Back in his youth, Silus had wished to comprehend five-lined battle force at a young age and be comparable to the Ten Arbiters. Unfortunately, he had only succeeded several years later, so he really wanted to test himself against this youth from the Astral Combat Academy who had already comprehended five-lined battle force.
“That person’s name is Lu Yin. He should be at the Heavenly Drum in the Undying Realm. You can go look for him there,” Nightqueen Yanqing offered.
Silus smiled coldly. “Thank you.”
Cang Shi glanced at Nightqueen Yanqing. He then exchanged some pleasantries with the two Cosmic Sea individuals and left. Nightqueen Yanqing was just trying to instigate things and have these two to make trouble for Lu Yin. However, all Cang Shi had to do was watch things unfold. The Chaosgod Mountain welcomed all sorts of desperate experts with open arms.
Five days later, at the Heavenly Drum in the Undying Realm, in addition to the originally present Meng Yue and Darkvoid, Michelle also came since she had completed her mission.
When Lu Yin saw her, he grew rather embarrassed as well as a little upset since he had been toyed with by this pair of sisters.
“When will you help me comprehend battle force?” Michelle coldly asked Lu Yin.
Lu Yin thought about it. “After the competition.”
Michelle glared at him and headed to another area.
“Eh, why does this girl look so familiar? She looks pretty similar to that woman from the battlefront,” the Ghost Monkey asked curiously.
“She’s Mira’s younger sister,” Lu Yin quietly explained.
“No wonder they are so similar.” The Ghost Monkey then chuckled as he seemed to think of something. “Seventh Bro, a man must have great ambitions and dreams. Do you know what mine is?”
“To be an unknown tomb raider forever?”
The Ghost Monkey was momentarily left speechless. “Of course not, and how could an archeologist stay unknown forever.” The Ghost Monkey paused, coughed, and then answered, “My dream is to acquire the entire Celestial Ice Phoenix clan as my harem, hahaha!”
Lu Yin rubbed his temple. A monkey and an ice phoenix. Just what’s going on there?
He stood up as it was time to leave. He had wanted to attend two beatings of the battle drums, but it seemed that he wouldn’t be able to make the second one. The previous session had already helped him greatly. Should he travel around and visit all of the trial zones once? It might be rather offensive, but was he afraid of offending anyone? Lu Yin seriously considered it.
At that point, a man stepped onto the Heavenly Drum amidst many shocked gazes, attracting Lu Yin’s attention.
The Heavenly Drum was Lu Yin’s territory, so no students besides those from Astral-10 were allowed to step onto it. And yet, there was a stranger who dared to step on it in front of Lu Yin. This was clearly a provocation.
Meng Yue spoke first. “Who are you?”
The man glanced at Meng Yue with contempt in his eyes before turning to Lu Yin. “You’re the Undying Realm’s Master?”
Lu Yin frowned. “That’s me.”
“Too bad. I’ve taken a fancy to this Heavenly Drum, so let me have it,” he coldly declared.
Lu Yin glared at the arrogant man and felt something strange—this person gave off the air of a wandering nomad.
“Who the hell are you?” Meng Yue stepped forward with the intention of obstructing the man, but he was stopped by Lu Yin.
“Who are you and where are you from?”
“Silus, from the Cosmic Sea.”
The Cosmic Sea? Lu Yin was stunned, and everyone else who heard this man’s origins was shocked as well. Many from the Innerverse knew of the Cosmic Sea; it was an ominous place with an unnaturally high death rate. Every year, many experts were buried there. It was difficult for any to survive in that place.
Among the many students present, those from Astral-5 and Astral-7 looked at Lu Yin with worry etched on their faces. They had witnessed the strength of the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy, whose competitors had soundly defeated both Kuang Wang and Liu Xiaoyun. Now, it was the Cosmic Sea experts’ turn, and they had decided to challenge Lu Yin. Once this academy leader was defeated, the reputation of the top four would become a laughingstock.
Although quite a number of students detested Lu Yin, despite everything, he was still from the Astral Combat Academy, so they hoped that he would emerge victorious.
Michelle stared at Silus in astonishment when she heard that this person was actually from the Cosmic Sea. She had heard her sister speak of that place more than once before, and especially about the Four Pirate Crews. The top organizations of the Cosmic Sea were so strong that even the Ten Arbiters Council feared them, and they were not to be trifled with despite their low member count.
The deeper within the universe one ventured, the more powerhouses would be birthed. The Cosmic Sea was even deeper than the Innerverse, and intense battles and deaths was commonplace for those who lived there. Anyone from that area was undoubtedly abnormal.
“What, are you scared?” Silus condescendingly asked Lu Yin.
Lu Yin raised his brows. “If you want the Heavenly Drum, then sure. Come and take it.”
Silus sneered. “Rather big talk.” After saying that, his battle force appeared around his body. Many students gasped in wonder when they saw a dark gold radiance appear—five-lined battle force.
Meng Yue, Michelle, and Darkvoid all backed away since a five-lined battle force user had appeared.
Lu Yin squinted. This guy sure lived up to the reputation of the Cosmic Sea.
“Let me show you the terror of the Arcadian Arrow Crew,” Silus growled as he charged forward at Lu Yin. He punched out, and Lu Yin’s eyes widened. Five-lined battle force erupted from Lu Yin with a bang, and the majestic power was no weaker than Silus’s as Lu Yin responded to the attack with a punch of his own.
Heaven and earth seemed to collide, and an intense rumbling sound accompanied the fierce shockwaves that swept out across the Heavenly Drum, driving Michelle and the others to the edge. Even the students outside the Heavenly Drum were affected by the aftershocks of the battle.
After one exchange of punches, the two fighting atop the Heavenly Drum simultaneously retreated. They then looked at each other in amazement.
“You’re actually able to withstand my blow.” Silus was shocked. He was quite a bit older than Lu Yin, and he had originally assumed that Lu Yin’s five-lined battle force would barely be at the initial stages and that Lu Yin’s physique would be incomparable to his own. However, not only had this person taken his punch, but he also appeared to be extremely skillful. It was to the extent where Silus could not even see Lu Yin’s level.
Lu Yin looked at his fist. His punch carried a ferocious power, and more importantly, it had been imbued with several stacks, but it had all been completely dissolved. This person seemed to have an abnormal reaction time ability that was similar to that of the Chaosgod Mountain’s disciples, although his was unique in that only those who spent their lives in the Cosmic Sea possessed it after their sense of danger developed to an extreme.
Whoosh!
Silus kicked out at Lu Yin and carefully observed Lu Yin’s eyes, as Silus was able to sense his opponent’s next move from their eyes.
Lu Yin did not avoid the attack and responded with a kick from his own leg. A loud bang sounded out, and a shockwave shot upwards as a giant spatial crack similarly extended from the point of impact. It was as if the skies had split into two halves. The scene was breathtaking.
Bang bang bang bang!
A chain of intense explosions rang out atop the Heavenly Drum. There had never been a case of students battling with five-lined battle forces in the history of the Astral Combat Academy. It was almost impossible for students to comprehend five-lined battle force, so the peak battle force was usually four lines. Hence, a collision between two five-lined battle force users was practically never seen, and more and more students gathered at the Heavenly Drum to watch the spectacle.
Lu Yin once again blocked Silus’s strike. Thus far, he had only relied on his five-lined battle force and had not used his domain, Cosmic Palm, or even any overlaying stacks. He wanted to experience the fighting ability of an expert from the Cosmic Sea, but he had finished testing the waters now. He then glanced beyond the Heavenly Drum, after which his eyes flashed. Someone would definitely describe this battle in detail afterwards, which would not be favorable for him in the upcoming competition. He did not like being thoroughly investigated, and he forcibly suppressed his desire to use the Cosmic Palm or his domain. Instead, he raised a hand and unleashed a Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm.
Silus’s gaze changed, and he moved like a fish to slip past the attack as he violently struck out with an elbow in a counter against Lu Yin.
Lu Yin raised his knee to clash against Silus’s elbow. The impact resulted in an explosion, and a rippling shockwave pulsed out with the two of them at its center.
Throughout all the battles Lu Yin had fought in, few had been able to dodge his attacks. His speed was extraordinary, and he could sense his opponent’s movements through his Cosmic Art, the combination of which meant that his strikes had always landed true. Now, however, Silus was actually evading Lu Yin’s attack and had even forcibly taken one strike. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but Silus was not actually powerful enough to injure Lu Yin with his current strength.
The two struck out and backed away simultaneously again, glaring at each other as they panted heavily.
Silus exclaimed, “No wonder you’re a Ten Arbiters’ candidate. For you to comprehend five-lined battle force so deeply at your age is not easy. It’s a pity that you won’t be able to continue with just this reputation.”
Upon hearing these words, Lu Yin suddenly recalled what his family mentioned to him: a publicly recognized Ten Arbiters’ candidate from the Cosmic Sea would participate in the Tournament of the Strongest.
“How many people have come from the Cosmic Sea?” Lu Yin asked.
Silus did not bother to hide the truth. “Two.”
“Is the other one at the same level as you?” Lu Yin enquired.
Silus frowned. “Why bother asking? You’ll naturally witness it for yourself during the competition. Do you really think that I’m using my true power?” Then, he raised his hand, formed a bow and arrow out of star energy, and pointed it at Lu Yin. “I’m from the Cosmic Sea’s Arcadian Arrow Crew, and every single member is a divine archer. This… this is my true strength.”
Lu Yin was in awe. He had a numb feeling just from Silus’s bow being aimed at him. This feeling intensified even further when Silus’s dark gold battle force enveloped the bow, and the void even began to split open. The arrow had not been fired yet, but the void already was not able to endure the pressure any longer, and Silus was just a Limiteer.
“You must be Lu Yin. The top four of the Astral Combat Academy are indeed not bad, but it’s a pity that there’s still a huge disparity between us. Things may be different in a few years, but there’s no such thing as fairness in the universe,” Silus spoke coldly as the arrow was enveloped by his dark gold battle force. It naturally caused a spiraling turbulence that spun upwards to form, causing many students to turn pale.
This was too powerful; this arrow would absolutely be earth-shattering. Could Lu Yin handle it?
In the distance, a veiled lady dressed in white clothes silently watched the Heavenly Drum.
From beside the Heavenly Drum, Michelle and the rest grew nervous.
Not far from Michelle and the rest, Xi Yue and Yue Xianzi were watching as well, as was Liu Xiaoyun and the others from even further away. Many had been attracted by this battle and their attention was focused here. The other star domains and the Cosmic Sea’s competitors had consecutively challenged Astral Combat Academy students, and many from the Astral Combat Academy had been defeated. They hoped that Lu Yin would not be beaten as well.
Lu Yin truly felt danger when facing Silus’s arrow, but it was just a slight sense of danger; this attack was not enough to warrant his defeat. Although this arrow was powerful, it was useless if it could not strike its target.
Twang!
The arrow pierced through the void, faster than anything Lu Yin had ever seen—even faster than Lu Yin’s Flash Step. From Silus’s perspective, no Limiteer could evade his arrow, and even an Explorer would find it hard to dodge and be forced to meet it head-on. He had concentrated his strongest battle force on it as well. Silus believed that even an Explorer would be hard-pressed to forcibly receive the attack.
The arrow successfully struck Lu Yin and continued traveling through the void afterwards, leaving a large spatial crack in its wake that looked like a dark river flowing across the skies. Everyone was shocked by what had just happened.
All eyes were on Lu Yin. Was he dead?
Silus’s bow vanished from his hands, and his lips arrogantly rose up. No one had ever managed to receive his arrow, unless they were a six-lined battle force user.
Just as Silus was about to speak, a face appeared in front of him, not even half a meter away. His pupils shrank in shock, and he instinctively cried out, “You-” only for an intense pain to explode from his abdomen. His body curled up like a dried shrimp as his face paled and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Lu Yin looked down at him from above. “You’re no match for me.”
