Kuang Wang’s defeat had shattered the notion that the academy leaders were unequalled in this tournament. The ten of them were powerful, but they could still be defeated. Once this thought entered the general public’s mind, it could not be contained. The remaining competitors all looked up towards the high peak without fail, wondering how many seats would remain after the Astral Combat Tournament concluded.
One of the key points that attracted students to the Astral Combat Academy was the Council of Astral Academy. The council members were under the Ten Arbiters’ wing after they joined. Only the respective academy leaders were able to join this Council.
Although Liu Shaoqiu had defeated Kuang Wang, that did not necessarily mean that he could join the Student Council. He would need to formally challenge his own academy’s leader and win before he could join the Council of Astral Academy. However, by defeating an academy leader in the Astral Combat Tournament, he had demonstrated that he was capable of succeeding in a formal challenge. Everyone’s gazes turned fiery at the thought of Liu Shaoqiu successfully taking a spot in the council.
The next two battles were very ordinary, and Han Chong and Xia Ye both won their battles. As for Xia Ye, many already saw him as someone who was just as strong as the student leaders, as he was a freak with four-lined battle force.
After Xia Ye’s battle was Xue Liuyun’s. The leader of Astral-4 had a cold face, and everyone expected that his battle would end quickly, like Han Chong’s, but surprisingly, the situation that unfolded far surpassed their expectations. The battle quickly turned into a deadlock, as Xue Liuyun’s opponent was Sha.
Sha had shown a powerful performance in his previous matches, and he had also defeated many powerhouses throughout the course of the tournament, including Hart Phoenix in his previous match. The shocking scene of him sealing the golden Undying Bird in ice and then skewering Hart to the ground with an ice spear had left a lasting impression in many people’s minds, but despite that, no one believed that Sha could defeat Xue Liuyun. They were both from Astral-4, but Xue Liuyun was the Academy’s Realm Master while Sha was only an Area Master.
But as the battle developed, it opened the audience’s eyes, as Xue Liuyun could not get the better of Sha.
Out on the arena plains, the two powerhouses from Astral-4 had engaged in a chilling confrontation with neither side giving any ground. The difference was that Sha’s performance was an icy block of ice while Xue Liuyun was more like a blizzard.
Atop the high peak, Dao Bo faintly said, “It’s rumored that when Xue Liuyun was born, his planet suffered a devastating massacre where even the oceans were stained red. He is the only survivor from his planet.”
Lu Yin was flabbergasted. “Was it revenge?”
Dao Bo shook his head. “A planet’s evolutionary trial.”
Lu Yin’s eyes trembled and looked down at the arena again. Just then, Xue Liuyun’s eyes had turned red. They weren’t like Mira’s pretty red eyes but instead a sanguine blood-red.
Soon after, an uncomfortable aura filled the plains. It made the spectators crease their brows as their faces turned red and their blood flow speeded up.
Lu Yin was stunned. Xue Liuyun’s domain was what had affected the audience. It allowed him to control the blood in other people’s bodies, which was a terrifying ability.
The blue layer of ice on Sha’s body grew even colder as the icy blue chill continued to spread through the arena plains. At the same time, the discomforting aura of Xue Liuyun spread in a similar manner until the two domains finally collided. It was a formless yet fatal collision as whoever’s domain prevailed would be the victor.
So far, during this Astral Combat Tournament, the highest level of battle force that had been demonstrated was four-lines, and the strongest domain belonged to Charon. During this battle, the two students were clashing in terms of their domains, and the battle between the icy blue and the sanguine red colors slowly became more and more apparent.
The entire arena plains was enveloped by the two domains, causing even the color of the air to change. It affected everyone, and the combination of the cold chill and quickened blood flow causing many to quake in fear. It felt like their body could explode at any moment.
“These two have focused all their strength in their domains. They’ve staked everything on this battle, and the outcome will soon be determined,” Feng Shang said with a sigh.
There were no obvious demarcations between each domain’s strength like with battle force. Everyone’s understanding and use of their domain was different. Although Charon had only recently comprehended his domain, its ability to increase the sensitivity of his five senses had great synergy with his Lockbreaker abilities. The two together meant that it would be very difficult to defeat him with any battle technique that was fueled by star energy, especially if it took place within the scope of his domain.
The two currently battling on the plains had complete control over every inch of space that had entered their domains. Now, they were each trying to invade the other’s domain. As time passed, the void above the plains began vibrating and traces of spatial cracks appeared, especially at the boundary line between the two domains. The originally formless nature of their domains had formed a shockingly large crack in the void between them. The separation between them bore a striking resemblance to a pitch black river that gradually extended as time went on.
Many people in front of their screens could not understand what was happening and merely stared blankly at the image in front of them. The two students had not taken a step, but the skies had completely changed color. This was the power of an Astral Combat Academy student leader.
On Earth, Zhou Shan and the others did not even dare to believe what they were seeing. Zhou Shan could not even fathom how much power was required to tear the void or what horrifying effects it would have.
In the First Military School of the Great Yu Empire, Jeraldine was similarly shocked by what she was seeing. This was the level of Lu Yin’s opponents, and it was too scary.
In the city in the sky, San Dios, even Wendy Yushan’s gaze turned solemn. The Outerverse Youth Council and the Council of Astral Academy had always been at the same level, and all members of both councils had agreed to this, but she had never felt comfortable about it. After all, the members of the Council of Astral Academy were at best Limiteers while the Outerverse Youth Council’s members were all space-exploring powerhouses. Even their subsidiary members were Explorers, like Bazeer.
She had always believed that the Council of Astral Academy was able to hold such a prestigious position because a few members of the Ten Arbiters had once studied at the Astral Combat Academy. However, as she continued to watch this Astral Combat Tournament, she finally got a grasp on just how powerful the strongest academy leaders at this top-notch institution were. Once they broke through to become Explorers, their power would definitely surpass ordinary Explorers, and they would even be qualified to immediately aim for a place within the Top 100 Rankings.
The Astral Combat Academy was just an institution, and those student leaders were still just students, but their current power only proved how extraordinarily talented they were. Once they gained more battle experience, they would improve even faster until they became powerhouses who could shock the heavens. It was no wonder why they were able to stand side by side with the Outerverse Youth Council.
The conflict between the two students’ domains lasted for several minutes. The blue color was no longer as pure as it had been in the beginning, and neither was the red color.
Sha suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, but then, the blood halted in midair and formed into a sharp blade that then sliced at Sha himself. Sha managed to dodge to the side at the critical moment, but the blood blade nicked his neck. The droplets of blood that dripped out also formed themselves into countless miniscule sharp blades that shot towards Sha, attempting to rip open more blood vessels. Sha’s face paled as a layer of sturdy ice spread across his body and sealed half of his neck in ice, stopping the vicious cycle from continuing any further.
Many trembled at this scene as they stared at Xue Liuyun in horror. This power was too scary; one couldn’t even shed blood when battling against this person! If they did, then their own blood would turn into his weapon, a weapon that was very difficult to defend against. Even more frightening, Xue Liuyun’s domain also supplemented his innate gift, as he could cause a person’s blood to explode within their own body. This killing method was simply impossible to defend against.
However, the situation was quickly reversed even though Sha was severely injured and had been forced to seal half of his neck in ice. Xue Liuyun’s entire body became sealed in ice a moment later. The ice blue domain completely devoured the sanguine red domain as the ice sealed the entire arena, just as it had previously sealed Hart Phoenix.
A gale swept across the arena plains, and the cold flow of air continued on into the distance. Lulu shivered. “How cold.”
The other spectators also felt the nearly unbearable extreme coldness. A river in the distance even froze when the freezing gale wafted over; this was Sha’s domain.
When Xue Liuyun collapsed, it signified the second academy leader’s defeat.
Many Astral Combat Academy students were rendered speechless by what had just happened. The academy leaders were supposed to be insurmountable, but two of them had already been defeated after just a few matches. It was very worrying for them.
Sha’s power had been completely exposed as he had revealed that he was strong enough to defeat a student leader.
The next battle was between Liu Xiaoyun and a normal Area Master-level powerhouse who could not even receive two blade strikes from Liu Xiaoyun. After she returned to the high peak, a “13” appeared in front of Lu Yin. His turn to fight had come in the thirteenth battle of the fifth round.
At the same time, a girl appeared on the arena plains. She had an ordinary appearance and a calm expression. It was Chao Zhi.
When the matchup was revealed, much of the audience grew excited. The scene of Chao Zhi defeating Calcifer had been deeply imprinted into their memories. That image of Calcifer rotting to nothingness was enough to cause nightmares and that battle had been one of the most shocking in this season’s Astral Combat Tournament. And now, Chao Zhi was going to face Astral-10’s student leader.
Lu Yin also appeared in the arena plains.
Neither the spectating students surrounding the plains nor most of the people watching on their screens believed that Lu Yin could win. Chao Zhi’s battle had caused a huge stir across the universe, and her victory had been so stunning that even outsiders could see that she was strong enough to pose a significant challenge to the academy leaders.
Lu Yin, on the other hand, was just a Melder, making him one level inferior to the other student leaders. Moreover, he was from the worst ranked academy, Astral-10. Even though he had crushed Long Yi, his match had not caused the same shock that Chao Zhi’s victory over Calcifer had. Many still held the opinion that Lu Yin’s position as Astral-10’s leader was a distraction and that he could not compare to either Xia Luo or Silver.
On the high peak, Starsibyl, Han Chong, Dao Bo, and the rest all stared closely at Chao Zhi. They also did not think that Lu Yin would win this fight. This was especially true for Feng Shang; ever since he had recognized her battle technique as the Wind of Seasons, he had assumed that Chao Zhi would be his strongest competitor, as only he knew the true terror of the Wind of Seasons.
Lu Yin breathed in deeply as he stepped onto the arena plains for the second time. The Astral Combat Tournament had shaken the outside world greatly, but he was still a stranger in the broader universe as he had only fought once.
He raised his head to look at Chao Zhi. Her two eyes were still wandering all over the arena, just like when she had faced Calcifer. She acted as if she had no cares in the world.
Lu Yin frowned and thought back to the Wind of Seasons that Feng Shang mentioned. It couldn’t be so terrifying as to even include concepts of time within it, right?
The Astral Combat Tournament was being broadcast to the entire universe, which meant that Lu Yin could not use the Cosmic Art or the Cosmic Palm. If an Astral-10 mentor could recognize their origins, then other terrifying powers in the universe would also be able to. After all, this technique did not have a proper origin, and it would be bad if those seeking the technique started hunting him down. Lu Yin felt a headache developing. If he couldn’t use his Cosmic Art, then did that mean that he would have to reveal his battle force already?
Everyone looked at Lu Yin, who was deeply pondering his situation, and wondered what he was trying to do.
“Haha, Astral-10’s leader must be scared. Chao Zhi instantly wiped out Calcifer, and Calcifer defeated Uro. That’s the same Uro who multiple people from Astral-10 had to team up against to defeat him, as described in that newspaper article. This Lu Yin probably won’t even dare to even make a move since he’s facing Chao Zhi.”
“That’s quite possible, but he’s still rather strong. After all, he was able to stomp Long Yi to death with one kick. That’s not bad at all.”
“Long Yi’s just a Melder, so how can he possibly compare to Chao Zhi? Chao Zhi instantly killed an Area Master!”
…
Everyone from Astral-10 was looking at Lu Yin with curious eyes, as even they did not know how strong he currently was.
Xia Luo’s eyes twinkled as he hoped that he wouldn’t be disappointed.
On Earth, almost everyone was fervently watching Lu Yin on the giant screens. The further he went in this tournament, the higher Earth’s reputation grew, as Lu Yin’s introduction had stated that his home planet was Earth.
On San Dios, Wendy Yushan remained calm. In her eyes, this person would only be able to walk to this point. She had seen Chao Zhi’s earlier battle, and this girl was definitely capable of rivaling the student leaders, well, aside from Astral-10’s. Lu Yin could not be considered as a true academy leader since the disparity in strength between him and the rest was just too great.
The Invisible Aura Technique that Undying Yushan had acquired in the Innerverse was too excellent; no one had seen through Lu Yin’s true strength thus far. It was impossible to gather any concrete data on Lu Yin even while he was battling.
Perhaps too much time had passed, but Chao Zhi was the first one to become impatient, and she casually waved a hand towards Lu Yin.
Many hearts skipped a beat as that familiar grey squall appeared again. It was this same grey squall that had caused Calcifer to rot into nothingness in her previous battle. He had not been seen again since.
