Out on the arena plains, Grandini Mavis clenched her fists as a very obvious green aura covered her from head to toe.
Dao Bo felt helpless. Of all the possible opponents he could have run into during this tournament, the ones who he wanted to avoid the most were the Mavis family members. He was a Lockbreaker, which meant that his control and understanding of star energy naturally surpassed all others’. He was confident in his chances even against Han Chong, but the Mavis family members were an exception. This clan focused purely on strength, and even he had no way of dealing with their abnormal physical strength.
Outside the plains, many of the academy’s Lockbreakers sighed. There was no doubt about Dao Bo’s power; he had even defeated Mira once. He was definitely a powerhouse, but he had run into the wrong opponent in this match as the Mavis clan could be considered the nemesis of Lockbreakers.
“Bring it on!” Grandini shouted fiercely as she punched out at Dao Bo.
Dao Bo was speechless. He did not enjoy verbal sparring while he fought, and he would much rather be fighting against Xia Luo right now. In his opinion, that fight had been a contest between two civilized humans and was much more elegant. This woman gave him an impression that they had regressed back to a barbaric age.
He hurriedly dodged to the side as the spot where he had been standing was blasted into a giant pit. Several successive booms sounded out as the diameter of the pit increased and a shock wave rippled towards him.
Dao Bo sighed. When both of his feet touched the ground again, heaven and earth changed, turning a silver-grey color as another terrifying shock wave swept over the arena plains. Dao Bo was using his domain to suppress Grandini.
Now that she was within the domain, Grandini’s every action was under Dao Bo’s observation. The power behind her moves, their trajectory, and even the direction that she was dodging in was all revealed to Dao Bo as long as she was inside his domain. Grandini would not be able to beat Dao Bo with her current strength, but she still had her battle force.
Right after Dao Bo activated his domain, a dominating purple battle force soared into the sky, shocking everyone. Another four-lined battle force had appeared in this tournament.
Dao Bo looked at Grandini’s eyes which were filled with battle intent. He didn’t have much of a choice, so he calmly raised his hand and directly admitted defeat.
Grandini was just about to charge over and rush into battle, but she froze when she saw Dao Bo’s action. She was furious. “Are you a man?! How can you admit defeat so quickly?!”
Dao Bo sighed lamentably. “My attacks cannot break through the defense of a Mavis clan member who has four-lined battle force. However, you can’t win either, as your attacks simply cannot hit me.”
“Then why did you admit defeat?” Grandini was not at all satisfied by Dao Bo’s answer and was still eager for battle.
Dao Bo begrudgingly replied, “Since neither of us can win, and a real man will not fight a woman, I admitted defeat.”
“Are you looking down upon women? Go and die!” Grandini charged over again with a raised fist.
Lu Yin lifted his head; this scene was very familiar to him. Back during Astral-10’s new student competition, Lulu had trashed Schutz in a similar manner and then forced him apologize to her.
Dao Bo, however, very quickly left the Lifeseek Realm, causing Grandini’s fist to land on thin air. She was unhappy about what had just happened. Although she seemed more refined than Lulu on the surface, it seemed that the Mavis family could never shake off certain bad habits, such as being too eager for a fight.
While she stewed in her thoughts, Grandini’s eyes swept up to those on the high peak, and she especially focused on Lu Yin as her purple battle force soared even higher.
Lu Yin laughed when he noticed Grandini’s aggressive gaze. Instead of responding to her, he got up and looked at Nightqueen Yanqing. “It’s our turn.”
Nightqueen Yanqing got up as well and shot Lu Yin an arrogant look. “I’ll warn you beforehand—you better not admit defeat. Otherwise, my Nightking clan will show you what true desperation is.”
Lu Yin’s smile faded until he responded with a cold tone, “Is that so? It seems to me that you’re targeting me.”
“The Nightking clan has no need to target anyone. In fact, it would be difficult to find someone who is qualified to be crushed by me. I simply don’t want it to end too quickly.” Nightqueen Yanqing then stepped forward and appeared on the plains.
Lu Yin had a depressed look on his face. It felt as if he had been entangled with the Nightking clan from the very start. On Earth, there had been Qingyu. In the Umbral Butterfly Weave, there had been Zhuo Daynight. In Astral-10, there was Hui Daynight. And now, Nightqueen Yanqing had appeared as well. It was as if fate enjoyed throwing him together with this clan.
“Brother Lu, don’t mind her. That’s just her personality. Women are bound to act irrationally on certain days.” Feng Shang had reappeared and shamelessly returned to the high peak. He was the only defeated student leader who had thick enough skin to return.
Starsibyl turned to Feng Shang. “What did you say?”
Feng Shang quickly turned embarrassed. “That- I did not say anything, haha.”
Starsibyl looked at Lu Yin but did not say anything.
Lu Yin stepped forward and appeared onto the plains to face Nightqueen Yanqing. Many people thought that this Astral Combat Tournament would have a special event for the last few battles between the top contestants. But in reality, only a few knew that this was the last match that would be publicly broadcast.
If Liu Shaoqiu’s Sword Sect was not very well-known, then the Nightking clan was the exact opposite. Their trademark characteristic was long, black-and-white hair with a single strand of grey in the center. In some sense, this had become the symbol of the Nightking clan, the strongest clan of the entire universe.
Be it the Outerverse or the Innerverse, the Nightkings of the Daynight clan represented unparalleled terror with their clan’s countless geniuses.
In the Great Yu Empire, Huo Xiaoling, Jenny Auna, Jeraldine, Gerlaine, Eddy, and everyone who had battled against Qingyu watched on with wide eyes. They could still vividly recall the final battle during Earth’s trial and Qingyu’s stunning power. Back then, it had Lu Yin who defeated Qingyu, and even though he had arduously climbed to his current level, Lu Yin now had to face this clan once again.
Nightqueen Yanqing was not the same as Qingyu. Qingyu had only entered the Nightking clan after awakening the power of a Nightking as a Daynight clan member. Nightqueen Yanqing, on the other hand, had been born into the Nightking clan. The resources that were available to her for cultivation and battle techniques were incomparable to Qingyu’s.
The battle between Liu Shaoqiu and Lu Yin had not emotionally impacted the audience, but this one with Nightqueen Yanqing brought an inner chill that crept into all their hearts. The Nightking clan’s fame made all the difference.
The two stood in the arena, facing each other on the plains without making a move. Lu Yin stared intently at Nightqueen Yanqing’s eyes; he still had not forgotten the scene of Charon being instantly petrified in her previous battle. That was Nightqueen Yanqing’s innate gift, and if Lu Yin could not break through that innate gift, then there was no chance of him being able to withstand Nightqueen Yanqing.
Nightqueen Yanqing’s lips curled up enticingly as she maintained her ever-present haughty expression. A purple color flickered within her pupils, and Lu Yin felt as if his scalp was about to catch on fire. He covered his body with four-lined battle force as a sense of imminent danger filled his heart. Right after, a strange wave of force was blocked by the battle force shrouding his body. But even so, his four-lined battle force had a layer stripped off, causing it to dim.
Many were shocked by what they had just seen; Nightqueen Yanqing’s terrifying innate gift alone was enough to make them tremble. Just one look from her could weaken four-lined battle force.
“Let’s see how long you can last,” Nightqueen Yanqing tauntingly said to Lu Yin. She had gone over how she would battle against him multiple times. Although he was strong and fast enough to dodge the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords, could he possibly move faster than her eyes? Her innate gift of purple pupils was the nemesis towards fast fighters, and this person had zero chances of defeating her.
Lu Yin frowned as he vanished with Flash. He pierced the void and directly charged towards Nightqueen Yanqing.
But Nightqueen Yanqing’s purple eyes never left Lu Yin as they continuously scanned back and forth across the battlefield. His four-lined battle force was constantly being weakened. Once it vanished, he would be petrified and suffer the same fate as Charon.
This was a battle with no escape. Lu Yin’s only option was to strike swiftly and defeat Nightqueen Yanqing before his four-lined battle force ran out. Otherwise, he could only wait to be petrified.
Thus, Lu Yin went with the first option and charged towards Nightqueen Yanqing while forcefully enduring the effect of her innate gift of purple eyes. He struck out with a Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm that caused the void to crumble. His palm pressed down with an indomitable strength that could rival the Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords. He did not believe that Nightqueen Yanqing would block it easily.
But Nightqueen Yanqing’s arrogant look never left her face. Her purple seductive eyes flickered as she stood in the same spot before suddenly raising her head. Then, from beneath her, a purple battle force erupted upwards. “Nightking Punch.”
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank. Four-lined battle force?
Boom!
The ground sank as a terrifying shock wave coursed through their surroundings, instantly tearing through the first energy barrier that sealed off the arena plains. Fortunately, the second energy barrier that the mentors had installed managed to block it; otherwise, just the remnant shock waves would have killed many of the students in the audience.
A dark night descended as the Nightking Punch had even changed the sky’s color. At this moment, Lu Yin’s vision was filled with a single punch.
He closely watched the Nightking Punch approach; it was familiar, very familiar. When he had touched the Daynight clan’s stone of inheritance, he had seen this very punch, from which he had comprehended the Daynight Punch. And now, Nightqueen Yanqing had just displayed an even stronger Nightking Punch.
Day and night alternated in a perpetual cycle, tearing apart his spiritual force. This was the most powerful punch that Nightqueen Yanqing could unleash with her four-lined battle force. Even though this punch could not compare to the Third Sword of the Thirteen Swords, it was very close to reaching that level, and even Liu Shaoqiu was moved by it.
Thump thump thump…
More than ten explosions rang out in the arena as the Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm collided against the Nightking Punch, causing heaven and earth to explode. The sheer impact caused the surrounding void to collapse while spatial cracks appeared and swallowed the stirred up smoke and dust. Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing easily navigated through the cracks with their extreme speed before directly colliding.
Lu Yin had originally assumed that Nightqueen Yanqing would use a combination of the Daynight clan’s battle techniques and her innate gift to deal with him. However, he had not expected her to actually also be adept at battle force or for her physical body to be terrifyingly tough, to the point where it surpassed even Chao Zhi’s.
Bang!
There was another loud boom as Lu Yin tightly grabbed both of Nightqueen Yanqing’s fists. The two were hurled deep into the ground as they grappled each other. Nightqueen Yanqing stared at him with her purple eyes, continuously sapping away his four-lined battle force. “You really are immune to my Daynight clan’s battle techniques. Tell me, what’s your innate gift?”
Lu Yin’s knee rushed at Nightqueen Yanqing’s abdomen while her pure white thigh raised itself to calmly block Lu Yin’s strike. “Your battle force won’t last for much longer. You’re dead meat.”
“Is that so? Then let’s try again,” Lu Yin barked intensely as he released his grip on Nightqueen Yanqing’s hands. He pulled back his right hand as his muscles clenched like iron rings. Intense pain wracked his nerves as he howled through gritted teeth. “Nine Stacks, Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm!”
Nightqueen Yanqing was overcome with horror as she barely had time to say, “Impossible.”
Boom!
The shockwave just from Lu Yin’s right elbow moving shattered the void as he struck forward and shoved his palm into Nightqueen Yanqing, forcing her body deeper into the earth. Seventeen loud booms exploded within her body and nearly broke through her four-lined battle force. Nightqueen Yanqing spat out a mouthful of blood and her face had a deathly white palor as she flew into the sky.
Lu Yin also slowly rose into the sky, panting heavily. Fresh blood dripped down his right arm as the Nine Stacks, Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm was his right arm’s absolute limit. It would be very difficult for him to unleash it again in his current state.
Everyone stared at their screens silently, unable to tear their eyes away. This battle had been a rollercoaster of fiery exchanges from the very start, and there was even a collision between four-lined battle force. Who held the advantage now?
In the Innerverse, within a dark room, a young man swirled his wine glass and looked at the screen with a tepid expression. His long, black-and-white hair and a single strand of grey hair resting on his shoulders could shock one’s soul.
Behind the young man, Liu Shaoge stood attentively, similarly watching the screen that contained Lu Yin’s figure. His eyes flashed as a miniscule trace of astonishment could be seen within them.
Above the arena plains, Nightqueen Yanqing wiped away the thin trail of blood from the corner of her lips. Her originally enticing purple eyes had turned frosty cold as she looked at Lu Yin now. “Your physical body is stronger than I expected. Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm—even an average Explorer wouldn’t be able to unleash such an attack.”
Lu Yin solemnly replied, “You’re not too bad either. You actually took it without dying.”
