he even has four consecutive wins,” Meng Yue said enviously.
Lu Yin nodded and stepped into the teleportation stone’s domain, while a disinterested Zhao Yilong turned to leave. Michelle arrived around the same time, wanting to improve on her 6-29 scoreline, but she saw his figure stepping in and her eyes gleamed as she silently waited nearby.
Lu Yin had lost all five of his previous attempts, and the memory of those losses was still fresh. He was much more powerful now, but he didn’t feel like that would translate into results. There was no realm restriction on ported battles, just age; if Michelle and Darkvoid had losing records, he wouldn’t fare much better. His only hope was to have the good luck to get three consecutive victories and complete the highest Sentinel mission in the treasury.
The world changed as his fingers touched the stone, the loud roar of waves overcoming his ears. He looked around to find that he was actually over water, with a fishy smell all around. “Ocean, huh,” he mumbled as another figure appeared before him, sending out a wave of berserk star energy without restraint. The water was set aboil and shot into the heavens, rocking Lu Yin like he was a small boat ready to capsize.
“Limiteer!” he cursed his bad luck. The figure didn’t give him a moment before blinking right in front and punching out. He activated the Cosmic Art and determined the target quite quickly, but there was simply no way to avoid it. The opponent’s star energy had solidified and sealed the surroundings; the only way to avoid was to attack.
Lu Yin had two options right now: one was to attack the star energy around him, and the other was to attack the opponent himself. He didn’t hesitate to raise his palm to begin the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm, but a loud explosion sent him flying away to a loss.
He died too quickly to notice the opponent pausing for a moment in shock, “A Sentinel actually paused my attack… Another freak.”
“Lu Yin, six defeats,” the elder’s voice rang out as a helpless Lu Yin walked out. Michelle didn’t bother with him and entered the ported battle herself.
Meng Yue walked over, “It’s our turn.”
“You’re not my match,” Lu Yin waved him off again.
“Why don’t we try? Take this!” Meng Yue replied coldly as he started an attack, but the old man’s invisible force pressed him down, “No fighting near the trial zones.”
Lu Yin didn’t bother, continuing to stare at the teleportation stone. It wasn’t long after before a calm Michelle walked out, “Michelle, six victories to thirty defeats.”
Meng Yue was still suppressed by the elder, so Lu Yin entered once more. Meanwhile, Michelle paused quite close to the stone and waited. This time, he appeared on a large platform filled with broken rocks, with the opponent already having arrived. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Sentinel; it was quite rare to come across those.
Within a gloomy forest in a distant sky, teleportation stones hung atop the trees like stars. A youth was seated under one particular stone, with a few scattered individuals waiting nearby. One youth commented, “So much time has passed. Junior Hart should have won a battle or two; he might even do three and finish the mission.”
“Of course. Junior Hart is the only Sentinel who can get three consecutive victories in the ported battles; remember whose brother he is. His Undying Bird bloodline is quite powerful,” someone agreed.
“Let’s hope he only meets a Melder or something, he can win then.”
“Mm. Astral-5’s reputation will skyrocket right before the Astral Combat Tournament if he does.”
Back atop the stone platform, Hart was pleasantly surprised as well. He had already achieved two victories, and never thought he’d have the luck to meet a Sentinel in his third match.
Hart Phoenix? Lu Yin looked at his opponent’s codename and quickly realized that this was likely the person’s real name. He had to be rather confident to use his actual name in ported battles.
Bang! The two attacked at the same time, Lu Yin’s hand forming the twentieth form of the Skybeast Claw. He couldn’t underestimate anyone in these battles, especially someone with the confidence to use his real name. However, a blaze flew forward from Hart’s hand and drowned the attack, burning it to ash with a loud rumble that left Lu Yin shocked. An innate gift? Even a Melder would have a hard time against such temperatures!
Hart did not seem to have any reaction to the Skybeast Claw and his blaze continued to fly towards Lu Yin. He was firmly of the belief that no Sentinel was his opponent; in fact, the Phoenix Clan was unrivalled in the same realm.
The platform melted under the blistering heat. Lu Yin flashed away, but even the void was distorted by the blaze and he didn’t get far. The flames twisted around Hart’s body as he charged over at high speed.
Both combatants were lightning quick. Lu Yin’s Flash even held hints of the speed techniques of the Daynight Clan, but Hart seemed capable of swimming freely through the flames and appearing wherever he wanted in an instant.
A dozen booms rang out as they exchanged blows. In order to experience his opponent’s power, Lu Yin went on the defensive. On the other hand, Hart was genuinely surprised that his opponent could withstand his blows. Few Sentinels could survive his flames for so long, but it was time to end things. His figure suddenly paused and he clapped his palms together, unfolding them as a bird cry rang out in the void. A bird of pure flames appeared between his hands, distorting the air as it charged Lu Yin down.
Lu Yin tried to flash away, but the bird was even faster than him and burrowed through the void. He was forced to turn around and use the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm, giving rise to a loud boom as the aftershocks dissipated the flames into the sky. Even Hart had to retreat a few steps in the face of that attack, staring at the distance in shock. Lu Yin withdrew his palm and stared back; this was a strong opponent.
Hart actually grew excited at the prospect of a Sentinel that could withstand the first form of his battle technique, but Lu Yin didn’t give him much time to think. The initiative was switched around this time, and Lu Yin flashed over and used the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm once more. The air pressure all around concentrated to the point that sight was distorted, forcing a wide-eyed Hart to burst forth with that bird again. The flaming creature crowed in fury; how could the Undying Bird be a pushover?
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The platform shattered completely, and both combatants rose into the skies. One controlled a blazing bird that baked the earth, while the other crushed air itself with his power. Their violent clashes sparked all around.
